Sizzle Gets After Skip Bayless on First Take

[NewMarketSean]

Fixed that for you buddy!

Well, obviously, I have more faith in the Ravens to get it done than the Orioles.

But I am not out there hoping that Kevin Gregg blows a save because I think he's a crappy closer.

I don't see how that can happen if you're a fan of a team.

Hope is really the only things fans have. I hope the Orioles can turn it around. I hope the Ravens can win the SB. Without hope, there is no use...which is why a lot of people have given up on the Orioles.

[mattman0182]

Not a Flacco fan? I don't understand how someone can say that and be a fan of the Ravens.

I'm a fan of every player we have. Some are better than others of course, but being a fan of the Ravens therefore makes you a fan of each player.

Whether you feel he's a good QB or not is another discussion for another day.

And Suggs has already become the face of the defense. I think the torch has been passed this year.

I never, ever root against any of our players. But that doesn't mean I have to like them all
as players to be a true fan. I want Flacco to do well, but I don't have the faith that he will do
it on a consistant basis. But as you said, that is a debate for another day.

[SammyBirdland]

Well, obviously, I have more faith in the Ravens to get it done than the Orioles.

But I am not out there hoping that Kevin Gregg blows a save because I think he's a crappy closer.

I don't see how that can happen if you're a fan of a team.

Hope is really the only things fans have. I hope the Orioles can turn it around. I hope the Ravens can win the SB. Without hope, there is no use...which is why a lot of people have given up on the Orioles.

It's much more complicated than that. I rooted for Gregg to blow every save opportunity he got. My logic was that he would lose his job for 2012 and only have a chance to completely bork one of our seasons instead of two.

[Spoonless]

I always hope everyone does well.

Whenever KG comes in I roll my eyes and cuss loudly but I always hope he gets the job done.

I hope Cam calls good plays and the players execute.

Have faith that they do it consistently is a different thing. But I always hope for the best.

It's not that complicated actually.

Can't you not be a fan of something/someone but still hope they do well? How does being or not being a Flacco fan preclude one from hoping he performs well for the overall good of the team?

[xKHx]

Can't you not be a fan of something/someone but still hope they do well? How does being or not being a Flacco fan preclude one from hoping he performs well for the overall good of the team?

You are splitting hairs here.

[NewMarketSean]

It's much more complicated than that. I rooted for Gregg to blow every save opportunity he got. My logic was that he would lose his job for 2012 and only have a chance to completely bork one of our seasons instead of two.

The way relievers are, KG could be effective in 2012. I don't expect it to happen, but it could.

That said, KG has to be one of my least-liked O's player in the history of the team. Had he not gone after Ortiz he would have 0.0% stock in the NMS market.

[ShaneDawg85]

Suggs has become my favorite Raven over the course of this season.

As for Skip, I understand the hatred. But when I think more about it, I think a lot of his antics are just that...antics. There is no way a person in the sports world could say what he says and actually believes them. I think it's just his schtick.

Also, him and Suggs are hilarious together.

When (if) you watch him on Sports Nation, or any other telecast, as he's about to get into the main portion of the argument, I swear that you can see the wheels in his mind working and him thinking over, "What can I say that is so outrageous that it will get people to respond." Some stuff I don't doubt he genuinely believes, but there are some things I have no doubt he says simply because it's controversial, and try as he might, everybody can see through it. That said, he's still a hack and one of, if not the lowest points of ESPN.

[MarylandAaron]

Suggs has become my favorite Raven over the course of this season.

As for Skip, I understand the hatred. But when I think more about it, I think a lot of his antics are just that...antics. There is no way a person in the sports world could say what he says and actually believes them. I think it's just his schtick.

Also, him and Suggs are hilarious together.

After re-watching this video, I think the bolded part is on point. I think Skip's just trying to stir the pot here.

Obvious troll is obvious.

[GoldGlove21]

You are splitting hairs here.

