Fangio Weighs in on QB Joe Flacco's Apparent Lack of Intensity in Week 7 Debacle
Some people call him 'Joe Cool' for never getting too high, nor too low emotionally. To the fans in Broncos Country, Joe Flacco looks more like Joe Coma.
Somebody get that dude a coffee, stat!
That's how many fans felt as they watched the seemingly slack-jawed Joe Flacco shuffle pedantically around Empower Field at Mile High on Thursday night, as the Denver Broncos were shellacked by the Kansas City Chiefs 30-6.
Although it wasn't the first time he's been asked about Flacco's emotional comportment, head coach Vic Fangio addressed specifically Flacco's lack of fire and energy on Thursday night.
“That is Joe," Fangio said on Friday. "Like I think I’ve told you guys before, when things are going good, he’s like that. He’s Joe Cool. When things are going bad, it’s a lack of intensity. It’s a lack of enthusiasm. I think that’s just going to continue to be the dialogue as it relates to Joe Flacco and his career.”
Flacco was horrendous vs. the Chiefs, as his poor performance over the previous two games plummeted down into depths I honestly didn't believe he was capable of plumbing. That 'Joe Cool' persona really served him well (sarcasm).
Flacco went 21-of-34 for 213 yards. No touchdowns. No interceptions. Not terrible numbers on the surface.
But this was one of those cases that proves the scouting cliche that the box score often lies. Flacco is in his 12th year and is supposed to bring veteran savvy to the table for the Broncos.
Instead, Flacco was inaccurate, couldn't read the field and see wide-open players, missed blitzers pre-snap, failed to feel the rush and held onto the ball too long. He was also once again careless with the ball, despite not throwing an interception. Flacco was strip-sacked and the Chiefs scooped it up, running it in for a defensive touchdown.
In Flacco's defense, though, the Broncos' offensive tackles were atrocious. The O-line relinquished eight sacks on Flacco, a career-high for the QB but he did his protectors no favors with his failures pre-snap and pocket presence.
We've heard Fangio's summary of Flacco's emotion (or lack thereof) on Thursday night. Let's hear what the coach's evaluation of his QB's actual play is.
“He was part of the offense and the offense obviously didn’t play well enough and he was 1/11th of that," Fangio said. "Obviously, your quarterback is a big part of your offense and I think he was—just like the rest of our offense—we didn’t play well enough. We got dominated.”
While in a literal sense, Flacco represents 1/11th of the offense. The impact of the quarterback is far greater. Fans saw the positive side of what a QB can do to elevate the other 10 guys on offense when Peyton Manning was in Denver.
It's possible Flacco's play is torpedoing the play of other 10 guys on offense.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.
