Marlon Humphrey, Ravens Secondary Prepping for Flacco's 'Deep Ball'
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens don't need a scouting report on Joe Flacco.
Flacco spent 11 seasons in Baltimore and owns almost every career statistic for a quarterback in Ravens history. He also led the team to three AFC Championship Games and had just one losing season.
Some of the players in the Ravens' secondary saw Flacco's big arm in practice, so they are preparing for that challenge.
Flacco will face the Ravens for the first time since they traded him to Denver in 2019 in exchange for a fourth-round pick.
"Joe can throw it," cornerback Marlon Humprey said. "That’s one thing; when Joe wants to throw the ball deep, he’ll throw it deep. He’s a guy who can make all the throws. So, I think early on you have to limit what their core can do. They have some really good wide receivers; they have four really good ones, with [Corey] Davis, the first-rounder [Elijah] Moore. So, they have some pretty good guys on the outside. There are good running backs. I think keeping everything in front of us will be key.”
Flacco is 37 years old so he won't be particularly mobile. The Ravens know some of his tendencies but he has evolved as a quarterback.
Flacco is 8-4 with an 85.0 passer rating as a Week 1 starter.
“It’s going to be a little different. I remember Joe’s count, ‘White 80, White 80 …” Humphrey said. "So, I’m used to that a little bit, but it will be good to see Joe again. I have a lot of respect for him. Hopefully, he just plays decent, he doesn’t play pretty well, but it will be really good to see Joe again.”
In 2019, Flacco suffered a hip injury in Week 9 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, opening the door for Lamar Jackson to take over the starter. Jackson never relinquished the job even when Flacco was cleared to play.
There apparently is no resentment by either side
"I think Joe got hurt, so it kind of happened kind of injury thing, and then Lamar started winning all these games and we were just riding behind him," Humphrey said. "So, it was good. It kind of went pretty seamlessly. I just remember it being a little weird, because when I got here Joe was the QB, Super Bowl MVP, had done a lot. So, it was interesting in that point, but as far as how it went, I thought both guys handled it really well.”
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