Late for Work 3/21: Can Flacco be the Leader with Lewis Around?

An interesting post today from the Baltimore Ravens website discusses whether or not Joe Flacco can be the team's leader with Ray Lewis around.

As quarterback, is Flacco ready to be the team's leader? The post points out that up until Flacco joined the franchise, the Ravens had never made it to the playoffs three years in a row.

Perhaps the more intriguing question is whether Flacco can truly be the commander while 15-year veteran Ray Lewis is still wearing a Ravens uniform.
“NFL Total Access” analyst Jon Jansen believes that taking over a title Lewis has held for years would be an “impossible” task.
“If Joe is going to be the leader on this team, he cannot do it with Ray Lewis on the other side. It just is impossible,” Jansen said.
“Ray Lewis is the leader of this team and there’s nobody that’s going to challenge that.”

However, ESPN analyst and former Ravens Super Bowl winning QB Trent Dilfer thinks otherwise.

If you’re looking for a sign that Flacco is ready take over, ESPN analyst and former Ravens Super Bowl-winning quarterback Trent Dilfer believes you’ve got one when the third-year QB voiced his opinion about the release of Quarterbacks Coach Jim Zorn.
“What we haven’t seen from Joe Flacco is that fire in his belly, that commander mentality,” said Dilfer in the video below. “I think he showed it when Jim Zorn left. He voiced his opinion. He said, ‘Listen, I don’t like this. I’m going to stand up for myself.’
“And I think that’s a healthy thing for the Baltimore Ravens.”