QB Joe Flacco (12.20.23)
Why did you shave off the beard?
“I don’t know. It was a mess, you know. That’s why.”
Things were going so well with the beard though.
“Yes. I don’t know if three picks is – well, but the ending results are definitely nice.”
It almost seemed like you were a little bit after the game still thinking about those a little bit, were you? Because you didn’t seem as sort of euphoric as one might.
“Yeah, probably, but also just the way that game ended. I think everybody wants to be excited like when you kick the field goal, but I’ve lost a handful of games when that happens and then you still end up losing. These games are never over until that clock hits zero. So, I think it was more that definitely there was probably a little bit of thinking about those plays, but it was more so just, you obviously want to be excited in the moment, but I’ve gotten high before and then got it taken away. So, I think just been a part of enough of those that you don’t want to get overly emotional at the end of the game and it kind of carried over to afterward, I’m sure too.”
Joe, how excited are you about what this next month might bring? Next month or so might bring. And do you feel like the more reps, the more time you have with this guys, this offense, that you guys might find your stride at a different level going into the playoffs?
“Potentially, I think there’s some confidence that is going to be the direction, but it really just takes us being in the moment and coming in here and doing our work and all those things and then actually going out on game day and coming through. So I think what we’ve done so far I think can give us the confidence to feel that’s the way it should go, but it’s still up to us to kind of, like I said, stay in the moment, look at what’s important now and go do the job.”
You have been so good at home, but the road has been a different story. Is it just as simple as being in a different stadium or what?
“I think it’s always tough to put your finger on those things. Obviously, you deal with some variables when you’re on the road that you don’t have to deal with when you’re at home. Like as an offense, defense kind of deals with that when they’re at home. I don’t know. I think we’ve all played enough road games at this point that you can go into those situations and relate to where you’ve been in the past, and you should be able to play a very similar game. I’m of the belief that it really shouldn’t matter too much because we’re so used to dealing with those variables that I’m talking about, and we have things in place to make sure that we take care of those. So, I think it most of the time just ends up being those types of matchups and all those different things that matter in-game that end up just not being the same for whatever that week.”
Joe, I’ve watched that (Amari) Cooper touchdown about ten times now, and I keep waiting for the Bears to make the interception. Was that about as tight a fit as you can make? Did you see all three of those guys or was it?
“The safety I’m not worried about, you know, that with the corners out there on the sideline, but at the same time, there’s always some kind of flat player over there. If he’s making that pick, then you’re in trouble. The fact that we did move the pocket there a little bit probably brought the completion over a little bit more than it typically would be on that play. I think I’d normally be throwing the ball kind of more this way, but I was kind of throwing it more straight at him. So, yeah, it is funny how that throw ends up working out and it just happens to be like, by the ending picture, you see three guys there. I mean, it was a little bit more simple than an eye, I think, because the safety, you can kind of take him off the field. It was kind of like that perfect storm coming together for us because it was so close and it was thrown right at the safety. From his vantage point, it was able to freeze those guys just enough for him to score because typically that wouldn’t happen. If that play was hit probably a couple of yards over to the left of where if he caught it a little bit, a couple of yards before that, then he probably runs out of bounds or the guys make a tackle. But because it was that close, it froze them just enough to kind of happen perfectly for us. It was just one of those random ones. You make tight throws all the time. That one just kind of looked that way, I think, at the end.”
But what gives you the faith and the confidence to do that when you’re not exactly having maybe your best day up until that?
“You just got to take each play individually. He was open. I felt it, threw it. You’re not really thinking about that.”
You were able to hook up with (Marquise) Goodwin. What do you see of him? 32 and runs so fast?
“Yeah. Hey, I’ve been a part of some guys that it adds a lot to the game when you have a guy that can run like that and take the top off of defenses and even if you’re not completing a ton of balls to him, I think if we can get him going, in some ways it’ll have a good effect on this offense.”
Why is the play action still so effective for you even when the run game isn’t churning out a ton of yardage?
“I think people know that we can run the ball and that’s a strength of ours. Even if it’s not something that’s operating at its highest level, there’s always that threat. So, you have to come up and you have to play whatever you’re playing honestly and do what you see as a defense. So that’s why you have those things.”
Talked about smelling the grass in Cleveland. What about playing in the dome? Would you like that?
“At this time of the year? I’m not going to complain about it.”
Joe looks like it’s probably going to be the 35 and over club at quarterback in Houston this weekend. And just what do you think of maybe you being in a duel with Case Keenum?
