Tired of asking Ravens head coach John Harbaugh when Joe Flacco will return, Baltimore area reporters tried offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg on Wednesday.
His answer doesn't exactly cut through the haze surrounding the quarterback's back issue, though it didn't sound any alarm bells either.
Q: Is there a time you'd like to see Joe back practicing for you to have a comfort level?
A: "Yeah, well, I think I know. And at least Joe thinks he knows when this will happen, so that way I think I know and so we think we know," Mornhinweg said, via the team's official site. "And then so, lookit, if it's before that or a little bit before -- probably not going to be much before -- maybe a little bit before or a little bit after, we'll adjust the plan. As long as he's back within a reasonable amount of time to prepare I think we're going to be just fine there, yeah."
Got it.
To me, the main takeaway is that no one is freaking out yet. This is basically what Mornhinweg was conveying. The Ravens have not reheated their efforts to bring in competition for Ryan Mallett, nor have they surfaced in trade talks. There is a general plan in place. When NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport and NFL Network's Tom Pelissero first reported the back issue on July 26, they noted that Flacco could miss anywhere from three to six weeks. We are still well within that timetable.
Unlike the Andrew Luck shoulder issue, this was never viewed as a long-term ailment. If it was, and the Ravens were still refusing to upgrade themselves at the quarterback position, that's another issue altogether.
