Denver Broncos: Joe Flacco not changing his ways anytime soon

Denver Broncos quarterback Joe Flacco has recently come under fire for his lack of passion on the field. How did he defend himself?

Joe Flacco recently has come under fire from fans and media alike for an absolutely lifeless, seemingly apathetic performance against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday Night Football.

In front of a national audience, Flacco’s performance was uninspired and certainly not something you would expect to see from an NFL veteran of 11 seasons with a Super Bowl, Super Bowl MVP, and one of the best road playoff records of all-time under his belt already.

Flacco was slow to get the football out. He took eight sacks (punter Colby Wadman took the ninth) and probably was at fault for at least five of them.

He showed really no outward signs that he cared all that much about what was going on in the game, and while I feel like sometimes our initial reactions during the game can be harsh, it wasn’t just Broncos fans who were frustrated by Flacco’s lack of fire.

Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, the top crew for FOX NFL, had some pretty harsh — but true — things to say about Flacco and the Broncos’ offense.

"Joe Buck: Seems like a lethargic feel to this (Broncos) offense.Aikman: Well, there’s no doubt. And this is where Joe Flacco, he’s gotta be the leader. I mean, he’s been around, a Super Bowl winner. He’s in his 12th year. You know, I don’t want to be too hard on Joe, but let’s get a little life out here.Aikman: Still just, uh, I don’t know. Very lackadaisical. The whole operation.Aikman: This is about as bad an offense as I’ve seen. I’m shocked there’s as many people here still at the game.(transcript via Bro Bible)"

Aikman also said at one point in the game that he was surprised the Broncos hadn’t turned the ball over to backup Brandon Allen.

Aikman’s comments really resonated with a lot of Broncos Country. Flacco is known for his laid back personality, which is fine when things are going well, but when things aren’t going well, the perception is that Flacco doesn’t care.

When asked about the criticism he received, specifically from Aikman, Flacco said he doesn’t pay any attention to it.

"“I don’t really listen to it and it is what it is. You have to go back and look at the reality of the situation on film, make sure that you address all the right things and that you’re moving forward and correcting everything that needs to be done. Other than that, you really can’t listen to what people have to say. I let other people worry about that stuff for me.”Joe Flacco (quotes via Broncos PR)"

The Denver media is certainly not ruthless, but they pressed on this issue a bit further. Flacco was asked right after giving this response specifically about the criticism he’s received about not being a vocal leader.

Flacco’s response is pretty interesting.

"“Whatever, you’re going to keep saying that if you want to and at the end of the day, I am who I am. Listen, in this league guys are fired up and ready to play and sometimes you don’t play good games. Things like this happen and you’ve got to be able to rebound and go out there and play football. I know that we’re going to be able to do that. Listen, if I’m being somebody that I’m not, nobody is going to respect me in that huddle.”Joe Flacco"

It’s impossible for me or really anyone else outside of the people who are actually working with Flacco on the Broncos to know whether or not he is commanding any respect in the huddle, but did anyone else catch the way Phillip Lindsay seemed to yell at his quarterback after Flacco dumped the ball off to him in the flat and got Lindsay hit really hard?

How about the fact that Emmanuel Sanders asked to be traded?

Does Flacco really believe that being a more vocal leader is going to cost him respect?

I’m sorry, I just don’t buy that.

As a veteran quarterback, Flacco has to be able to get the guys around him fired up when things aren’t going well. Instead, the Broncos have let the snowball grow to massive proportions offensively and they’ve been one of the worst units in the league over the past month, especially when it comes to converting third downs and scoring the football.

Light a fire under some of these young guys. Flacco is quite a bit older than anyone else on Denver’s offense. He’s out there not making the right reads and holding onto the ball way too long, then acting like he couldn’t care any less.

That’s just the perception from the outside and it’s not like it’s an isolated one. It’s fairly obvious when guys like Joe Buck and Troy Aikman are using words like “lethargic” and “lackadaisical” to describe the offense.

It wouldn’t kill Flacco to try being a more vocal leader on the field when the team is losing its grip on the best chance it has to salvage a season. That opportunity is now dead and gone but Flacco has a chance to rebound on the road against the Colts and make some plays and show that he can play with some fire.