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          NFL Nation

          Wake-up caw: A bad fit for Joe Flacco?

          • Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff WriterJan 29, 2014, 01:00 PM
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              Jamison Hensley is a reporter covering the Baltimore Ravens for ESPN. Jamison joined ESPN in 2011, covering the AFC North before focusing exclusively on the Ravens beginning in 2013. Jamison won the National Sports Media Association Maryland Sportswriter of the Year award in 2018, and he authored a book titled: Flying High: Stories of the Baltimore Ravens. He was the Ravens beat writer for the Baltimore Sun from 2000-2011.
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          Not everyone believes Gary Kubiak is the right offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens. Doug Gottlieb, of CBS Sports, thinks quarterback Joe Flacco doesn't fit with Kubiak's scheme.

          “You need a really athletic quarterback because you’re running a lot of bootlegs, and that’s not really Joe Flacco,” Gottlieb said. “It’s not that Joe Flacco isn’t a good athlete, he’s actually a really good athlete, but he’s not somebody you want to roll out, plant his feet and throw the ball. He’s a downfield thrower."

          I agree that Flacco is at his best when he can throw in a clean pocket. But he showed his athleticism last year when he scrambled (or ran for his life) to repeatedly avoid the pass rush.

          I don't see a Todd Haley-Ben Roethlisberger relationship developing here. Gottlieb believes otherwise.

          “This to me strikes me as a guy who is a really good offensive coordinator with a really good quarterback with a really bad fit for each other," Gottlieb said. "I don’t see them getting better. I see them fighting over the play calling and the set up and the depth of the drops.”

          Here's the rest of your wake-up caw:

          • The Baltimore Sun's Matt Vensel doesn't rule out a reunion between Kubiak and fullback Vonta Leach based on their mutual respect from the time they spent together with the Houston Texans. What works against Leach is the Ravens can create $1.75 million in salary-cap room by cutting him and they need to get Kyle Juszczyk on the field more.

          • After being turned down for the Ravens' offensive coordinator job, Kyle Shanahan spoke with the Cleveland Browns on Tuesday morning about their offensive coordinator position, sources told ESPN.com's John Keim. This might explain why Shanahan didn't take the Ravens' quarterbacks coach job.

          • Safety Michael Huff has gone from getting cut by the Ravens in the middle of the season to playing in a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos. Huff told Comcast SportsNet that there are no hard feelings with the Ravens. “I didn’t play well enough. I didn’t live up to my end of the bargain," Huff said. "When they cut me, I understood. They needed some guys on special teams, and I wasn’t getting the job done.”