Joe Flacco is not Trent Dilfer.

That not certainly does not come as a surprise to any fan of the Ravens. But around the league, to other fans and commentators, Flacco was nothing more than a glorified Trent Dilfer throughout his rookie season.

Take a glance at the numbers though, especially the Ravens heavy reliance on the run (nearly 40 attempts per game),  and it is easy to see why anyone not intimately familiar with the Ravens would confuse the two. Flacco’s mediocre 80.3 passer rating certainly didn’t help his cause, either.

But on Sunday against the Chiefs, Flacco stood up and put the Ravens offensive attack on his shoulders in a way that Trent Dilfer never did. And, with all respect to Dilfer, Flacco did so in a way Dilfer would never be able to. 

This is not meant to be a Trent Dilfer bashing session. Far from it. In fact, you might find no greater fan of Dilfer in this city, and no bigger critic of Billick’s decision to ditch the Super Bowl winner in favor of a “hotter hand.”

But critics of Joe Flacco, particularly those outside Baltimore, love to hurl the “just another Dilfer game manager” comments our direction any chance they get.  He’s been called the poor man’s version of just about every successful QB in the league today. We’ve been told he’ll never find his way out of Matt Ryan’s shadow, who was drafted earlier in the same draft class.

And all of those critics, all of those comments, would be wrong.

Joe Flacco’s numbers in 2008 are not worth writing home about. And yes, he did act as much as a game-manager as a play-maker for the Ravens offense. But that was one season in what will, in all likelihood, be a very long career.

The bottom line is this: Joe Flacco was playing in a Trent Dilfer-style offense last year. Thrown into the starter’s seat by a pair of weird injuries, Flacco was intentionally limited by the Ravens coaching staff last season. He had a specific job and he did it. And his role in the success of the Ravens rushing attack should not be overlooked; Flacco helped keep a young offensive line and varying mix of tailbacks on point throughout the season.

On Sunday, the league got to see for the first time what it looks like when Joe Flacco is allowed to open up the offense. Those were not Trent Dilfer throws. Nor were they Trent Dilfer play calls. And perhaps more importantly for the Ravens, they were able to open up Flacco’s options without losing the rush attack or their management of the clock and the defense.

It was not a perfect performance, but it was a statement. The Ravens have a weapon at quarterback, and they are learning how to use him.

The Ravens decision to show off the real Joe Flacco on Sunday will have positive ramifications for the Ravens throughout this season. As has been mentioned across the football universe, you can’t ignore what Flacco and the Ravens did on Sunday – even if it was against the Chiefs.