The word "elite" has
become more overused by the football media in discussing quarterbacks this
season than the word "like" in an intellectual conversation between
the Kardashian sisters. All season long the theme to any discussion has been
who the elite quarterbacks are in the NFL and which traits an elite QB must
have. In the wake of the Super Bowl the overbearing and unmatched opinion of
the entire media who can't make up their mind or agree on the status of Philip
Rivers, have unanimously agreed that Joe Flacco is "elite". What am I
missing here? Sure, he's a good quarterback who played well in the post season,
but to put him in the same category as Brady, Rodgers or Roethlisberger is
absurd. An elite qb is one that can take an offense on their back and make
plays that would be unreasonable to expect from 80℅ of quarterbacks. Let’s go
back and watch the games instead of the shear results to realize that Flacco
has done no such thing. Ray Rice is an elite RB and Anquan Boldin is an elite
receiver, but to call the guy who puts the ball in place for them to do the
things that would be unreasonable to expect from 80℅ of their counterparts is a
misuse of the word. It’s a quarterback’s league and we like to believe that a
team is as good as its qb and it often is, but this Ravens offense that
features 3 wide receivers who make great plays on poorly thrown balls is simply
better than their qb. In the spirit of using the word "elite" I will
mention that the game did feature a qb on the verge of breaking into that elite
class, but contrary to the recent articles that I read that QB plays for the
Niners. At the risk of overselling him, Colin Kaepernick has something that I
have never seen in a quarterback - 0 weaknesses. He can read the defense, stand
in the pocket, make smart decisions, thread the needle to hit receivers in
tight coverage and place the ball perfectly down field to hit a receiver in
stride. He can roll out, run the option and most impressive of all, he can pick
up substantial yards on the ground with the presence of mind to avoid
subjecting himself to open field hits, something that Steve Young, Steve McNair
and RG3 have never demonstrated. The greatest thing that I take out of these
playoffs was the opportunity to watch him play 3 full games and I look forward
to watching him light up defenses for many years to come.
AND THAT'S THE BRUTAL TRUTH
