Interview: Mark Schlereth Sounds Off On The Flacco Hiring!
I just thought this talk with Mark Schlereth on 104.3 The Fan was interesting and amusing. He has some valid points. They have a ton of work to do if this Flacco move is going to pan out at all. Like in - whether the Broncos would actually be better off with Flacco than they would have been with Case Keenum. As in, that's actually in serious doubt. Not kidding. There's a real point to this as you see below:
Quote:
Q: "Is it just me or are the Broncos the laughing stock of the league right now?"
Mark Schlereth: "Well, the reaction around the football world has been mixed. . . at best. How about Vegas? How about the wise-guys in Vegas? And DeHough sent me this the other day, and he said 'the Broncos odds went from 80-1 to 100-1 after the Flacco trade. And I said 'you mean they went from 100-1 to 80-1. And he said 'no. Their odds of winning the SB dropped. They got worse.'
And are you kidding me, but is Vegas telling us that the Broncos would have been better off with Case Keenum? Yes, they do tell us that."
Mike Evans: "I don't agree with that!"
Mark Schlereth: "As currently constructed. Do you think? and I know that the draft has to happen and FA has to happen, but I know where Vegas is coming from. Because if you don't fix your offense do I think you have a better chance to win with Flacco or do I think they have a better chance to win with Case Keenum?
If all things all pieces are the same you can't protect Flacco. How many sacks did Case Keenum avoid? Based upon the way Flacco plays the game and based on the roster he would be surrounded with as the roster is currently constructed, I would sit there and say that there's NO WAY #1 that you're going to be able to protect him, and #2 that there's any way he's going to be able to stay healthy. So there's that part of it.
Do I think Joe Flacco is a better QB? Yes. I do. Do I think it's night and day? Do I think that the chasm between Case Keenum and Joe Flacco is like the difference between Matty Ice, Matt Ryan and Blake Bortles? It's not that big a chasm. It's more like the difference between. . . . it's a small difference."
Mike Evans: "You are just not on your analogy game right now."
Mark Schlereth: "I know. I'm trying to come up with the names. How would you categorize the chasm between those two?"
Mike Evans: "In my blog I wrote, that Joe Flacco is a better QB, they upgraded. But in the next breath I said, don't think I am getting soft on John Elway, because he's not that much better. It's not as if he's some transformational QB. He is a QB who better have a LOT of talent around him, and if you can do that, if you can give him a really strong OL and some real weapons at the skills positions and I would rather have Joe Flacco over Case Keenum. But your point, I can see what you're getting at, in that if you are going to be lacking that kind of required talent, in what you are providing either of these two QBs, then you actually have a better chance with Case Keenum doing more with it, simply because of his athleticism, and his size and his ability to move around and escape some things."
Mark Schlereth: "This is like the difference between a steak burger and a hamburger. You know what I"m saying. It's just a higher quality meat. They're still burger, one's just a higher quality. The one from the gourmet burger factory versus a fast food restaurant. The gourmet burger place is going to taste better, yes, but it's still a burger, it's only marginally better. But, if you said it's like the difference between the Gourmet burger shop and a Tofu burger that tastes like doo-do. It's not that big a chasm.
It's like turkey bacon versus thick cut turkey bacon. It's not real bacon, but it's better not-bacon than the other not-bacon.
Neither one is bacon. We're not talking about the fat back versus a thick piece of bacon. We're talking about turkey bacon. That's not real bacon. Bacon is good."
Flacco is an equestrian statue. If they don't dramatically improve their pass blocking this could get seriously ugly in a hurry, because he wouldn't last a month behind last year's OL. Dude likes 5 and 7 step drops and throw deep down field, and you have to have really GOOD OL pass blocking for that to work.
Even in his shorter pass game he isn't evasive. Nor does he have an understanding of the game like Peyton Manning did. Peyton was a stiff but you couldn't fool him. Practically ever. So, he knew perfectly well every time his protections were breaking down and how long he had to throw and he would get rid of it in a real hurry every time. He was one of the least sacked QBs every year, despite being a stiff.
But, Flacco isn't like that. He just is a statue still holding onto the ball as the wrecking ball hits and knocks it right off it's pedestal.
:laugh: Now I'm suddenly hungry for a turkey burger, just because I'm that kind of guy. Yes, I know. My friends have made me aware. Thanks, I don't need you to tell me.
