Ravens QB Joe Flacco: 'I have to be better'

OWINGS MILLS — When assessing blame for the Baltimore Ravens’ four-game losing streak, quarterback Joe Flacco points the finger at himself.

“I’m obviously not playing good enough. We’re not a good offense and it starts with the quarterback,” Flacco said Wednesday. “I have to be better. We have to be more precise, and that starts with me – just more consistent overall.”

Flacco certainly needs to be better. His six interceptions thrown outnumber his five touchdown passes through seven games.

The Ravens practiced Wednesday before leaving for the CBA-mandated four consecutive days off during a team’s by week. When Baltimore returns to work Monday, its entire offense will have to be better, too.

The Ravens ranks 24th in yards per game (332.4) and 25th in points per game (19). Flacco is not to blame for a rushing attack that ranks 26th in the NFL with an 85.6 yards per game average.

Baltimore ranks second-to-last in offensive touchdowns scored.

Flacco believes the offense as a whole is on the brink of turning things around.

“I think we are on that verge of being really close, but it is a bunch of little things. It’s not just one thing, it’s things that add up,” he said. “It’s the short passing game that you are not always just completing with your eyes closed. Every now and then, you miss one, and it stops your drive. It’s penalties. It’s a little bit of protection. It’s a little bit of run game. It’s very little things that can be cleaned up pretty quickly.

“Right now, we just have one guy here and there doing something that is a little bit off – myself involved – and it halts a whole drive. When that happens throughout the course of the game and you have a good amount of those, it leads to what we have been dealing with, which is not putting any points on the board and not giving ourselves really any opportunities to put any points on the board. I don’t think we had any red zone opportunities this past week, and you’re not going to score a lot of points when that happens.”

Head coach John Harbaugh was unwavering in support of Flacco.

“I believe in Joe. Joe is one of the most important keys for us – if not the most important key. Certainly, on offense, he’s the key to the whole thing,” Harbaugh said. “Joe Flacco is a great football player. Joe Flacco is the key to our success. We need to all do everything in our power [to ensure] all of the things are falling in place for him. He can play. He can throw it. He can make decisions. He can score touchdowns for us. He can do all of the things we need to do.

“Joe will take care of what he needs to do. I’m not worried about Joe taking care of what he needs to do. That’s something that we all go to work on. Joe works on it harder than anybody – cares about it more than anybody.”

Follow Sean Grogan on Twitter: @Sean_CecilWhig