There are two criticisms about Joe Flacco haunting him. Two criticisms which stick with him.
First, the perception expressing Flacco is not a leader and doesn't possess passion or care for the game of football. Ray Lewis threw Joe under the bus a few weeks ago about this exact criticism. Since then, the future Hall of Famer apologized for his remarks.
The second, Flacco does not make the players around him better. Well the Joe Flacco criticism is now two-for-two this season. When it comes to quarterbacks, guys like Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton, Matt Ryan and the now retired Peyton Manning are looked at as quarterbacks who can take any receiver, any playmaker, and turn them into a quality target and producer for an offense.