It’s a question that is asked every week it seems.  And that is fundamentally why Joe Flacco is not elite?  Elite status isn’t just gained overnight.  Joe Flacco did not all of sudden become elite because he beat Tom Brady and the Patriots.  Those who call him elite are just as bad as those jokers like Skip Bayless who doubt his abilities.

Before we continue, let’s be clear on this as well.  Joe Flacco did not win that game Sunday night.  A pass interference call won the Ravens that game.  I know this may not be what you want to hear but it’s the truth.  Had Devin McCourty not fallen on his face going after a ball thrown over Boldin’s head, Flacco would’ve been picked off, the Ravens would have lost and there would’ve been people calling for his head.

The biggest characteristic of being an elite quarterback is consistency.  Joe Flacco just isn’t consistent.  Too many times have we seen him have downright bad games.  Just look at the Eagles’ game two weeks ago.  He, at times, looks completely rattled out there.

Since he was drafted he has only been in the top ten in completion percentage and touchdowns once.  He was 10^th in both categories in 2010.  He has never been top ten in yards.  You just can’t consider a person elite when these are the stats you are looking at.  He is consistently in the top 15 in these categories every year, however, which proves that he is very good quarterback.

The biggest argument for Flacco being elite is the number of wins he has had.  You are kidding yourself if you think Flacco is directly responsible for every single one of those.  In fact, he isn’t.  There have been plenty games over the years where he has played very mediocre and the Ravens have still come away with the win.

Another quality of elite status is stellar production in the playoffs.  The fact is, Flacco has underperformed in the playoffs.  He has a 53% completion percentage with 8 TD’s and 8 interceptions.  That is NOT elite.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not “hating” on Joe Flacco.  I have been one of his biggest supporters since he came to Baltimore.  I think Joe Flacco is a very good to great (at times) quarterback.  He just isn’t elite.  He is not on the level of Brady, Roethlisberger, or Brees.  Let’s be real here, the guy hasn’t even been to the Super Bowl.

But let’s not forget who Flacco has had to deal with over his four years in the league.  He has had Cam Cameron, who couldn’t even make Drew Brees look elite during his time in San Diego.  He has had to deal with some less than stellar wide receivers as well who have dropped some crucial balls (ahem…T.J., Lee I’m looking at you).

It just baffles me that we have this debate every week.  I’ll say it again.  It doesn’t happen overnight.

Why does Flacco have to be judged in such extremes? It seems like he is either elite or he is terrible.  Especially so in Baltimore. Joe Flacco is a very good quarterback who at times has horrible games.  Why does Flacco have to be elite? Well, he doesn’t.  He can be just what he is.  Very good.  And that’s what allowed the Ravens to win so many games over the years.

Through three games this year, Flacco is top five in yards and touchdowns.  So maybe this is the year he proves he deserves to be among the elite.  But like I said it doesn’t happen overnight and he may have to at least reach a Super Bowl to gain the label.  That’s exactly what it is though, a label.  And whether or not he has that label doesn’t take away from the fact that he is very good and has won a lot of games.

But please.  Can we just put this tiresome debate to rest for a few weeks?

I’ll tell the Patriots and their fans the same thing I told the Ravens and their faithful followers who bellyached in the wake of last week’s loss at Philadelphia:  Please don’t cry about the officials.

New England lost Sunday night’s game in Baltimore because they had two chances to put away the game and they failed.

It’s that simple.

The Patriots had a 2-point lead when they got the ball back with four minutes remaining.  All Tom Brady and Company had to do was pick up a few first downs and the game was in the bag.  But they couldn’t do it.

Baltimore’s offense took the field with two minutes left on their own 21 yard line.  The Patriots defense merely needed a hold — anything to keep the Ravens from a field goal — and they were winners.  They couldn’t do that, either.

Two chances to win.  Two failures.

The same thing happened to the Ravens last week in Philly.

Afterwards, Joe Flacco and Ray Lewis took on the refs when, honestly, they should have been chastising themselves for failing to come through with the game on the line.

New England faces the same type of self-examination in the aftermath of a 4th quarter collapse at M&T Bank Stadium.  Their offense failed — and so did their defense — when the chips were down.

Now…were the officials horrendous on Sunday night in Baltimore?

Absolutely.  There were bad calls and missed calls throughout the sixty minutes.

