There is no question, just like there is no question that up until that 3 game stretch he had played pretty average his entire career. Mainly due to inconsistency.

He had multiple playoff wins with a 30 QBR or so average but was bailed out by defense and a good running game and early in this season he was sucking so bad most everyone thought he had ****ed up not taking the deal from the Ravens.

The question is which guy are they going to get moving forward and I personally think they ****ed up giving him that huge contract. Especially since Boldin making ridiculous circus catches the whole playoffs was the reason Flacco won.

That and blown coverage by the Broncos which had that not happened nobody would be discussing how badass Flacco is right now.

Rahim Moore got Joe Flacco paid. Plain and simple.

Joe Flacco isn't elite. Will the Super Bowl 'hangover' provide the swagger he needs to take that step? We'll see.

If he turns in another typical Joe Flacco regular season he is what he is. I am putting my money on Joe Flacco being Joe Flacco. An inconsistent, middle of the pack QB.

Who can make all the throws...

Alex Smith can't.

And that's what separates them.

How many quarterbacks have had more wins (regular season or playoffs) since Joe Flacco was drafted?

Say what you want, the guy is a winner and finds ways to get it done.

Exactly what throw is it that Alex can't make?

Maybe. A big arm is a plus...but I still take accuracy over a big arm. Props to those who have both.

Flacco can look really good one week...and the next week he'll look like he's the worst starting QB in the NFL.

He has zero consistency. I think his playoff run was a fluke. A fluke that shouldn't have happened had Rahim Moore not made the biggest blunder in playoff history.

I've watched enough of Joe Flacco to realize he's not elite.

His playoff run the year before was just as good, so it wasn't a fluke.

Alex Smith will NEVER do what Flacco did the last two postseasons.

if Alex Smith was in the same tier as Joe Flacco I'd be really excited about this upcoming season

but alas he is not, so I am not excited about this upcoming season.

I'd be just as excited. Because they are the same ****ing average QB.

by the way

his "stellar" postseason of 2011 featured QBR games of 18 and 43.

He had a good 4th quarter against a TERRIBLE Patriots defense. Which made his 'up until then' terrible game a somewhat ok game.

Joe Flacco made nice throws this postseason. He was also the beneficiary of Rahim Moore and the Patriots offense shitting all over themselves in 3rd and short situations in the 1st half.

He played a good 1st half in the Super Bowl and disappeared in the 2nd half...49ers score at the end there and instead of being ELITE JOE FLACCO he's a choker according to this board because he choked an 'insurmountable' lead.

Nothing against Flacco, but he under threw Jacoby Jones against the Bronco's and again against the 49ers on TD plays in each game.

Its not like he had crap for that prior to 2011 and yet oddly he totally sucked. But yeah that explains why Smith got benched for a 2nd year QB who had never started a game. Or why they had tried desperately to dump him multiple times, including for a broke-neck QB they didn't even know would be able to play.

It wasn't until the coach limited what Smith could do and basically took the game out of his hands that the team had success.

so Alex Smith sucks and his only success was because of his supporting cast

fine

but now lets apply that same theory to Joe Flacco

Joe Flacco did not get his team to the playoffs the last two years...they got there DESPITE Joe Flacco...

and before this postseason, he hadn't done anything different in previous postseasons besides a decent game here and there

if you were to ask me to name my league average QB...the guy right in the middle of elite and Sanchez

Flacco or Smith would be my answer.

I do think Flacco is overrated and definitely overpaid now, but he has shown progress. I'd compare it to Eli and Roethlisberger. They were both really uneven and often times downright horrible for a few years, but then they solidified into good QBs. That's what I expect Flacco is turning into, he's more consistently good with time. I don't think that's quite elite, and they need a very good team around them to accomplish it, but they've proven they can win Super Bowls with that.

No they didn't because Flacco carried them some and then the team carried him some. Only time I can recall Smith even appearing to carry the team was a couple of late drives against that horrible Saints defense.

Even if you don't like Flacco, I don't see any way you could seriously compare him to Alex Smith and conclude they're basically even. They're not even close.