I won't say for the season, but 2 straight weeks with only 10 completions is probably the bigger factor.

He's absolutely a project - He'd far better in a situation like Love had - established QB in place and not expected to give up the starting spot. Lots of film study, get reps and teaching on the practice field, get a few years of easy money learning and prepping for the day you take the baton. Throwing him to the wolves from day 1 was a bad idea.

He may have arm talent, but his leadership took a significant hit. You don't pull yourself before a big play without being seriously hurt, and you can't call anybody out for their performance when you put up stinker stats yourself.

Flacco is a band aid, and maybe the kid's job becomes observational at this point - watch the old man, how he preps, how he plays, how he deals with bad plays, how he takes the team and tries to carry it on his shoulders.

I don't expect Irsay to be patient to allow the kid another year to refine into well-rounded QB play. He needs it, though, if they want him to be anything reliable long-term.

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