The New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens
clash in Week Four of the National Football League (NFL) season
and while the teams have much in common there is a sense of
rivalry fired by Jets head coach, and former Raven, Rex Ryan.

Both teams are 2-1 this season, have been regulars in the
American Football Conference (AFC) playoffs in recent years but
neither has made the Super Bowl since the Ravens triumph
following the 2000 season.

Each have outstanding players on defense – Ed Reed and Ray
Lewis for Baltimore, Darrelle Revis for the Jets – but have
some lingering question marks over their quarterbacks.

Ravens quarterback, 26-year-old Joe Flacco, and New York’s
Mark Sanchez, two years his junior, have both proven to be
worthy of their high ranking in the draft but neither have
sealed their status by taking their team to the biggest game.

But it is on the sidelines where the tension between the
two teams can be felt.

Ryan spent 10 years with the Ravens, ending as defensive
co-ordinator, and it still rankles that current Ravens coach
John Harbaugh pipped him to the top job at the club.

Although Ryan’s Jets lost to the Ravens last year he
believes he has proven his worth in New York and also feels the
need to spell that out.

“We have not beat them since I’ve been here, that’s for
sure, but the fact of the matter is, we all said we were going
to meet in the AFC championship game. Now, we haven’t won the
AFC championship game, but we’ve got there two years in a row.
The Ravens haven’t. So you can throw that one right back at
them as well,” Ryan said earlier this week.

“I’ve gone to the playoffs every year, and I’ve gone to the
championship game every year since I’ve been here as well. But
who cares? This is what it is. They know I did a great job
there for 10 years.”

It should be a gripping encounter in Baltimore on Sunday
that will conclude a day which is expected to offer some tests
for the NFL’s three undefeated teams.

The Buffalo Bills are the most surprising team at 3-0 and
they will fancy their chances of extending their winning start
to the season when they visit the Cincinnati Bengals (1-2).

The Detroit Lions (3-0) take on a Dallas Cowboys team that
were boosted by their victory over the Washington Redskins on
Monday while the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers will
expect a fourth victory at Denver.

The New England Patriots, who suffered a shock defeat to
Buffalo last week, face another tricky test on the road against
an Oakland Raiders (2-1) team that is showing signs of being a
playoff threat this season.

The Raiders have gone eight seasons without a winning
record and will test the Patriots defense against the run in
the first game between the two teams in three years.

Michael Vick’s rather bruising season for the Philadelphia
Eagles (1-2) should continue at home to the San Francisco 49ers
if he recovers from a hand injury in time.

The Eagles are smarting from their defeat to the New York
Giants and desperate to avoid a third straight loss while the
49ers (2-1) are looking for another road win after last week’s
13-8 win at Cincinnati.

Read More: 2011 nfl power rankings, 2011 nfl power rankings week 3

The second week of NFL action is in the books and we bring you our power rankings for Week 3. This week we saw the Baltimore Ravens flew too close to the sun and got burned. The Carolina Panthers and Cam Newton might just be legit but not legit enough to beat the Green Bay Packers. And in New England we were reminded of the Patriot power of the hoodie. Fear the hoodie. 

So here we go, SB Nation Arizona’s Week 3 NFL power rankings:

1. New England Patriots: When you drop 35 points on one of the better teams in the league, we don’t care if you are at home, you earned a top spot. Enjoy and act like you’ve been here before.

2. Green Bay Packers: The Packers got down early to the Panthers but they pulled out their Super Bowl rings and showed a young and developing team how to get it done. But at least Cam Newton and friends made it close (and covered the spread).

3. New Orleans Saints: The Saints looked very good beating the Bears and hung tight with the Packers in Week 1. Drew Brees is still slinging it so we’re gonna rank ‘em high.

4. Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles lost Michael Vick to concussion (shocking) and lost a tight road game to Atlanta (not shocking).

5. New York Jets: The Jets are tough to rank because…feet!!

6. San Diego Chargers: The Chargers had a chance to keep things close in New England, but like so many others they fell victim to Hoodie Magic. How else do you explain this?

7. Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens went from annihilating their hated rivals to getting punked by Tennessee. They’re still good but not top five good.

8. Pittsburgh Steelers: Lost to the Ravens. Destroyed the Seahawks. We won’t be able to get our hands around this avian erratic team until we see them next week against….wait, the Colts? Nope, that’s not going to tell us anything either. We’ll rank them high on history for now until we see more evidence one way or another.

9. Chicago Bears: The Bears beat the Falcons but lost to the Saints. We think they will be good but can’t say quite yet at what. We also hope Jay Cutler has a good chiropractor and massage therapist.

10. Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons lost to the Bears but beat the Eagles. We think they will be a playoff team, don’t you?

11. Detroit Lions: Yes folks, the Lions might be for real this time.

12. Washington Redskins: The Redskins might not be for real, but they much more real than they were last year.

13. Houston Texans: Wins over the Colts and Dolphins won’t earn you much love but 2-0 is still undefeated.

14. Buffalo Bills: Are you starting to believe? We are. 

15. Dallas Cowboys: Bonus points for playing with broken ribs and a punctured lung. That’s worth at least two extra spots on the power rankings. Enjoy it!

16. New York Giants: Beat the Rams on Monday Night Football and showing some spunk. Good on you.

17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Josh Freeman deserves better and he’ll probably get it soon enough. 

18. Tennessee Titans: We don’t really think the Titans are this good but they did beat the Ravens and no other team can say that (yet).

19. Arizona Cardinals: The Cards could have been about five spots higher had they been able to generate (or prevent) two more points.

20. San Francisco 49ers: We are now at the point where we go from mediocre teams to bad teams. The 49ers are on that cusp.

21. St. Louis Rams: You were supposed to win the NFC West. Instead you are 0-2. Sorry, try again next year week.

22. Carolina Panthers: This team is going places, they just haven’t figured out how to get there yet. Expect to see them climb as the season moves on.

23. Jacksonville Jaguars: Did the Jaguars really think Luke McCown was going to get it done? We didn’t.

The rest of these teams are technically still in the NFL so technically we have to rank them. We don’t, however, have to say anything about them, so we won’t. If you are fan of one of these teams you have our sympathies.

24. Miami Dolphins

25. Oakland Raiders

26. Cincinnati Bengals 

27. Seattle Seahawks 

28. Cleveland Browns 

29. Minnesota Vikings 

30. Denver Broncos 

31. Indianapolis Colts 

32. Kansas City Chiefs 

Casey Hampton suggested this week that the Steelers have the edge on the Baltimore Ravens because they have a better deep passing game.

The Ravens tried to counter that in April by drafting one of the best cornerbacks available, Jimmy Smith of Colorado, with the 11th overall pick. Smith is big at 6 feet 2, 210 pounds, and he has been clocked in a reasonably fast 4.47 seconds in the 40. Word from Baltimore is he will make his first pro start Sunday in his first game against the Steelers.

The Steelers have some young receivers who can fly.

“I’m not worried about him,” said one of them, Mike Wallace. “He needs to worry about us.”

Wallace has 4.3 speed and has led the AFC in each of the past two seasons with averages of 19.4 yards (2009) and 21.0 yards (’10) per catch. Emmanuel Sanders runs a 4.4, and Antonio Brown looks to be even faster than his 4.47 clocking coming out of school. Smith will be tested deep early in his NFL career.

“He just needs to just be ready,” Wallace said, “because we’re going to be coming at him.”

Wallace has two big-play seasons behind him, so his puny three catches for 19 yards in this preseason prompted no concerns. On the other hand, Brown has been sensational, averaging 25.6 yards on nine catches this summer, three for touchdowns — one of 77 yards.

The Steelers are expected to test that Ravens secondary with the rookie Smith at cornerback Sunday.

“Man, we can take our shots deep on anybody,” Wallace said. “We don’t discriminate. It doesn’t matter who it is. Anybody can get it.”

Redman remembers it well

The last time he stepped on M&T Bank Stadium field in Baltimore, Isaac Redman was a little-known backup halfback from nearby Bowie State. By the time he stepped off, he may have helped save the Steelers season.

