Flacco raises the Delaware QB flag
BY ROB MAADDI Associated Press
Saturday, January 26, 2013
1/26/13 at 6:19 AM
OWINGS MILLS, Md. - Maybe Delaware is the new Quarterback U.
When Joe Flacco takes the field with the Baltimore Ravens against San Francisco, he'll be the second former Blue Hens quarterback to start a Super Bowl. Rich Gannon was the first with Oakland 10 years ago.
That's more than powerhouses USC, Texas, Oklahoma and Florida combined. It's one more than Miami, Michigan, Tennessee, Penn State, Florida State, Syracuse, Nebraska and Pitt.
Stanford, UCLA, BYU, Maryland and Washington State also have two. Only Notre Dame, Alabama, Purdue and California have three.
Quite an impressive feat for a second-tier football college in the second-smallest state in the U.S.
Flacco had an outstanding senior year and led Delaware to the FCS championship game against Appalachian State. He wowed Baltimore's scouting department in a long workout before the draft and ended up being selected by the Ravens with the No. 18 overall pick in 2008.
Since then, Flacco has done things no other quarterback has accomplished during the Super Bowl era.
Flacco is the first quarterback to lead his team to a playoff victory in each of his first five seasons. His six postseason wins on the road rank first and he leads the league with 62 victories since 2008.
"I'm really happy for him and as a former Blue Hen, I'm really proud," said Gannon, who was the NFL MVP in 2002 when he led the Raiders to the Super Bowl, a loss to Tampa Bay.
Flacco has padded his already remarkable resume this month. In three playoff games, he's thrown eight touchdown passes and not a single interception. His biggest achievement, though, is beating Peyton Manning and Tom Brady on the road in consecutive games to help the Ravens win their second AFC championship.
And to think Flacco went to Delaware, a school that's produced fewer than 25 NFL players and only five were quarterbacks. Scott Brunner, Jeff Komlo and Andy Hall are the other three.
"To have this opportunity is pretty cool," Flacco said. "There are a lot of people in this league that can't say they've ever gotten to this point, so it definitely feels good to get here."
Associated Images:
Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco will be the second former Delaware quarterback to start a Super Bowl. MATT SLOCUM/Associated Press
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