Great athlete. Not a very good passing quarter back
one of my favorite teams is whoever plays the Ravens.
one of my favorite teams is whoever plays the Ravens.
Lamar Jackson
- Thread starter pittbb80
- Start date
He did manage to get the playoff monkey off his back, but it’s not like he played all that well against the Titans.
The problem with him is twofold. He just doesn’t throw nearly well enough for your team to ever be a legit contender, and when he’s done you have structured your offense so much to fit his skills that you are pretty much screwed for the next few years. Kind of like Georgia Tech trying to transition from an option to a pro style offense.
Huh?!? He threw one of the longest TDs in playoff history tonight!
Ravens offense is to easily schemes against when your playing good teams. Jackson just doesn't throw the ball well enough. Baltimore has a very tough decision to make. Jackson is getting paid soon by someone, will it be them? And when they start paying him they won't be able to put the same level of guys around him
I don’t think he will have nearly the demand some people think he will as a free agent. You have to change your entire offensive personnel and style of play to accommodate him, how many teams are willing to do that?
Mark Malone caught one of the longest TD passes in Steelers history. That doesn't exactly make him Lynn Swann.
You are right I probably will be, it will require a team making a commitment to restructure their entire offense and probably be coupled with a head coaching switch as well.
To me it’s crazy, having a run first QB can be effective for a few years, but if the guy can’t pass those hits tend to pile up and after 5 years or so in the league the body gets beat up and the running aspect suffers.
I may be the only Bills fan on the board so give Buf D some credit. Lamar Jackson is Michael
Vick: excellent athlete/ok qb.
Vick: excellent athlete/ok qb.
Baltimore has to pay him. What choice do they have. Their fan base will go nuts if they don’t. Though I do agree with you, it will be a mistake.
Total agreement that the Ravens have to pay him, with the way they’ve built their offense they dont have much choice.
I have an ongoing discussion with one of my friends, a Cowboy fan, and he believes you draft a QB every four years build and keep a great team around him and win. Or pay your QB, and limit yourself, and suck ie Joe Flacco Ravens. Or what Seattle is going thru right now.
He’s definitely right about that, by far the easiest path to a Super Bowl win is to get a young talented QB on his rookie contract surrounded by great high priced talent. Obviously the problem is when you have to finally pay that QB the mega contract it’s at the necessary expense of some of your best players. Seattle and Russell Wilson is a good example of that.
Yeah I think he easily gets in the 30 million range on the open market. Someone is going to take the risk especially since he will still be young on this contract. They will hope they can improve his passing enough that he can get over the hump from great runner poor passer to great runner average passer
Most of the top qbs have gotten a Superbowl ring or at least a appearance on their first contract, but not all stud qbs are good enough in there first 3 seasons.
There are a ton of examples of it. Bottom line is it's worth signing the qb long-term if he is a stud but if he is matt stafford or joe flacco it's probably best to walk away.
There is nowhere near enough franchise QBs to do that.
But there is no doubt a “first contract” window where you can combine great QB play with lots of money left. And it’s become seemingly easier for that QB to get to high level quickly. The Steelers had that with Ben. Now they are suffering a bit with it with Ben, but no way you move off of a guy like that mid career.
Seattle has a similar problem, but they have also drafted horribly in the last 5 to 7 years.
Balt had to sign Flacco after a great playoff run, but he underperformed
This is a great post. Was telling my buddies last weekend that it just feels like he won’t get the Ravens very far. Running can get you to the playoffs, without a doubt, but once you are in the playoffs, nearly every defense can stop the run and you have to be able to wing it. Scores are typically higher (obviously not last night). There’s a reason guys like LaDanian Tomlinson, Adrian Peterson, etc. don’t get to Super Bowls. I see the same with current Vikings too and Dalvin Cook (absolute stud who is locked up for many years).
2008 Titans good example...Kerry Collins, CJ2K and Lenwhale White (forever cursed). Phenomenal regular season team. You knew they wouldn’t be good in playoffs. I see Ravens with LJ in this boat.
Yes, it seems to be proven over and over, year after year, if a team's offense is one dimensional eventually the league will figure it out and you will be stuck scoring 3-10 points on the biggest night of your football life. If a quarterback can have a season when they are throwing the ball above average, the team has a very good running game, and a great defense, a Championship can be won, all elements have to be present, average to below average passing game equals the result seen last night, IMO.
You bring up an interesting point. Last night there were two one dimensional offenses. The Bills were pass happy and couldn’t Tu the ball. The Ravens can run but their passing game is suspect
for sure you need to be balanced to win it all. But in today’s game having the ability to pass the ball seems a bit more important
By the way that’s why I think the Bills will lose to the chiefs. Their offense isn’t balanced enough nor explosive enough to hang with the chiefs
I like Craig Meyer who covers Pitt for the PG, but man he loves to carry Lamar’s water and hate on Ben. And I like Lamar as a person/player, it just seems like many people have said... have to be able to throw the ball better. Too many games he has where it’s < 200 yards passing, and yeah that can be fine when their run game and D is clicking, but not really a sustainable path for victory, especially in the playoffs.
Hell, he had a very similar stat line even in his win last week, with the key difference being 100 less rushing yards.
Hell, he had a very similar stat line even in his win last week, with the key difference being 100 less rushing yards.
Ravens are not in the same position as they were with Flacco. Baltimore missed the playoffs their last three seasons with Flacco as starter.