Redman returns to Baltimore, near where he played his small-college football, lugging a bigger role in the Steelers offense to open the season and memories from the biggest play of his young career.

“I still watch it on YouTube once in a while,” Redman said. “It was a big play.”

The only one bigger Dec. 5 in Baltimore came a few plays earlier, when Troy Polamalu blitzed off the corner, hit quarterback Joe Flacco and caused a fumble that put the Steelers back in a game that was seemingly lost with 3:13 left.

With 2:58 to go, however, they still were nine yards away, and it was third-and-goal. The Steelers trailed by four, so they needed a touchdown. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger took the snap, saw the blitz, read the “hot” route and flipped a quick, short pass over the middle to Redman, who made safety Dawan Landry miss initially and broke a few tackles getting into the end zone with 2:51 left.

That touchdown for a 13-10 victory might have made the difference between the Steelers and Ravens winning the AFC North and, ultimately, the AFC.

“Without that play, who knows how things would have ended up the rest of the season?” Redman said. “Lose to them, lose the division, not having the homefield advantage — that really, really, really sparked that Super Bowl run.”

Redman wasn’t bragging, merely saying.

“Everything still seems like a blur. I knew it was ‘hot’ and I had a chance to beat the first guy, and kind of just wouldn’t be denied. It was like ‘Ain’t nobody tackling me.’ “

Redman has played that way most of the time since he arrived from Bowie as an unheralded, undrafted rookie in 2009. He has earned a larger role and said he was told he will get a series each half, do the short-yardage stuff everywhere but on the goal line (when Rashard Mendenhall stays in) and play a lot on third downs.

OWINGS MILLS – Sporting his new wedding ring and a bolder
attitude much different than his usually stoic personality,
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco delivered a message to his
legion of critics.

Used for target practice by national pundits who questioned his
leadership, ability in the clutch and whether he has the fire to
run a football team, Flacco lashed out Wednesday upon reporting for
training camp at the Ravens’ training complex. Just like the Ravens
are changing with tight end Todd Heap and wide receiver Derrick
Mason, about to be cut from the roster today, so is Flacco’s
outward mentality.

“I’m think I’m pretty damn good,” Flacco said. “And I don’t need
to go out and tell everybody I play this game to be the best and it
doesn’t matter what other people say. I don’t need to go out and
tell everybody that and show it on every given day, every play,
every Sunday and do all that stuff. I go out there and I play.

“You can think what you want about me. The bottom line is: I’m
still going to think the way I think about myself and I feel pretty
good about myself no matter what you say. I would like some more
people than myself to think good about me, but they never do, they
never do.”

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley said that Flacco
will never win a Super Bowl in this lifetime.

Even after Flacco’s comments hit the airwaves, NFL Network
analyst Jamie Dukes continued to rip the quarterback for his
playoff track record. Flacco is 4-3 in the postseason, but his
statistics are better during the regular season. Dukes has
previously questioned Flacco’s work ethic even though the former
first-round draft pick is known for working long hours and studying
a lot of film.

And Cincinnati Bengals middle linebacker Dhani Jones said Flacco
simply makes too many mistakes, accusing him of caving under the
harassment of defenders.

“We’ve had a good team the last three years and I think I’ve
gotten better each year and played pretty darn good, so I don’t
understand it,” Flacco said. “People are going to say what they’re
going to say. We’ve just got to go out there and win football
games, continue to win football games really, because we’ve won
football games every year here.”

This isn’t the first time that Flacco has displayed his
willingness to speak out.

He was furious when the Ravens fired quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn
after he stuck up for him.

In three NFL seasons, Flacco has completed 62 percent of his
throws for 10,206 yards, 60 touchdowns and 34 interceptions for an
87.9 passer rating. Last season, he passed for a career-high 3,622
yards and 25 touchdowns.

“The world we live in today, there’s usually one good
quarterback at the end of the year and 31 other not-good ones,”
Flacco said. “My goal is to be that one good one at the end of the
year.”

“When you’re good, people are scared of you,” Mason told the
Times this summer. “Honestly, that’s what I’ve seen. When people
realize the potential that you have, they get very, very scared and
then you see them scrambling to say bad things about the guy.

