On most teams, it would go without saying that the Super Bowl MVP-winning quarterback is the leader. But in Baltimore, where Ray Lewis has been the undisputed leader of the Ravens for years, owner Steve Bisciotti made a specific point of telling quarterback Joe Flacco that it’s his team now.
Bisciotti said that with Lewis retired, there’s no question that the rest of the locker room will look to Flacco.
“You are the leader now, like it or not,” Bisciotti said to Flacco, via the team’s website.
Flacco and Lewis have different personalities, and Flacco will probably never be the kind of vocal leader that Lewis has been. But Bisciotti told Flacco that his accomplishments in the postseason this year have made him an undisputed NFL superstar.
“Not many guys do what you did in five years. Not many did it your way,” Bisciotti said. “Not many like the way you do it. But I said at the end-of-the-year press conference after last year’s [AFC championship] defeat, that I think the fans of Baltimore will be rewarded by your low-key presence, and it will stand the test of time. Indeed it did, and we all hope it continues to do that.”
For the money Bisciotti is paying him, Flacco should continue to play like he did in the playoffs.