I can name a lot of QB's I would rather have than Flacco, but I will be rooting against all of them come playoff time. Flacco is a little undeserving of many of the comments people make, but you do not hear people say that Flacco is a great QB and that they would be happy to start a new franchise with him either. If you ranked current Ravens players based on performance over the course of their career and their reputation wouldn't the list look something like:

Lewis
Reed
Suggs
Rice
Ngata
McKinnie
Birk
Johnson
Ayanbadejo
Flacco

List the top 15 quarterbacks in an honest (non-homer) manner and see where Flacco ends up. He is not top 10 which means that a third of the league is better than him and he probably ends ranks in the top 12-15 in the game which means that upwards of half the league could be better than him. When a third of the teams have a player at your position that is better than you are than you are not elite or even great. Flacco is what he is, a solid but unspectacular QB that doesn't cost you many games, but doesn't win you many either. He was the 4th alternate on the AFC Pro-Bowl vote which means that he was voted the 7th best QB in our conference.

Rodgers
Brees
Brady
Manning
Rivers
Stafford
E. Manning
Ryan
Roethlisberger
Romo
Schaub
Newton
Flacco

By my rank he is no better than 13th and that is if you think that guys like Cutler, Vick, Hasselback, Bradford, Dalton and Fitzpatrick shouldn't be in the conversation. I want a QB that can lead us back from a 14-point deficit more often than not and Flacco doesn't seem to be that guy IMO.

[NickM21]

I'd take Flacco over Schaub. He's got the best WR in the game (before this season atleast) plus arguably the best OL in the league. Kubiak is also one of the better offensive minded coaches in the league.

[napbow]

I'd take Flacco over Schaub. He's got the best WR in the game (before this season atleast) plus arguably the best OL in the league. Kubiak is also one of the better offensive minded coaches in the league.

I would also exclude Romo from that list as well.

[MarylandAaron]

I'd take Flacco over Schaub, Roethlisberger, Romo, and maybe Matt Ryan.

[xKHx]

I'd take Flacco over Schaub, Roethlisberger, Romo, and maybe Matt Ryan.

Who had 31 tds this year to 10 ints? Who so far in their career has never had a rating below 91 and had a 102 plus this year? Romo is a top 5 qb hands down, his defense and run game have hurt him more than anything. I would take that production at the qb position.

[Brotha J]

Sizzle has been my favorite Raven for quite some time and for a lot of reasons. He's durable, comes up big in big games, underrated in the run game and setting the edge. He ends drives and creates turnovers. The AFC Championship in 08 was an amazing performance. He also publicly lobbied for Bart, Ray and himself to take less money to stay in Baltimore together. Bart walked and Suggs stayed. On top of all that he has that priceless personality. It's like he's a regular fan like you and me. He understands the city of Baltimore and the Steelers rivalry.

Bayless doesn't bother me that much. Lebron James could put up a triple-double in a come from behind victory and he would find a way to spin it as a negative. That's the role he's paid to play. Some of the stuff he says actually cracks me up. You'll think it's impossible for him to take a certain point of view and he'll find a way to make the argument. Sometimes he can't even keep a straight face. Stephen A is the one I can't stomach. Fact is, most of the national reporters know less about the Ravens than I know about Sumo wrestling.

As far as (re)evaluating where Flacco stands among other QBs, I think it's important to note there's a huge gap between the guys already mentioned in this thread and most of the other QBs in the league. If you don't have one of those guys, you pretty much don't have a chance to win it all. Unless of course you have the greatest defense of all time :0). Flacco is one of those guys. Personally, I'd take Flacco over Schaub, Romo and maybe even Vick based on durability alone. Joe doesn't get enough credit for his toughness. He has his faults for sure, but if you're not healthy enough to play you can't help the team. And that's magnified even more at the QB position.

[flashjordnk]

Who had 31 tds this year to 10 ints? Who so far in their career has never had a rating below 91 and had a 102 plus this year? Romo is a top 5 qb hands down, his defense and run game have hurt him more than anything. I would take that production at the qb position.

You can have Romo stats (and chokes). I'll take Flacco's wins.