Jackson is an inconsistent passer for sure but most teams in the NFL can’t stop their read option rushing attack. They will be a perennial playoff team just on that and their defense alone. They will just have limitations when they reach the postseason
Jackson is an inconsistent passer for sure but most teams in the NFL can’t stop their read option rushing attack. They will be a perennial playoff team just on that and their defense alone. They will just have limitations when they reach the postseason
I just read that a bunch of bills fans donated to Lamar Jackson’s favorite charity. Out of respect for him getting hurt.
If the Steelers can retool some key positions in the next two offseasons, a QB that I like in the 2022 Draft is Arizona St’s Jayden Daniels.
I know you meant the pass and run games exclusively, but he looks like a Lamar Jackson-esque quarterback who can pass the ball very well. Would be fun to have a multi-faceted rushing attack...
I think Daniels probably leaves after next season and ends up somewhere in the bottom half of the 1st round. Probably needs to work on his accuracy some, wouldn’t hurt if he put a little weight on his frame either.
No kidding. He’s like the college football equivalent to Brandon Ingram. Yes, he’s athletic, but not exactly the type you want behind a (currently) sub-par NFL line!
In NBA parlance, Lamar Jackson is built for the regular season.
Their entire offense is built for the regular season. It’s almost a throwback to ground chuck with an option. They’ve prioritized TEs, RBs and OL over WRs. They did add brown but I’m not sure if they added more WR that their offense would improve much. First off they’d have to take TEs and The FB off the field making their run game less of a threat which would hurt his effectiveness as a runner
secondly he’s not your prototypical throw the ball around the field passer. Most of his passes are within 10 to 15 yards of the LOS and the few deep passes he does throw are the result of broken plays where the Wr is wide open and there’s no need for better accuracy. Give the Ravens staff credit for building an offense that takes full advantage of his talents and minimizes his limitations. It’s not an explosive high scoring offense though and in the playoffs today I don’t think they can keep up with the better offenses
Lamar actually threw the ball pretty well most of that game, he got absolutely no help though. Some absolutely brutal drops. The drop by Dobbins after Lamar made a great effort to escape the pass rush was just awful.
The INT changed the game though, and when you know Lamar HAS to throw.... he becomes less than mediocre. I also didn’t like the designed runs with him, IMO he’s more dangerous taking off once everyone is already dropped back into coverage.
It’s a passing league now however, so I’m not really sure if you can win a Super Bowl with him. Even getting to one will be tough, to go even 2 games in a row against good competition without falling behind is damn near impossible unless your team is loaded everywhere. He’s a phenomenal athlete though so he’ll probably get paid as such, Baltimore in another tough predicament.
The INT changed the game though, and when you know Lamar HAS to throw.... he becomes less than mediocre. I also didn’t like the designed runs with him, IMO he’s more dangerous taking off once everyone is already dropped back into coverage.
It’s a passing league now however, so I’m not really sure if you can win a Super Bowl with him. Even getting to one will be tough, to go even 2 games in a row against good competition without falling behind is damn near impossible unless your team is loaded everywhere. He’s a phenomenal athlete though so he’ll probably get paid as such, Baltimore in another tough predicament.
Good professional defensive coordinators know how to stop Lamar. You keep him in the pocket and don't lose contain. That means that the defensive ends can not go to hard up field and create lanes for him to takeoff. Just hem him in and make him beat you with his arm, not his legs.
On the back end, you play as much zone as possible. Reason 1 you play zone is that in case he does break contain you have guys that have eyes on him so he doesn't get to break the big run. When guys are in man coverage they have to stick with their man, and by the time they realize he is running, he is gone.
Reason 2 is that he is more easily confused. Most quarterbacks, including Lamar, can identify one-on-one opportunities when the defense is in man. When the defense is playing zone, Lamar really struggles to find the open man.
If I am the Ravens, I see the handwriting on the wall. They can't run zone read all year because Lamar won't last. It was a nice experiment, but, I am really curious what they are going to do. I really don't think he will evolve into the kind of QB that can get through progressions and make the right reads consistently.
My best guess is it will take an injury for the Ravens to move in another direction. Having said that, it will probably happen soon. You can't run that much in the league without eventually getting beat on.
On the back end, you play as much zone as possible. Reason 1 you play zone is that in case he does break contain you have guys that have eyes on him so he doesn't get to break the big run. When guys are in man coverage they have to stick with their man, and by the time they realize he is running, he is gone.
Reason 2 is that he is more easily confused. Most quarterbacks, including Lamar, can identify one-on-one opportunities when the defense is in man. When the defense is playing zone, Lamar really struggles to find the open man.
If I am the Ravens, I see the handwriting on the wall. They can't run zone read all year because Lamar won't last. It was a nice experiment, but, I am really curious what they are going to do. I really don't think he will evolve into the kind of QB that can get through progressions and make the right reads consistently.
My best guess is it will take an injury for the Ravens to move in another direction. Having said that, it will probably happen soon. You can't run that much in the league without eventually getting beat on.
pittdan77
Athletic Director
The cool thing about a guy that can run like that is that you can enjoy having an extra blocker on designed running plays. He's absolutely mobile and can make you pay for shutdown coverage.
The problem is that there seems to be a very short shelf life for a running QB. Without his legs, he's pretty average. That's the problem.
The problem is that there seems to be a very short shelf life for a running QB. Without his legs, he's pretty average. That's the problem.