“Joe doesn’t care. He really doesn’t. For the Woodleys and the
Dhani Jones and the rest of them, you see there aren’t no head
coaches or general manager and no smart players saying Joe can’t
play. The last thing you want to do is wake up a sleeping giant.
Whether he says it or not, they’ve given him added fuel.”

Flacco, 26, got married to his high school sweetheart, Dana,
this summer.

“It was a lot of fun,” Flacco said. “It was a really good
day.”

Now, he has to build new connections with his receivers with
Mason and Heap off the team.

“Definitely shocked to hear about it, those guys are both
friends of mine and both good targets of mine on the field,” Flacco
said. “So, I feel for them and I hope we can do everything we can
to get those guys back. I had no idea anything like that was going
to happen. I wasn’t even really thinking about that. I hope we can
go out there and operate no matter what.”

“If those guys aren’t there, it’s because we are confident with
the guys that we have. I would say if they’re not there, we know we
have a great group of guys. If they are there, then we’re only
going to benefit from that.”

Instead of throwing to Mason and Heap, Flacco’s targets, at
least for now, are expected to become tight end Ed Dickson and
rookie wide receiver Torrey Smith.

“I’m sure at first there will be an initial shock without those
guys being out there,” Flacco said. “I hope we can go out there and
operate no matter what.”

Now, Flacco is intent on leading the Ravens past the threshold
of a few rounds into the playoffs. He’s thinking much bigger. To
get to the Super Bowl, the Ravens will need him to play bigger.

“I want the ball to be put in my hands, I want to be in
control,” Flacco said. “I want to be in position to lose football
games. I’ve always said that. I want it to be on me. In order to do
that, you got to have trust in me, and I think we’re there.”

Reach staff writer Aaron Wilson at 410-857-7896 or
sports@carrollcountytimes.com.

© 2011 Carroll County Times. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

OWINGS MILLS – Sporting his new wedding ring and a bolder
attitude much different than his usually stoic personality,
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco delivered a message to his
legion of critics.

Used for target practice by national pundits who questioned his
leadership, ability in the clutch and whether he has the fire to
run a football team, Flacco lashed out Wednesday upon reporting for
training camp at the Ravens’ training complex. Just like the Ravens
are changing with tight end Todd Heap and wide receiver Derrick
Mason, about to be cut from the roster today, so is Flacco’s
outward mentality.

“I’m think I’m pretty damn good,” Flacco said. “And I don’t need
to go out and tell everybody I play this game to be the best and it
doesn’t matter what other people say. I don’t need to go out and
tell everybody that and show it on every given day, every play,
every Sunday and do all that stuff. I go out there and I play.

“You can think what you want about me. The bottom line is: I’m
still going to think the way I think about myself and I feel pretty
good about myself no matter what you say. I would like some more
people than myself to think good about me, but they never do, they
never do.”

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley said that Flacco
will never win a Super Bowl in this lifetime.

Even after Flacco’s comments hit the airwaves, NFL Network
analyst Jamie Dukes continued to rip the quarterback for his
playoff track record. Flacco is 4-3 in the postseason, but his
statistics are better during the regular season. Dukes has
previously questioned Flacco’s work ethic even though the former
first-round draft pick is known for working long hours and studying
a lot of film.

And Cincinnati Bengals middle linebacker Dhani Jones said Flacco
simply makes too many mistakes, accusing him of caving under the
harassment of defenders.

“We’ve had a good team the last three years and I think I’ve
gotten better each year and played pretty darn good, so I don’t
understand it,” Flacco said. “People are going to say what they’re
going to say. We’ve just got to go out there and win football
games, continue to win football games really, because we’ve won
football games every year here.”

This isn’t the first time that Flacco has displayed his
willingness to speak out.

He was furious when the Ravens fired quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn
after he stuck up for him.

In three NFL seasons, Flacco has completed 62 percent of his
throws for 10,206 yards, 60 touchdowns and 34 interceptions for an
87.9 passer rating. Last season, he passed for a career-high 3,622
yards and 25 touchdowns.

