Joe Flacco - Baltimore Ravens quarterback

The magic just hasn’t been there for Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco this season. The Super Bowl XLVII MVP averaged 285 yards passing, scored 11 touchdowns and threw zero interceptions during the postseason last year. Then he signed that fat six-year, $120.6 million contract and has seen his QB rating dip to 79.3 with 10 TDs and nine picks during the Ravens first eight games in 2013.

Flacco discussed the challenges the defending champs have faced this season with ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley.

“It’s tough in the NFL to go out there and try to be Superman. It’s just impossible to do that,” Flacco said. “So, I think that kind of keeps you in check and allows you to go out there and just play your game. It’s frustrating when you’re running off the field, and you’re not getting first downs, and you’re not scoring points. And that obviously has something to do with it — not being able to get that going — but we’ve got to be better in other parts of our game in order to help that out and in order to overcome that in certain times. We haven’t been able to get it going enough, and we haven’t been able to overcome it enough when it hasn’t worked for us.”

Is the $120 million man making excuses? I guess it depends on how you read his comments. Personally, I don’t think he is though I can understand someone taking it differently.

Flacco is surrounded by one of the league’s worst offensive lines, he lost his favorite target to an injury in the preseason and his two underperforming running backs haven’t helped this struggling offense.