Joe Flacco isn't a top-five quarterback in the NFL, but he is definitely a top-10 quarterback. That is where the 71 voters erred in this year's ESPN player rankings.
Flacco was ranked as the 13th-best quarterback, falling behind the likes of Matt Ryan, Eli Manning and Cam Newton. These quarterback ratings are as confusing as the current season of "True Detective."
I know Flacco isn't a trendy pick in fantasy football, but he has been quite a success in real life. No quarterback has won more games than Flacco since he entered the NFL in 2008. He is one of three quarterbacks -- Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady are the others -- to lead their teams to the playoffs in six of the past seven seasons.
Though Flacco has been far from the most consistent passer, he is one of six quarterbacks to throw more than 130 touchdowns and fewer than 80 interceptions since 2009. The others? Rodgers, Brady, Peyton Manning, Tony Romo and Ben Roethlisberger. Those five quarterbacks just happen to sit in the top six among quarterbacks in ESPN's player rankings.
Instead, Flacco comes in at No. 87 overall in the ranks while Ryan is No. 69 -- an 18-spot difference. No one should suggest that Flacco deserves to be mentioned with Rodgers, Brady or even Andrew Luck. He just shouldn't fall as the fifth-best player on the Ravens.
The other rankings for the Baltimore Ravens are more reasonable: guard Marshal Yanda (No. 58) and linebackers Terrell Suggs (No. 62), C.J. Mosley (No. 68) and Elvis Dumervil (No. 72).
The biggest snub is cornerback Jimmy Smith. He is Baltimore's best defensive player, and he doesn't crack the top 100. There were seven cornerbacks who made the cut: Richard Sherman, Darrelle Revis, Joe Haden, Patrick Peterson, Vontae Davis, Chris Harris Jr. and Aqib Talib.
The Ravens had the fourth-most players on ESPN's player rankings. Only the Seattle Seahawks (nine players), Dallas Cowboys (six) and Green Bay Packers (six) had more.