Joe Flacco offers Baltimore Ravens to assume greater role to cover LB Terrell Suggs’ absence-NFL News
Baltimore Ravens’ vocal quarterback, Joe Flacco, has volunteered himself to carry the team forward in absence of linebacker, Terrell Suggs, who is out of the team with a torn Achilles tendon injury.
Suggs is set to miss at least half, if not the entire, 2012 National Football League (NFL) regular season due to the injury, and his absence is seen having an impact on the team’s performance.
However, Flacco, who is known for his repeated outbursts such as rating himself to be the best quarterback in the league, has said to be ready to compensate the absence of the linebacker.
Flacco said:
"I want us to get in more of a mind-set where we have to score points. Should this be something that makes us do that? No. We shouldn't feel any more pressure because we don't have (Suggs). We still have a great defence and we still have a great team.”
He added:
"But having said that, if it does put more pressure on us, if we do feel like we have more pressure on us and we need to score more, I don't think that's a bad thing."
Ravens are known for relying on their defence in most of their victories historically, and veteran Suggs remains to be the key member of their arrangement and strategy.
His absence is seen as a setback to the team’s future endeavours and vision of winning the Super Bowl title.
Ravens have played the playoffs four times during last four consecutive seasons, and made it to the American Football Conference (AFC) championship twice. Yet they have remained unsuccessful in making it to the title event.
The management is still hopeful of getting more opportunities of playing in the second round and beyond and Suggs’ absence does not bode well with their hopes.
One factor that is going to have greater role into the team’s performance this year is their attack line, which is expected to get boost as a result of hiring of the fulltime quarterbacks coach, no other than Jim Caldwell, who has groomed players like Peyton
Manning, the only four-time most valuable player (MVP) in the league.
Flacco’s role is going to be very important, and apparently the team expects him to come out into the next season with a clearly improved form.
Irrespective of his assurance of covering up for Suggs’ absence, his claims will be measured in the light of his performance in the next season.
Tags: