It may not be a well known fact that Ravens fans get a little testy when media members give Atlanta stud Matt Ryan the edge over Baltimore's Joe Flacco in some of the several meaningless player rankings churned out every offseason. However, it sometimes happens, especially in the molasses-slow offseason we've had so far.
Granted, Ryan and Flacco do have very similar career numbers:
Ryan: 46 career games, 60.8 comp%, 10061 passing yards, 66 TD, 34 INT, 86.9 QB rating
Flacco: 48 career games, 62.0 comp%, 10206 passing yards, 60 TD, 34 INT, 87.9 QB rating
Ok, so maybe Flacco does get the short end of the stick from time to time. But remember that the Falcons certainly relied on Matty Ice much more than the Ravens rely on Flacco. Since both were drafted in 2008, the Ravens have fielded some excellent defenses, whereas the Falcons D was... well, not nearly what the Ravens had.
Some people would cite that Flacco has more playoff wins, but again I would argue this has very little to do with Flacco and alot to do with the defense. Who could forget his whopping 34 passing yard performance in the playoff win against New England two years ago?
Regardless, both are very good quarterbacks who are (*knock on wood- for Ryan's sake) on their way to long and successful NFL careers. I'm sure down the road we might even Ryan-Flacco develop into a Manning-Brady caliber debate. As both teams come to rely on their franchise QB's more, only time will tell us the answer.
But come on Ravens fans, your team won a Superbowl with this schmuck at QB only a decade ago. I think we at least deserve to win something!
For more on the Falcons, check out The Falcoholic. For more on the Ravens, check out Baltimore Beat Down.