Travis Thomas: Pound For Pound, Flacco Is #1 Contender
For those of you who listen to the Travis Thomas Experience on 105.7 The Fan here in Baltimore MD, you already know my endless love for Boxing and MMA and how I constantly make comparisons and analogies of various sports to the fight game. Football is almost always the most fitting comparison due to its promotion of violence and also because similarly to the fight game, Football is a game of physical chess playing. For those of you, who still haven't felt the Travis Thomas Experience, first you need to get on board, secondly chew on this food for thought. Take a look at the current NFL playoff picture. Notice anything similar? All the teams left in the playoff pool are led by elite quarterbacks. Now obviously we can argue the order in which each player is ranked, but we can all agree these signal callers are elite nonetheless. Brady, Cam, Flacco, Wilson, Rodgers, Romo, Luck and Manning are all household names. Even going back to last weekend, you could argue that aside from the Arizona Cardinals 1,000th quarterback this season that Stafford, Roethlisberger and Dalton belong in that conversation as well. Don't forget this either, Phillip Rivers, Drew Brees and Alex Smith all barely missed their shot at playing in January. So much like the best weight classes in combat sports, there usually sits a champion atop the division followed by a number of top contenders who are just a punch or kick away from taking that top spot by force.
I think we would all agree that the general consensus is that Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are your reigning champs as far as quarterbacks are concerned. Both men truly have been on that perch for many battles. But they are far from being invincible. In fact, I would argue this could be the time that every great champion faces; accepting mortality. If you had to select a number one contender out of the crowded weight class of elite quarterbacks in these playoffs, look no further than Joe Flacco. His career record against both Brady and Manning prove just that already. Let's examine the numbers for a moment. Flacco has the most playoff wins (10) by any NFL quarterback since 2008. He also has the most road playoff wins in NFL history (7). Not to mention during Baltimore's current five-game playoff winning streak (the longest in the NFL), Flacco has thrown 13 touchdowns and no interceptions. In the Ravens' last nine playoff games (since 2010), Flacco is 168-of-282 for 2,271 yards, 20 touchdowns and two interceptions (106.0 quarterback rating). Out of all the quarterbacks Joe Flacco is without question the one with the stiffest left hook and biggest knockout power.
Let's just leave out these playoff teams for a moment and look around the NFL. In my opinion there are at least nine teams looking for a "legitimate contender" in the quarterback weight class. Some of them pick early in the draft and some pick late, but nevertheless they all are seeking a champion. Tampa Bay, Tennessee, New York, Chicago, Houston, St. Louis, Cleveland, Philly and Buffalo. Those are the no-brainers but you could add a few in there if you wanted to like the Washington, Arizona, and Oakland. Virtually all of the rest of the league is seeking the next champion or at the very least a top contender. Now I am a die hard College Football Fan and watch as many teams as possible every Saturday, and I got some good news and bad news. The good news is if you are indeed a team picking atop the draft you may be in good shape, pun intended. The bad news is, there aren't enough legit College Football quarterbacks to go around for everybody on the next level.
Last week, I blogged that the Ravens vs. Steelers Rivalry had officially turned the pages from its physical, hard hitting, trash talking past and evolved into the Flacco vs Roethlisberger sweet science era. As the game unfolded that theory proved to be true. I believe these playoffs will continue to echo that trend of elite quarterback play being the difference between winning and losing. As fight fans like me know, Super Fights are rare in combat sports and when they happen it's always epic. This weekend there are four of them: Cam vs Wilson, Romo vs Rodgers, Manning vs Luck and Brady vs Flacco. One thing is for sure, we are guaranteed four knock outs!
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