In the wake of this week’s canceled game, there has been deserved discussion about what kind of impact an early bye week (and subsequent loss of a bye week later) is going to have on this team. And between injured veterans (Kelly Gregg, Ed Reed, Todd Heap, Fabian Washington and more) and new signees (Willie Anderson, Lorenzo Neal) there is at least some consensus that some time off this week really isn’t all that bad. Perhaps we’ll all change our tunes come November when some of our older vets are hobbling around the field, but for now, there should be some solace in the fact that a week without travel and game, our guys are getting healthy.

But let’s take a minute to look at another positive of this unexpected delay involving the city’s newest crush, Joe Flacco.

The rookie out of UDel had a passable week one and showed signs of becoming one of the league’s next great quarterbacks. His numbers weren’t particularly fancy, but ask around Baltimore and folks will tell you that, simple as it may have been, Flacco provided the kind of debut that fans here have been waiting. He was calm, he was collected, he managed his offense and the clock, and he didn’t make any mistakes. When the ball was in Joe’s hands, Ravens fans felt good about what could happen on any given play.

To get to the point, missing out on the Texans now might just be a blessing for Flacco as much as it is for those injured veterans we’ve already talked about. If there’s one thing we have come to know about Flacco, it’s that he’s a pretty quick learner. After spending most of the season outside of the starting quarterback discussion, he took the reins on short notice and has yet to look back. Imagine just how much Joltin’ Joe has picked-up (or will pick-up) courtesy of two more weeks with the first-string offense. Imagine how much more comfortable he’ll feel with his receivers and his line.

Add to this that instead of facing a dominant Texans defensive line in his second start, he’ll be facing a weak Cleveland line and secondary. This young line and Flacco get to take another test drive, instead of going up against the league’s best. Flacco will get to really play with this offense some more before having to go up against his first, true sack-heavy threat (Pittsburgh, Week 4). Even in their loss to the Steelers, the Texans only gave up 122 yards passing. The Browns, on the other hand, have allowed on average nearly double that: 242 yards per game.

It might seem a little unfair, but this unexpected bye is really raising my expectations for Flacco in the week to come. He’ll be at home, he’ll be rested, he’s had extra study time, and he’s facing a far less formidible opponent… And, yes, Cam Cameron, this means we’re going to be looking at you as well. Let’s test out the long ball, let’s see what Flacco can do with Clayton and Williams at his side, while we’ve got the chance.