But the officials weren’t covering Torrey Smith on Sunday night.  Someone from the Patriots was…or, perhaps I should say, someone from the Patriots was “supposed to be” covering him.

The national focus will no doubt center on the officials Monday and Tuesday.  As it should, frankly.  While New England did itself in with poor execution over the last four minutes of the game, that doesn’t take away from how bush-league the officials were on Sunday night.

I’ve been saying this since well BEFORE the season started, but it bears repeating with each passing weekend.  The league has disgraced itself with this collection of nitwits who are reffing the games.  It’s getting ridiculously close to resembling professional wrestling, minus the steel chairs.  I called the outcome of this one as soon as the Patriots got the ball back with four minutes to play.  ”The Ravens will get a stop here…get the ball back…and then the refs will help move them down the field and Tucker will kick the game-winner at the buzzer.”  Neither Nestor or Luke – seated to my left and right – disagreed with my assessment, both knowing it was probably going to turn out that way.

Bill Belichick refused to engage the media afterwards when it came to the question of officiating.  He kept mumbling something about “you need to talk to them, not me” and deflected every question with a sour-puss expression that most coaches would have on their face if their team squandered a 9-point lead in the fourth quarter.

When asked “real” football questions, Belichick didn’t really answer those, either.

Someone asked him if the final field goal was, in fact, good.  He mumbled something about not seeing it.

Then he was asked if the kick should have been reviewed.  Again, he didn’t really give a legitimate reply.

After the game-ending kick, Belichick raced to midfield to confront the officials who were high-tailing it out of the place.  He appeared to make contact with one of the refs, but when asked afterwards what he was trying to discuss with them, the coach just sort of brushed aside the question and kept on staring straight ahead until another question was asked.

It was a strange scene in the Patriots press conference, because none of the Boston media had the gumption to ask the coach what he thought of his secondary, which allowed the Ravens to move freely down the field in the final two minutes to set up Justin Tucker’s game winning 27 yard field goal.

Instead, everyone waited for the coach to crack and berate the officials, but he wouldn’t do it.

Maybe that’s because he knew the truth.

The truth:  The referees were awful.  Again.  But they didn’t cost New England the game.  Just like the Ravens last week in Philly, the Patriots have no one to blame but themselves.  When pressed, their offense couldn’t put the game away.  And their defense folded like a cheap suit on the final drive.

The better team might not have won on Sunday night.

But the better team had chances to sew up the game and they didn’t.

In that case, the Patriots deserved to lose.

When the Baltimore Ravens line up against the New England Patriots Sunday night, the Ravens will be looking for revenge.  The Patriots ended the Ravens season in the AFC Championship but the Ravens had many chances to win the game.  Joe Flacco outplayed Brady and the defense bailed him out of the rare mistakes and reads he did not make.

Although the Ravens will be looking for revenge, this game does not hold any real significance come Monday morning.  Sure, both of these teams are considered Super Bowl contenders but the season is still young.  This game does however, have the potential to determine the playoff standings come the end of the regular season.

Throughout the first two weeks of the 2012 season, the Ravens and Patriots have not lived up to expectations.  Both had a disappointing week two loss and have not been particularly good in their areas of usual strength.  The Patriots added new weapons in the offseason such as Brandon Lloyd.  Although Brady has new pieces to work with, the offense has showcased the explosive potential they are capable of.  The Ravens on the other hand have struggled defensively.  The defense gave up 371 passing yards to Michael Vick and struggled defending the Bengals rushing attack in week one.

Many are picking the Ravens to win this game, and I hope they are right but I dont see the Ravens winning this game.  Tom Brady doesn’t lose back to back games and the Patriots have improved defensively.  The loss of Aaron Hernandez will prove to be significant though.  Hernandez can play every skill position on offense and with his absence, the Patriots and Tom Brady are going to have to be more creative.  I expect the Patriots to spread the Ravens out and force the Ravens to play in space.

If the Ravens want to win this game, they will have to stop Rob Gronkowski.  They have the cornerback depth to deal with the Patriots receivers but their linebacking core is a different story.  Many of the Ravens outside linebackers are young and inexperienced.  Paul Kruger and Albert McClellan will have to play well in run and pass defense.

