Ravens head coach John Harbaugh came to the defense of quarterback Joe Flacco at his news conference Nov. 29, calling Flacco the team's "best offensive player," and brushed aside criticism of Flacco aired nationally by ESPN's Sean McDonough during the telecast of the Ravens' 23-16 win against the Houston Texans.
Through 11 games, the Ravens' offense is on pace for one its worst seasons ever statistically. The Ravens (6-5) rank 31st in total offense, averaging 281.1 yards a game, and rank last in the league in both passing offense (164.3 yards per game) and passing yards per play (4.61). Flacco's 74.2 passer rating ranks 30th.
The Ravens also rank last in the league in pass plays of 20 yards or more with 15. After a 3-yard throw on third-and-13 on Monday night, McDonough, a close friend of Harbaugh's, said on the ESPN telecast, "When you talk to the coaches, they think that Joe has had opportunities this year to throw it down the field and just hasn't spent enough time and energy trying to throw it down there."
