The Ravens say they got their man by manuevering in the 2008 draft to get Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco with the 18th overall pick. I’m skeptical about the pick for a few reasons. The Ravens insist their draft philosophy is to pick the best player available. I find it hard to believe they had Joe Flacco ranked in the top-20 of all players in the draft. Maybe they did, but if they did- the Ravens were probably the only team to consider him so highly. That being said, if Flacco turns out to be a star NFL quarterback, then the Ravens will be applauded for recognizing a talent that no one else quite saw. Ozzie Newsome, Eric DeCosta and their scouting staff are very good. If they hit on the Flacco pick, which at the moment looks like a reach, then kudos to them.

For all of the work all of the teams put into scouting and drafting college players (and it’s a job I admire and will put into the category of things I neither could do nor would want to do), the process is ultimately a dice roll. Everyone in the league can agree that a certain college player projects as a sure-fire pro, no problem getting a consensus. The problem is when that player hits the practice field- anything’s possible including that sure-fire college stud being an NFL dud. So, it amuses me that all 32 teams will have glowing things to say about their draft class. They’re all excited, they all did well, so they say. Fact is, we’ll find out down the road that they did not all do well. It’s the nature of the draft.

Joe Flacco was drafted 5 years to the day after the Ravens picked Kyle Boller in the 2003 draft. The Ravens raved about Flacco’s abilities and potential. In fact, what they said sounded a lot like this quote: “(He) has size, intelligence, huge arm strength, great personal charisma and great character. He’s very intelligent and yet he’s just scratching the surface of how far he can go.” Those are the words Brian Billick had for Boller exactly 5 years earlier. Was Billick wrong? Well, not necessarily, but we should never confuse optimism and hope (no matter how glowing the potential) with the liklihood of actual productivity. Fact is, no one knows how good Flacco will actually be- no one.As we like to say,” that’s why they play the games.” Everything for now is just talk. Let the games begin, and we’ll see if Flacco is more than an ordinary Joe.

Posted on Sunday, April 27th, 2008 at 9:25 pm.
Categories: Opinion.
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