Joe Flacco on improvement from Torrey Smith
Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith (82) runs with the ball after a reception as Cleveland Browns linebacker Jabaal Sheard (97) chases during the first half at M
Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco has only one true weapon in the passing game right now, and his name is Torrey Smith. The Ravens new No. 1 receiver is enjoying an extremely successful 2013 campaign, and he has proven critics like me wrong. Coming into the season, I didn’t think Smith was consistent enough to be a true No. 1 receiver in this league, but the playmaking wideout has definitely proven me wrong. He has certainly looked like a No. 1 receiver this season, and he had a huge game in the Ravens victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. With Marlon Brown and Jacoby Jones both inactive, Torrey Smith was easily Flacco’s best wideout, and he knew going into the game that he would need to be great in order for the Ravens to win.
Smith was certainly great with six receptions for 121 yards, and he was able to tear up a very difficult matchup in Dolphins No. 1 CB Brent Grimes, who usually doesn’t get burned like that. He stepped up big time against shadow coverage, and games like that are the reason why Smith is a true No. 1 wideout and why Joe Flacco can rest just a tad easier, knowing that Smith can do a better job of getting open.
Flacco spoke about the improvements that Smith has made from last year to this year, “You look at before that, he had the ability to make all kinds of plays, and he would make a lot of plays, but he’d put the ball on the ground here and there. Sometime last year, he became that guy that caught really everything you threw to him.”
“It’s just a matter of being comfortable with the atmosphere of everything and who he is, and not worrying about the little things, and just being able to go out there and play football,” Flacco said. “Now he’s able to catch those things like it’s just second nature.”
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