“The world we live in today, there’s usually one good
quarterback at the end of the year and 31 other not-good ones,”
Flacco said. “My goal is to be that one good one at the end of the
year.”

“When you’re good, people are scared of you,” Mason told the
Times this summer. “Honestly, that’s what I’ve seen. When people
realize the potential that you have, they get very, very scared and
then you see them scrambling to say bad things about the guy.

“Joe doesn’t care. He really doesn’t. For the Woodleys and the
Dhani Jones and the rest of them, you see there aren’t no head
coaches or general manager and no smart players saying Joe can’t
play. The last thing you want to do is wake up a sleeping giant.
Whether he says it or not, they’ve given him added fuel.”

Flacco, 26, got married to his high school sweetheart, Dana,
this summer.

“It was a lot of fun,” Flacco said. “It was a really good
day.”

Now, he has to build new connections with his receivers with
Mason and Heap off the team.

“Definitely shocked to hear about it, those guys are both
friends of mine and both good targets of mine on the field,” Flacco
said. “So, I feel for them and I hope we can do everything we can
to get those guys back. I had no idea anything like that was going
to happen. I wasn’t even really thinking about that. I hope we can
go out there and operate no matter what.”

“If those guys aren’t there, it’s because we are confident with
the guys that we have. I would say if they’re not there, we know we
have a great group of guys. If they are there, then we’re only
going to benefit from that.”

Instead of throwing to Mason and Heap, Flacco’s targets, at
least for now, are expected to become tight end Ed Dickson and
rookie wide receiver Torrey Smith.

“I’m sure at first there will be an initial shock without those
guys being out there,” Flacco said. “I hope we can go out there and
operate no matter what.”

Now, Flacco is intent on leading the Ravens past the threshold
of a few rounds into the playoffs. He’s thinking much bigger. To
get to the Super Bowl, the Ravens will need him to play bigger.

“I want the ball to be put in my hands, I want to be in
control,” Flacco said. “I want to be in position to lose football
games. I’ve always said that. I want it to be on me. In order to do
that, you got to have trust in me, and I think we’re there.”

Reach staff writer Aaron Wilson at 410-857-7896 or
sports@carrollcountytimes.com.

© 2011 Carroll County Times. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. – What a crazy off-season it was for Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco.

Instead of working with coaches and teammates to prepare for the 2011 season, Flacco got married and took some flagrant hits from a few outspoken critics.

Then, almost immediately after the NFL lockout ended, Flacco learned he might be without two of his favourite targets: tight end Todd Heap and wide receiver Derrick Mason, who have been told by the Ravens they will be cut.

Flacco has taken the Ravens to the playoffs in each of his three seasons, yet some people aren’t impressed.

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley said the Ravens won’t win a Super Bowl with Flacco “in this lifetime.” NFL analyst Jaime Dukes questioned the quarterback’s work ethic, and Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Dhani Jones said, “If you put a lot of pressure on him, he makes bad decisions.”

After taking his physical and conditioning test Wednesday at Baltimore’s training complex, Flacco addressed the criticism with his head held high.

“We’ve had a good team the last three years and I think I’ve gotten better each year and played pretty darn good, so I don’t understand it,” he said. “People are going to say what they’re going to say. We’ve just got to go out there and win football games, continue to win football games really, because we’ve won football games every year here.”

Flacco gets it. The Ravens haven’t reached the Super Bowl during his tenure, and until that happens he knows there will be people who question his performance.

“The world we live in today, there’s usually one good quarterback at the end of the year and 31 other not-good ones,” he said.

That, however, is not his perspective.

“I think I’m pretty (darn) good, and I don’t need to go out and tell everybody that and show it on every given day, every play, every Sunday and do all that stuff. I go out there and I play,” he said. “You can think what you want about me. The bottom line is, I’m still going to think the way I think about myself, and I feel pretty good about myself. I would like some more people than myself to think good about me, but they never do. They never do.”

Sporting a wedding ring on his left hand, the 26-year-old quarterback declared himself in excellent shape and ready to get back on the field. He spoke hopefully about getting back Heap and Mason, who haven’t signed yet with another team and could still return if the price is right.

