The opinion of quarterback Joe Flacco from fans and media always has been polarizing. Is Flacco elite?
His supporters point at his Super Bowl XLVII ring and MVP. Or the that he threw for 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions in the playoffs that 2012 season. Or that Flacco’s 72 regular-season victories are the most by a quarterback in the first seven seasons of a career.
Flacco’s naysayers scream that he has never been in a Pro Bowl (he turned down last season’s invitation to stay home with his pregnant wife). Or they pull out the playoff game film from the 2012 season and point out safety Rahim Moore’s epic secondary blunder as Flacco’s biggest claim to fame, his 70-yard game-tying touchdown pass to Jacoby Jones.
“Who knows why it always ends up being me that question surrounds?” Flacco said, laughing, during a conference call Wednesday. “I’m just going to go out there and play the best I can and continue to win football games. All the rest will take care of itself.”
The rest begins Sunday when Flacco faces arguably the best collection of Broncos defensive talent since Wade Phillips’ 1989 crew.
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Flacco has many reasons to fear the Broncos’ defense, from pass rushers Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware and Shane Ray to lockdown cornerbacks Chris Harris and Aqib Talib. Flacco will trust his guys up front in a unit that returns all five starting offensive linemen.
“They might make some plays here and there,” Flacco said of the Broncos’ pass rushers.
Flacco will see a lot of familiar faces Sunday — his former offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak, his old quarterbacks coach Rick Dennison and reliable tight end Owen Daniels.
Flacco praised each of them for the value and contribution they brought to his career. But now they’re the opposition in the way of his Ravens starting 1-0.
Flacco said he enjoys coming to Denver to play, citing his fling to Jones and the ensuing
“That team walks together forever. That magical afternoon and evening in Denver when it was below zero, the heat turned off on our bench and our Gatorade froze, they’re all parts of an incredible story,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said.
Added Flacco: “That will be pretty high no matter what happens from here on out. If we go on to win 30 more Super Bowls, that’ll always be the first one, and kind of what catapulted us to that spot that year.”
Not the fondest memory in Broncos fans’ minds.
They’d prefer to recall the next meeting when Peyton Manning torched the Ravens for in the 2013 season opener.
Or maybe Sunday’s game will bring another pleasant memory.
Cameron Wolfe: 303-954-1891, cwolfe@denverpost.com or twitter.com/CameronWolfe
