Joe Flacco joked last week that he’d get no credit from the media if the Ravens beat the Texans.
He definitely is getting no credit from one of the team’s leaders on defense.
Safety Ed Reed visited with Adam Schein and Rich Gannon of SiriusXM NFL Radio on Monday, and Reed pointed a finger at Flacco for the struggles of the offense.
“I think Joe was kind of rattled a little bit by that defense,” Reed said. “They had a lot of guys in the box on him. And, I mean, they were getting to him. I think a couple times he needed to get rid of the ball. I don’t know how much of the play calling, he could have made audibles or anything like that, checks or whatnot, man, but it just didn’t look like he had a hold on the offense, you know, of times past. You know, it was just kind of like they was telling him to do, throw the ball or get it here, you know, get it to certain guys. And he can’t play like that.
“You know, one particular play that sticks out to me is when Ray Rice came out of the backfield, he got pushed down and [Flacco] still threw him the ball and you got one-on-one with Torrey Smith on the outside. But it’s hearsay for me. I can say that sitting on the sidelines, you know, or sitting in the stands. You just never know what somebody else is seeing.”
Reed also called out the line, a little.
"[T]he offensive line gotta block better,” Reed said. “You know, they gotta communicate better, gotta pick up blocks, Joe’s gotta get the ball out of his hand. We gotta do a good job of using our weapons. I think Ricky Williams should have had the ball a little bit more yesterday. You know, I mean, Ray Rice was running it, too, but you gotta be able to mix those guys in back and forth. It’s a lot of things that we all need to correct going into New England because they do such a great job of making adjustments, you know, in-game adjustments. It’s not just coming up with a scheme and playing the game. You gotta be able to make adjustments while the game is in the flow.”
That’s not what the Ravens need as they get ready to face the Patriots. Unless, of course, a little tough love coaxes the offense to perform up to the standard that the defense has set.
Either way, coach John Harbaugh may need to spend a little extra time this week getting his guys on the same page.