I understand the reasoning because for many years fans and media were critical of Flacco. They said he wasn’t elite (they still say that) and gave much more credit to Ray Lewis than he really deserve.
Now, Flacco has ring protection and Rev Ray is no longer delivering sermons, so he is free to speak his mind, even about Johnny Signature.
“I don’t know if I’ll be too popular for this,” Flacco said, according to the Carroll County Times in Maryland. “But I don’t know how I really felt about Johnny Manziel, but I feel like now everyone hates him. He’s quickly becoming my favorite player in college football.“