“Yeah, we’ll see how it goes down there and whoever ends up playing. But everywhere Case has been, he’s done a great job of coming in and winning games for football teams. So, it’s going to be a challenge either way.”
I don’t know about Joel (Bitonio) just yet, but the job the offensive line was able to do last week and spite of them being banged up front, they’ve been able to keep you clean for the most part.
“Yeah, it’s been awesome, man. We’ve talked about it so much. Just next man up mentality and the way that (Michael) Dunn stepped in there and got the job done. Nobody blinks and you can tell in the huddle that’s what you want. And it doesn’t mean everything’s going to be perfect, but you know that those guys are going to be out there working their tail off to play a really good game, and that’s what they’re doing.”
Joe, you’ve been to the playoffs a ton of times. This locker room hasn’t been a bunch. Is there any kind of message you give when it feels so close to being attainable, but you still have to get there?
“I think these guys are doing, you know, you look around and just the way Kevin’s (Stefanski) scheduling everything out and you can tell that guys are focused on just today. I think that’s what you do. Obviously, you know what’s ahead and we know what’s kind of promised to us and then we know what’s out there. Obviously, we’re not blind to all that, but it is about staying in the moment week to week. And you can tell when you walk around a locker room that guys have a singular focus. If it wasn’t the case, then we would take care of it. And I think there are ways you can go about that, but you can tell guys are focused in on what we’re doing this week.”
We’re seeing the best version of David Njoku right now. Did you appreciate him from afar before you became teammates and what does make him so cool?
“It’s tough man, when you don’t know somebody and you’re not with them every day, and then you just get to see a little bit of this and a little bit of that. It’s tough to honestly make a good assessment of somebody. When I first got here, the first thing that jumped out to me about him was just his personality and the teammate he is and what he does for this locker room. And then when you get out in the field with him and just see how hard he works and how physical he is, get the ball in his hands, he’s special, especially when he’s grooving at a high speed towards our goal line, towards our end zone. But yeah, I don’t think you get it from the outside. You don’t realize his personality and how hard of a worker he is, how willing he is to go in there and throw his body around in the blocking game and all that stuff. So, I think when you kind of get to be around somebody like him, you get to appreciate all those things and it makes the other things, it makes it even more impressive what he does athletically.”
It’s large awards time in the league and people talking about awards. You’re actually being discussed as comeback player of the year. Do you consider this a comeback for you?
“Who knows what constitutes a comeback? I’ve only played three games. I mean, it’s kind of crazy. Come back from not going to training camp and busting kids around. I mean, who knows?”
When you look at the Texans defense, what sticks out as a challenge for you guys as an offense?
“Well, listen, I think they’re a really well-coached team and they got guys that play aggressive and you see this defense pop up around the league. The last couple of years in New York, I was with Robert Saleh and he was in San Francisco with (De)Meco (Ryans) and you know. So, you see the guys that coach this defense and you can tell that they have these guys ready to play their defense in this kind of way. Their front does a really good job and their back end plays aggressive. And I think the key to those guys, to that style, is that front disrupting everything and allowing that back end to play that aggressive style because they’re going to trust that they’re going to stop the run and get to the quarterback. So, I think they do those things well.”
In terms of your ability to move so well in the keeper game, is that kind of a big deal to be able to still move like that, or is that not such a huge deal?
“Yeah, listen, I always think it helps when we can facilitate getting me on the move and stuff like that. I know it’s not like a huge part of my game, but I am playing my best when I’m able to move around a little bit, move the pocket here and there, and then some of the other things just kind of happen naturally. But I do think it’s important for the whole offense when you have the ability to do a couple of those things.”
Joe, Ced’s (Tillman) been a target on a couple of the picks. I’m just curious, what are the conversations like after those routes and then how important is it to you to keep going back to them?
“Yeah, it’s super important. You can’t look backwards. And I think they’re all learning experiences. And hopefully, the feeling that he gets from me is like, dude, next one. We all make mistakes. I mean, obviously, as you can see, these games, you’re all going to make mistakes. So, it’s just a matter of looking forward to the next one, obviously correcting it. But in-game, man, you can’t feel bad about anything you do. You line up, you play full speed, you trust your preparation. And when mistakes happen, I mean, the best guys I’ve been around ever, they make mistakes, but they don’t blink. They just go make the next play and the next play. And when you’re young, it’s tough to kind of see things that way. But if he looks around and nobody else is doing anything but that, then he’ll learn to kind of handle it, and I think he’s doing exactly that.”
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