Weapon X Mailbag: Is Joe Flacco Elite?

Where were you the moment the Eagles signed Joe Flacco? You’ll remember it for the rest of your lives. Given that, this week’s mailbag will be ALL FLACCO RELATED. Brace yourselves.

@christiancal11: Is Joe Flacco elite?

@shamus_keegan: Is Joe Flacco a elite qb?

@NationOfEagles: Is he elite?

THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK! The biggest football question of the 2010s even???

Joe Flacco is basically Earth-2 Nick Foles. Their early career success was due to strong defense and special teams play, leading to great win-loss records. They kind of stink, but when the moment strikes, they can play like the best quarterback in the history of the sport. Just like the way Foles played like a man possessed during the 2017 Super Bowl run, Flacco did the same with the 2012 Ravens, winning Super Bowl MVP in his own right.

Flacco, however, hasn’t played in a playoff game since Barack Obama was president, whereas Foles won a playoff game as recently as two years ago this past January. Was he ever actually elite? NO. Should he be in the Hall of Fame? NO. Did Nick Foles have a better career? YES.

The idea that Flacco can come in and win a playoff game if it came down to it is outrageous, which sure has been a talking point on Twitter this week. If the Eagles end up losing a compensatory draft pick for the Flacco signing, I would’ve much preferred to bring back Foles in a trade with Chicago for the pure nostalgia and the goodwill that has been missing from this organization.

Good thing the Eagles gave this guy a raise compared to his last stop:

@billheads: Is he elite enough to have number 5?

Joe Flacco: 1 Super Bowl MVP

Donovan McNabb: 0 Super Bowl MVPs

Makes you think!

All kidding aside, can you think of a player who would garner a team un-retiring someone’s number? J.J. Watt is doing that this season with the Cardinals. It was already retired for Marshall Goldberg, who is dead. Feels weird!

I guess it would have to be for a Hall of Famer, especially a quarterback. I could’ve seen that situation unfolding for Peyton Manning or Tom Brady as they moved to new teams at the end of their careers. Joe Montana left the 49ers for Kansas City, but switched to #19 because #16 had already been retired for Len Dawson.

@GoodhartJustin: Does the signing of Joe Flacco give the Ragles the other greatest SB MVP to ever live? And why is the answer yes definitely?

Flacco and Foles are the two biggest Super Bowl outliers ever, right? We compared the two above, but which guy actually played better on the sport’s biggest stage:

Flacco: 22/33, 287 passing yards, 3 touchdown passes, 0 touchdowns catches

Foles: 28/43, 373 passing yards, 3 touchdown passes, 1 touchdown catch

It ain’t close!

Again, if the Birds are going to lose a pick to sign a version of Foles from a different part of the multiverse, I would’ve rather have gotten the real thing. Am I being tongue-in-cheek with this entire discussion? Of course. This signing is meaningless in its own right, but illustrates a pattern of head-scratching (at best) behavior for the franchise that has continued since March 2018.

@RealMattCarey: What is the farthest distance away from Philadelphia that garners an official From Here designation?

Lincoln Financial Field is a 15-minute drive from Audubon, New Jersey. The Linc is a 51-minute drive to Millville, New Jersey, which is obviously the home to future Hall of Fame baseball player and noted Eagles superfan Mike Trout.

We’re reallyyyyy stretching it when we say Trout is From Here (I pass Millville when driving to the Jersey Shore), but it’s because of his complete psychopathic devotion to the Birds that he gets a pass. Flacco is well within reach to be considered From Here.

These shirts would go for some nice cash on eBay:

@Mismatchsports: O/U 2.5 games played in?

A backup quarterback has played at least three games in Philly in each of the last four seasons. Even in the absolute best-case scenario where Jalen Hurts starts all 16 games and the Eagles go on to have a surprisingly strong season, odds are that Flacco is heading in there at some point. If Hurts gets dinged up for a play or two or a game is too lopsided in either direction to warrant playing the starter, I’d bet on Flacco getting to that mark.

Will Flacco get the majority of the snaps in another tanktastic Week 17 (Week 18?) game this season? Please. Please. Anything but that experience all over again.