When offseason workouts began last year, Joe Flacco stood on the sidelines watching teammates as he rehabbed from an ACL tear.
While the injury didn't cause Flacco to miss any time, the wobbly knee wiped out his offseason work and was one cause of an erratic season that left the Baltimore Ravens 8-8 and out of the playoffs the second straight year.
"We just didn't play consistent enough. We showed flashes of being a really good football team, but the consistency just wasn't there when you look back," Flacco said Wednesday, via The Baltimore Sun. "But the knee wasn't an issue. It felt good all year round, especially come Sundays. And mentally, it wasn't there for me. My knee was never really a thought when I was out there on the field."
Thanks to a pass-happy offense, Flacco threw for a career-high 4,317 yards while being one of the most inconsistent quarterbacks in the NFL, ranking near the bottom of the league in QB rating and air-yards per pass, according to Next Gen Stats.
Entering his 10th season, Flacco believes a full offseason of work will make the difference.
"Everything will be better," he said. "You can just attack it with a little bit more oomph and start with a better foundation."
With Steve Smith Sr. retiring, Flacco's receiving depth chart consists of Mike Wallace, former first-round pick Breshad Perriman, Michael Campanaro and a trove of other third and fourth fiddles. Even if the Ravens add a receiver in next week's draft in Philadelphia, Flacco will need all the offseason work to make sure he's in tune with his wide receiver group in 2018.
