Is Lamar Jackson Really the Answer For the Baltimore Ravens?
Under a new offensive coordinator and a restructured offense, can Lamar Jackson use his elite physical gifts to outrun his struggles with accuracy?
Lamar Jackson’s first year in the NFL was in many respects both a success and a disaster. The Baltimore Ravens went 6–1 under Jackson, as he propelled them to their first playoff birth since 2014. On the other hand, the guy was so bad as a passer that he made throwing the ball to a wide open receiver look difficult. Keep in mind, this is a professional quarterback.
The Ravens converted to a full out ground & pound attack with Jackson at the helm. With a suffocating defense on the other side of the ball, the approach worked… in the regular season. Jackson’s inability to hit even the most elementary of passes was truly concerning. But it really became a problem in the playoffs as the Ravens got steamrolled in the Wild Card round against the Los Angeles Chargers. So naturally, it raises the question: Is Lamar Jackson really “the guy” in Baltimore?
Should He Have Been A 1st Round Pick?
It’s silly to live in the past, and it might be too early to speculate, but it brings up an interesting talking point. When you break it down, Lamar Jackson is much more of a project than anyone realized. His struggles in the passing game are reminiscent of someone that should have been a 3rd or 4th round pick.
Even so, Jackson’s playmaking ability cannot be denied. With a 4.34 40-year dash time, he may just be the fastest quarterback ever. While college production is not a true measure of how good a player will be, Jackson’s cannot be ignored. With 69 passing touchdowns across three years, one thing is definite. This guy knows how to throw the football.
It wasn’t just a dink-and-dunk offense either, as Jackson took deep shots early and often. Jackson was a scary dual threat at Louisville. In three seasons, he piled up up 4,132 yards and 50 TDs on the ground in electrifying fashion. When the draft came around, the potential for what Lamar Jackson could be was high. But at the same time, his floor was extremely low.
When it comes down to it, Jackson’s struggles came down to a lack of mechanics. He has shown the pristine ability to extend the play, but after he would find a receiver open, things would break down internally. It led to a very inconsistent season passing the ball. His accuracy struggles stemmed from a lack of fundamentals and bad footwork reared its ugly head. But the good news is, that is something that can be fixed with hard work and dedication.
When we think of “projects” in the NFL Draft, they so often don’t work out. Jackson was essentially one of those, which made drafting him a dangerous proposition. But with that sort of playmaking ability, paired with the physical tools he encompasses, it did make sense that such an exciting prospect would go so early. Even with the “bust” potential, the risks were worth it.
Jackson Can Be Special
Inaccurate? Sure. But the notion that Lamar Jackson has a “bad arm” is absolutely ridiculous. One of Jackson’s biggest strengths coming out of college was his arm strength. There was a video of Jackson throwing the ball 95 yards down the field in high school. Whether you choose to believe if it’s real or not is up to you.
But what we have seen are the bombs Jackson slings 60 and 70 yards down the field with ease. Jackson’s arm strength was never in question for NFL scouts. It was that insane arm that allowed Jackson to pile up such a high touchdown total in college.
Within all the inaccuracy, all the head-scratching plays, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Jackson did show flashes all season of a player that could bring the very best to an offense that needed it.
This video is one that had football purists ripping their hair out. After extending the play in extraordinary fashion, Jackson continues backpedaling to make an extremely difficult pass off his back foot, to a receiver that looks completely covered. The type of strength required to make that sort of throw is rare. Jackson shows true wizardry on that play. Creating something out of nothing is a prerequisite for elite quarterbacks in this league.
Jackson obviously has the legs for success at the position. He has a downfield mentality, despite what people think. In that run-centric offense, we would almost never see Jackson drop back on the regular to get himself into a flow. A majority of his pass attempts were in obvious passing situations, which put a damper on the young quarterback all season long.
We saw it in the playoff loss against the Chargers, who made an unprecedented move putting three defensive backs at linebacker to neutralize the zone-run read-option scheme of the Ravens. They stacked the box and dared Jackson to throw, but the Ravens never adjusted. Instead, they continued pounding away the ball with no avail, refusing to let Jackson drop back and control the offense.
It wasn’t until late in the game that Jackson got his chance. Down a multitude of points, Jackson showed some savvy playmaking ability as a passer. He almost made a seemingly impossible comeback. Dropping back almost every play in the 4th quarter, Jackson made some remarkable plays, showing us why we should believe in his ability.
A Fit For The Modern NFL
Today’s NFL is trending in a new direction. Quarterback mobility is at a premium right now. Jackson fits the billing of course, as his ability to extend plays is rivaled by few. But the worrisome part is how Jackson will fit into today’s passing league.
It’s true, passing attempts are at an all-time high. But what we need to consider is the type of passes that are being produced. The NFL is in love the West Coast offense right now. Playcallers are putting a heavy emphasis on the short passing game, as to “stretch out the defense,” before taking deep shots when they’re vulnerable.
This will simplify things for Jackson, where the shorter passes will open up the whole field for him. And when he can’t find anyone open, his 4.34 wheels will certainly help him there. It’s not just a pure passing league, it’s all about versatility in 2019, Jackson can be the ultimate tool in dismantling opposing defenses.
“A Rebuilt Offense”
Head coach John Harbaugh and the Baltimore coaching staff did an incredible job transitioning from Joe Flacco to Lamar Jackson. They completely redesigned the offense to accommodate Jackson’s run-first style. In his first nine starts, Flacco was on pace for 695 passing attempts. Harbaugh designed a zone run scheme that played to the team strengths (and cut down the passing attempts by about half). Jackson saw a whopping 17 carries per game during that seven-game stretch. The Ravens went to an old school approach. Dominating time of possession, keeping the chains moving while their stifling defense kept the score low. The Ravens pounded away to 45.1 rushing attempts a game. Clearly, it was a formula that worked for Baltimore as they piled up 1,607 yards on the ground.
For reference, that 16-game pace would have equated to 3,673 rushing yards. To put it in perspective, the highest yardage mark in league history was 3,165. Baltimore was truly in uncharted territory, running the ball that many times should not work. But with creative play design and the ability of Lamar Jackson, it worked…
… until it didn’t.
The playoffs were an eye-opening moment for the Baltimore Ravens. While coddling Jackson, allowing him to dominate on the ground worked in the regular season, but things always get tougher in the postseason. Teams hone in on weaknesses, where a one-dimensional game will not work. The Ravens realized this and brought in new offensive coordinator Greg Roman.
Roman has already made it a point of emphasis to rebuild the entire offense and start from scratch. It’s not to say that elements of the read option will go away completely, but the Ravens need to alter the offense to get Jackson better looks in the passing game.
They’ve already taken a step in the right direction by acquiring serious young talent in the draft. The team spent a 1st round pick on speedy wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, who claims he “would have broken the 40-yard dash combine record” had he run it. Baltimore also spent a 3rd round pick on 6’4”, 220-pound receiver Miles Boykin, a big-bodied deep threat that will provide a big target with a large catch radius, making things easier for Jackson.
The reports out of OTAs (“organized team activities”) are that Jackson continues to struggle to throw the ball consistently. But the thing to take away is, it’s actually Jackson who’s making these claims. While his coach says otherwise, the quarterback is putting it on himself to become a better passer. You love to see that attitude from a young quarterback.
There’s no doubt, believing in Lamar Jackson takes a serious leap of faith, especially after the abysmal passing game last season. But still, the 22-year-old gives us much reason to continue believing. The talent, the playmaking ability, all of it remains right there for the taking. Will he seize the opportunity? Well, he might just outrun it.
All statistics courtesy of sports-reference.com