“I had no idea anything like that was going to happen,” Flacco said. “You expect to come back and see some new faces just like every year. But I definitely was not expecting (Baltimore) to get rid of Derrick and Todd. I wasn’t even really thinking about that. I was thinking about getting back to playing football, getting back to normal life for us.”

It’s going to take Flacco a while to get used to playing without Mason, the team’s career leader in receptions, and Heap, the starting tight end for the past 10 years.

“I’m sure at first there will be an initial shock without those guys being out there,” Flacco said. “I hope we can go out there and operate no matter what. If those guys aren’t there, it’s because we are confident with the guys that we have. I would say if they’re not there, we know we have a great group of guys. If they are there, then we’re only going to benefit from that.”

Replacing Heap, at least initially, is second-year tight end Ed Dickson. He doesn’t have the credentials of Heap, but is not backing down from the challenge.

“It means a lot to me that they have that much faith in me,” Dickson said. “I’ve got a year under my belt, so I’ll definitely be more comfortable in our playbook.”

But it’s going to be up to Flacco to make the offence work, and he’s ready to do just that.

“I just want to go out there and win football games. I want the ball to be put in my hands. I want to be in control,” he said. “I want to be in position to lose football games, I’ve always said that. I want it to be on me. … In order to do that, you got to have trust in me, and I think we’re there. I think we just need to go out there and put it all forward and do what we need to do to get to that next step, get past the hump and win these really big football games.”

Former Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco(notes) hasn’t wanted for talent during his three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. He’s led a run-heavy attack with decent receivers, showed off one of the better deep arms in the league, and developed a familiarity with play action and the shorter-to-intermediate passes that must be a part of every NFL quarterback’s repertoire. He’s one of the reasons the Ravens are considered to be a perennial Super Bowl contender … if they can just get past those pesky Steelers.

And as Jamison Hensley of the Baltimore Sun tells us, Flacco isn’t lacking confidence, either. When asked on Wednesday about various potshots taken at his person (Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley(notes) saying that Flacco will never win a Super Bowl, Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Dhani Jones(notes) questioning his ability to handle pressure, and NFL Network … erm … ‘analyst’ Jamie Dukes saying that Flacco doesn’t have the right work ethic), Flaco fired right back.

“I think I’m pretty damn good,” Flacco told the media at team headquarters. To Woodley’s claim, he says things are getting better — maybe this is the year the Ravens step all over the Steelers for that trip to the big game.

I really don’t quite understand it. We’ve had a good team the last three years and I think I’ve gotten better each year and played pretty darn good. I really don’t understand it. There’s nothing you can do about it.

How about Jones’ claim that he can’t handle pressure of any kind?

I want the ball in my hands. I want to be in control. I want to be in position to lose football games. I want it to be on me. If we lose football games, I want you to be able to look directly at me and say, ‘Why did we lose this game?’ and I should have a pretty good answer for you. And I want you to be able to look at me and say why did we win this game? In order to do that, you have to have trust in me, and I think we’re there.

And Dukes’ seemingly meritless assertion (if there’s one thing about Flacco I’ve never heard questioned, it’s his work ethic)?

What motivates me is being the best quarterback in the world. You don’t play this game to be average. I play this game to be the best. It doesn’t matter what other people say. I think I’m pretty damn good. I don’t need to go out and tell everybody that and show it on every given Sunday. I go out there and I play. You can think what you want about me. The bottom line is: I’m going to feel pretty good about myself no matter what you say.

So there! You have to like a quarterback with a chip on his shoulder and the right kind of confidence, especially when he’s improved in each of his three NFL seasons, in metrics both traditional and advanced. Something tells me that the Ravens are in very good hands when it comes to the quarterback position.

Related: LaMarr Woodley, Joe Flacco, Dhani Jones, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP)—What a crazy offseason it was for Baltimore Ravens
quarterback Joe Flacco(notes).

Instead of working with coaches and teammates to prepare for the 2011
season, Flacco got married and took some flagrant hits from a few outspoken
critics.