Although the Ravens outside linebackers are young, I think Courtney UpShaw has a chance to have a breakout game.  He wont play as much seeing as Paul Kruger is healthy but he has a chance to make a big impact on this game.  The Patriots will be so focused on stopping Haloti Ngata that Upshaw, when playing on third downs, will not be facing many double teams.  Look for UpShaw to have a good game.

Last time the Patriots played in Baltimore, they were undefeated but the Ravens almost pulled off the upset of the century.  All of the recent games between the Patriots and Ravens have been very close and this game will be no different.  In my opinion, the Patriots will win this game by a field goal but I really hope I am wrong.  Having Arthur and Chandler Jones playing for opposing teams will make this game much more interesting.

Here’s what will happen when the Ravens welcome the New England Patriots to M&T Bank Stadium for their seventh ever meeting in the regular season and a rematch of last season’s AFC Championship game …

1. Torrey Smith breaks out from his quiet start with 85 receiving yards and his first touchdown of the season. After being targeted only eight times in the first two games, Smith will play a major part in opening up space for short and intermediate routes against New England’s Cover 2 defense. Quarterback Joe Flacco will look to connect with the second-year wideout on a deep ball early as he did in Week 1, but this will lead to room for Smith to show off his more diverse route-running ability. If the Ravens are truly committed to becoming more of a passing team, Smith needs to be more involved and it starts against the Patriots secondary after a difficult week against Philadelphia’s defensive backfield.

2. The Ravens make a concerted effort to get Ray Rice involved early, but the Patriots hold him to under 100 total yards. With critics still questioning offensive coordinator Cam Cameron’s play-calling in short-yardage situations, it’s difficult envisioning the Ravens not feeding the ball to Rice early and often — on the ground or through the air — and New England will be expecting it. The Patriots are strong up the middle with defensive tackle Vince Wilfork and were able to contain Rice last January by holding him to 67 yards on 21 carries and just one catch for 11 yards. New England shut down Tennessee’s Chris Johnson in Week 1 and they won’t allow Rice to be the one to beat them Sunday night.

3. New England won’t have tight end Aaron Hernandez, but Rob Gronkowski picks up the slack with 100 receiving yards and a touchdown. The Ravens were woeful last week in attempting to cover Philadelphia tight end Brent Celek as linebackers lost him in coverage and defensive backs were too late in reacting to passing plays in front of them. That doesn’t bode well with arguably the best tight end in the NFL coming to town, and Gronkowski caught five passes for 87 yards in the AFC Championship last year despite injuring his ankle late in the third quarter. Even with strong safety Bernard Pollard healthy enough to play, the Ravens won’t be able to slow the 6-foot-6, 265-pound monster.

4. The no-huddle offense plays a major role for the Patriots as the Ravens can’t cycle personnel on and off the field and Tom Brady picks apart the pass defense. The New England offensive line has been suspect this season, so the Baltimore defense must take advantage in making Brady uncomfortable in the pocket. If the Patriots protect him, they’ll use more of their no-huddle attack, which prevents defensive coordinator Dean Pees from cycling in personnel to keep the front seven fresh — especially with Pernell McPhee and Paul Kruger dealing with nagging injuries — in hopes of creating a consistent pass rush. The short and intermediate passes to Gronkowski and wide receiver Wes Welker – mixed with a few longer balls to newcomer Brandon Lloyd – will wear down the Ravens in the second half. Even without Hernandez, there are just too many weapons for which to account without a consistent rush from the front four.

5. In a game that has more scoring than last January’s meeting in Foxborough, the more experienced New England offense is the difference in a 27-24 victory for the Patriots. Both offenses are going to score points in this one, but it’s still difficult to put faith in the Ravens winning a high-scoring game where they potentially have to match an opponent score for score. Flacco and the Baltimore offense gets back on track after their poor second half in Philadelphia, but the Patriots have an improved defense with the additions of pass-rusher Chandler Jones and strongside linebacker Dont’a Hightower. Making too much out of New England’s surprising loss to defensive-minded Arizona is unwise as the Patriots still possess a very dangerous offense that’s difficult to stop. The Ravens defense lacks the horses to slow them enough, and the improved offense won’t be able to keep up as the game is decided by a late touchdown. New England improves to 7-0 in the all-time regular-season series against Baltimore and the Ravens’ 11-game home winning streak in the regular season is snapped.