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          NFL Nation

          Joe Flacco addresses 'elite' quarterback label again

          • Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff WriterOct 18, 2014, 09:00 AM ET
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              Jamison Hensley is a reporter covering the Baltimore Ravens for ESPN. Jamison joined ESPN in 2011, covering the AFC North before focusing exclusively on the Ravens beginning in 2013. Jamison won the National Sports Media Association Maryland Sportswriter of the Year award in 2018, and he authored a book titled: Flying High: Stories of the Baltimore Ravens. He was the Ravens beat writer for the Baltimore Sun from 2000-2011.
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          OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- After Joe Flacco set another record, it was inevitable that the Baltimore Ravens quarterback would be asked about whether he's "elite."

          Sure, it's a tired debate that doesn't have a right answer. Whether Flacco is among the upper echelon of passers in this league really depends on your definition.

          Flacco said he doesn't know whether he has filled the requisites for being an elite quarterback.

          "There’s always some kind of question out there that tends to be the trendy one that everybody is asking this year or that year," Flacco said. "I think some of it has to do with how many years you’ve been in the league. Are you a young guy that’s almost there? There are a lot of different scenarios that allow people to ask that question or tell people not to ask that question."

          Flacco added, "A lot of people the last few years were talking. … That’s just the word they used: ‘Elite, elite, elite.’ Who knows where it came from, but that’s just what it was. So, I think a lot of that has kind of quieted down a little bit, and we’ve gone out and won, and we’ve won consistently."

          If you didn't put Flacco's name to this résumé, would you consider this body of work to be elite?

          • Most wins (75), including playoffs, by an NFL starting quarterback since 2008

          • Most wins (62) by a quarterback in the first six seasons of a career

          • Only quarterback in NFL history to win a playoff game in each of his first five seasons

          • Super Bowl Most Valuable Player after posting second-highest passer rating in Super Bowl (124.2)

          • Second quarterback in NFL postseason history to throw 11 touchdowns and no interceptions (Joe Montana was the other)

          • Most starts by a quarterback (115) to begin a career in NFL history

          • One of two quarterbacks to pass for at least 3,600 yards and 20 touchdowns while throwing 12 interceptions or fewer from 2009 to 2012 (Aaron Rodgers was the other)

          Last Sunday, Flacco added another impressive mark by becoming the fastest player in NFL history to pass for five touchdowns. He did so in 16 minutes, 3 seconds.

          Many in the organization think Flacco doesn't get the respect he deserves. Ravens coach John Harbaugh said this week that it was good for "the football world to see what Joe [is] capable of in that way. He’s that kind of a player."

          But is Flacco elite? You can certainly make that argument.