Then, almost immediately after the NFL lockout ended, Flacco learned he
might be without two of his favorite targets: tight end Todd Heap(notes) and wide
receiver Derrick Mason(notes), who have been told by the Ravens they will be cut.

Flacco has taken the Ravens to the playoffs in each of his three seasons,
yet some people aren’t impressed.

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley(notes) said the Ravens won’t win a
Super Bowl with Flacco “in this lifetime.” NFL analyst Jaime Dukes questioned
the quarterback’s work ethic, and Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Dhani Jones(notes)
said, “If you put a lot of pressure on him, he makes bad decisions.”

After taking his physical and conditioning test Wednesday at Baltimore’s
training complex, Flacco addressed the criticism with his head held high.

“We’ve had a good team the last three years and I think I’ve gotten better
each year and played pretty darn good, so I don’t understand it,” he said.
“People are going to say what they’re going to say. We’ve just got to go out
there and win football games, continue to win football games really, because
we’ve won football games every year here.”

Flacco gets it. The Ravens haven’t reached the Super Bowl during his tenure,
and until that happens he knows there will be people who question his
performance.

“The world we live in today, there’s usually one good quarterback at the
end of the year and 31 other not-good ones,” he said.

That, however, is not his perspective.

“I think I’m pretty (darn) good, and I don’t need to go out and tell
everybody that and show it on every given day, every play, every Sunday and do
all that stuff. I go out there and I play,” he said. “You can think what you
want about me. The bottom line is, I’m still going to think the way I think
about myself, and I feel pretty good about myself. I would like some more people
than myself to think good about me, but they never do. They never do.”

Sporting a wedding ring on his left hand, the 26-year-old quarterback
declared himself in excellent shape and ready to get back on the field. He spoke
hopefully about getting back Heap and Mason, who haven’t signed yet with another
team and could still return if the price is right.

“I had no idea anything like that was going to happen,” Flacco said. “You
expect to come back and see some new faces just like every year. But I
definitely was not expecting (Baltimore) to get rid of Derrick and Todd. I
wasn’t even really thinking about that. I was thinking about getting back to
playing football, getting back to normal life for us.”

It’s going to take Flacco a while to get used to playing without Mason, the
team’s career leader in receptions, and Heap, the starting tight end for the
past 10 years.

“I’m sure at first there will be an initial shock without those guys being
out there,” Flacco said. “I hope we can go out there and operate no matter
what. If those guys aren’t there, it’s because we are confident with the guys
that we have. I would say if they’re not there, we know we have a great group of
guys. If they are there, then we’re only going to benefit from that.”

Replacing Heap, at least initially, is second-year tight end Ed Dickson(notes). He
doesn’t have the credentials of Heap, but is not backing down from the
challenge.

“It means a lot to me that they have that much faith in me,” Dickson said.
“I’ve got a year under my belt, so I’ll definitely be more comfortable in our
playbook.”

But it’s going to be up to Flacco to make the offense work, and he’s ready
to do just that.

“I just want to go out there and win football games. I want the ball to be
put in my hands. I want to be in control,” he said. “I want to be in position
to lose football games, I’ve always said that. I want it to be on me. … In
order to do that, you got to have trust in me, and I think we’re there. I think
we just need to go out there and put it all forward and do what we need to do to
get to that next step, get past the hump and win these really big football
games.”

47 percent of ESPN readers currently say the Steelers will win the AFC North. 29 percent say it will be the Baltimore Ravens, which makes sense – the Steelers will depend on a bunch of older players this year, and it’s easy to imagine that a few guys will get hurt and the Steelers will get a couple of bad breaks, while Joe Flacco and company take a step forward. (Not that a 12-4 team like the 2010 Ravens needs to take much of a step forward to contend yet again.) As annoying as the Ravens are, I think picking them to win the division would be a fairly easy decision to justify.

That leaves 17 percent for the Cleveland Browns and seven percent for the Cincinnati Bengals. The Browns are a fun team, but not one that’s yet in a class with the Steelers and Ravens. As for the Bengals, I can only really assume that’s Bengals fans voting.

For more on the Steelers, check out Behind The Steel Curtain.