The Ravens are somehow 5-3 in games started by Joe Flacco in the playoffs.  That is greatly a by product of the Ravens’ defense and running game which has carried them the last few years.  Flacco has played in 8 playoff games so far in his NFL career and he has completed 122 of 211 passes (53.1%) for 1,226 yards with 6 TD passes and 7 INTs (66.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 30 times for 36 yards (1.2 ypc) with 1 TD run in the playoffs.  The Ravens won 33-14 in 2009 on the road against the Ravens in the playoffs, but, it wasn’t because of Joe Flacco.  He only completed 4 of 10 passes for 34 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (10.0 QB Rating) in that game.  The Ravens won’t beat the Patriots this Sunday in the AFC Championship if Flacco plays like he did in 2009, as they are going to have to score some points to win.

The Ravens were 12-4 in spite of the play of 26-year old QB Joe Flacco.  They need him to step up if they are going to win in the playoffs.  Flacco played in 16 games (all starts) for the Ravens this year and he completed 312 of 542 passes (57.6%) for 3,610 yards with 20 TD passes and 12 INTs (80.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 39 times for 88 yards (2.3 ypc) with 1 TD run this year.  Flacco has now played in 64 games (all starts) in his first four years with the Ravens and he has completed 1,190 of 1,958 passes (60.8%) for 13,816 yards with 80 TD passes and 46 INTs (86.0 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 169 times for 408 yards (2.4 ypc) with 4 TD runs in his NFL career.  Flacco is 44-20 (68.8%) as a starting QB during the regular season in his career so far.

22-year old Tyrod Taylor is Flacco’s backup.  He played in 3 games (0 starts) for the Ravens this year and he completed his only pass attempt, which was good for 18 yards.  Taylor also carried the ball 1 time for 2 yards this year.

The Ravens will be without 31-year old WR Anquan Boldin for the last two games of the regular season due to minor knee surgery.  He should be ready to play in the Ravens’ first playoff game.  Boldin played in 14 games for the Ravens this year and he caught 57 passes for 887 yards (15.6 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has now played in 30 games in his first two years with the Ravens and he has caught 121 passes for 1,724 yards (14.3 avg) with 10 TD grabs.  30-year old Lee Evans will replace Boldin in the starting lineup.  He has been a huge disappointment for the Ravens so far this year.  Evans has played in 7 games for the Ravens so far this year and he has caught 4 passes for 74 yards (18.5 avg).

26-year old QB Joe Flacco has been very inconsistent so far this year for the Ravens.  He has played in 13 games for the Ravens so far this year and he has completed 263 of 465 passes (56.6%) for 3,122 yards with 15 TD passes and 9 INTs (79.9 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 33 times for 45 yards (1.4 ypc) with 1 TD run so far this year.  The Ravens can get to the Super Bowl if Joe Flacco starts playing well, because the rest of the team is good enough to get there.

The Baltimore Ravens have lost 26-year old starting CB Lardarius Webb for the next few weeks due to a toe injury.  Webb has played in 13 games for the Ravens so far this year and he has 62 tackles, 14 passes defensed, 4 interceptions (one returned for a TD), 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 forced fumble.  The Ravens are likely going to turn to 23-year old rookie Jimmy Smith to replace Webb in the starting lineup.  He has played in 9 games for the Ravens so far this year and he has 6 tackles, 6 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.

The Ravens need more consistency out of 26-year old QB Joe Flacco.  Flacco is 3-0 against the Bengals and Steelers this year, so he steps up when the games get big.  The Ravens are 4-0 when Flacco has a QB rating of at least 85.4 in a game.  But, he has been very inconsistent this year.  Flacco has played in 10 games for the Ravens so far this year and he has completed 215 of 388 passes (55.4%) for 2,576 yards with 12 TD passes and 8 INTs (77.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 23 times for 44 yards (1.9 ypc) so far this year.  The Ravens have a really good defense, so they are going to likely win whenever Flacco plays well….so they need him to start being more consistent from week to week.

The Ravens have been pretty solid on kickoff returns so far this year.  WR David Reed is the standout on kickoff returns for the Ravens as he has returned 9 of them for 263 yards (29.2 avg).  Reed has missed a lot of time due to injury this year, which has given other players a shot to return kickoffs.  Rookie WR LaQuan Williams pitched in with 5 kickoffs returns for 109 yards (21.8 avg) in 2011.  CB Bryan McCann (2 returns for 53 yards), CB Lardarius Webb (1 return for 37 yards) and FB Vonta Leach (2 returns for 29 yards) also have pitched in on kickoff returns for the Ravens so far this year.  The Ravens have now returned 19 kickoffs for 493 yards (25.9 avg) this year, which is pretty solid.

The punt returns have not been anywhere near as productive for the Ravens so far this year.  CB Lardarius Webb has returned 9 punts for 72 yards (8.0 avg) so far this year for the Ravens.  Safety Ed Reed (2 returns for 29 yards), CB Chris Carr (2 returns for 15 yards) and WR LaQuan Williams (1 return for 0  yards) also have pitched in on punt returns.  The Ravens have returned 14 punts for 116 yards (8.3 avg) so far this year and that is just not good enough.

The Baltimore Ravens aren’t getting the production they thought they were going to get out of the WRs so far this year.  Anquan Boldin is doing his part despite facing a lot of double teams so far this year.  He has caught 27 passes for 394 yards (14.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs so far this year.  Rookie WR Torrey Smith has been inconsistent so far this year for the Ravens, but he is also electrifying at times.  Smith has caught 12 passes for 269 yards (22.4 avg) with 3 TD grabs so far this year.  Lee Evans was supposed to start opposite of Boldin this year, but he has been banged up all season long.  Evans has caught only 2 passes for 45 yards (22.5 avg) in 2011.  The Ravens really need him to get healthy to give Joe Flacco another weapon down the field.  LaQuan Williams has pitched in with 2 grabs for 18 yards (9.0 avg) so far this year.  The Ravens needs these guys to pick up the pace, starting this Sunday against the Cardinals.

The Ravens went out and brought in some new toys for the offense in 2011, but 26-year old Joe Flacco has been way too hot and cold this year.  He has played in all four games for the Ravens so far this year and he has completed 69 of 140 passes (49.3%) for 973 yards with 7 TD passes and 3 INTs (79.9 QB Rating).  Flacco has also carried the ball 11 times for 24 yards (2.2 ypc) so far this year.  The Ravens need Flacco to be more consistent on the good side if they are going to keep winning games this year.  They can’t lean on the defense every single week to win games.

26-year old QB Joe Flacco was outstanding against the Steelers in the season opener but he was terrible against the Titans last Sunday.  He has played in 2 games for the Ravens so far this year and he has completed 32 of 61 passes (52.5%) for 421 yards with 4 TD passes and 2 INTs (82.8 QB Rating).  But, he has yet to carry the ball this year…..and that is a good thing.  The Ravens need Flacco to be more consistent, because as good as the defense is, the Ravens aren’t going to win a lot of games without scoring their fair share of points this year.