Did you happen to catch last week when President Obama in speaking about the controversy surrounding the movie “The Interview” mixed up the names of actor James Franco and quarterback Joe Flacco?
Well, as badly as things are going for Franco these days, he probably wouldn’t change places with Flacco or the Ravens, who appear on the verge of missing the playoffs for a second straight year. This hardly seemed like a probable outcome just a few days ago, when the Ravens controlled their postseason destiny. All they had to do to play in January was to win their last two games in December. And that seemed like a formality, as they would close the regular season at home against Cleveland and rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel, whose early career seems more style than substance. But first, the Ravens would have to beat the Texans in Houston, a challenging prospect what with their All-World defensive lineman J.J. Watt.
But their chances seems to be bolstered when Ryan Fitzpatrick, Houston’s starting quarterback, suffered a broken ankle the previous week, thus, theoretically crippling the Texans at their most important position. Houston was forced to call Case Keenum, a journeyman quarterback, who had been hunting white-tail deer in a tree with a bow and arrow before he got the call. You know what happened. Keenum didn’t set the world on fire. In fact, Houston’s only touchdown pass was thrown by running back Arian Foster. But Keenum did just enough to keep the Texans afloat.
Meanwhile, Watt thoroughly disrupted Baltimore’s offense with eight tackles and a quarterback sack, as the Texans beat the Ravens 25-13. The result is that Baltimore now needs that hoary miracle to get back to the playoffs. They not only have to beat the Browns, but they’ll need at least a couple of other teams to lose, a fairly daunting task.
Will it be impossible? No, but then, it shouldn’t have come to this. With nine wins, the Ravens are assured of a winning season, but hardly anyone who has watched them with a critical eye would say they’ve played consistent winning football this year. From game to game, different elements of the team’s formula have been found wanting. The secondary has been decimated by injuries, thus making defending the pass an iffy proposition. This failure was exposed in the home loss to the San Diego Chargers, where the Ravens nursed a slight lead for most of the game, then couldn’t stop San Diego from scoring the game-winning touchdown.
Meanwhile, the offense, under new offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak, is operating with as much success as it has in recent years, with improved play at wide receiver and running back.
That brings us to Flacco, who is on pace for career highs in passing yards and touchdowns. But, on Sunday, when the Ravens needed him most, Flacco frankly stunk up the joint with a dreadful first half and three interceptions for the game.
Come Sunday evening, the public may not see much of either James Franco or Joe Flacco for a while.