"Here's how different the first day of Ravens training camp was Wednesday: Joe Flacco went off on his critics.

Well, sort of.

Look, I love the big guy. But normally, Flacco at the microphone is the verbal equivalent of anesthesia.

Usually, the Ravens quarterback is wary, reserved and modest to a fault.

Usually he loathes any question that has to do with self-introspection or, God forbid, feelings.

Usually he's kind of — oh, what's the word I'm looking for here? — dull.

But not this time.

Wednesday it was a different Joe Flacco who addressed the media. He seemed confident and relaxed and spoke about everything from his recent wedding, to the potential loss of teammates Derrick Mason and Todd Heap, to the off-season criticism he took from the talk-show haters in Baltimore and various NFL loud-mouths such as LaMarr Woodley of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dhani Jones of the Cincinnati Bengals.

It was the best Flacco's been in a news conference — too bad I had to cut out early and missed it live. But watching it on video, I came away with one over-riding thought: This is what Ravens fans want to see from their quarterback.

This was a Joe Flacco with fire in his belly.

This was a Flacco proclaiming himself to be "pretty damn good," a Flacco sticking it to all the doubters who say he can't handle pressure, can't lead the Ravens to the Super Bowl, can't be effective outside the pocket, can't throw into tight coverages, can't do this, can't do that.

"What motivates me is being the best quarterback in the world," he said. "I don't play this game to be average. I play this game to be the best and it doesn't matter what other people say."