They had Lamar when they were ranked 29th so he was not helping then. What they didn't have was Marcus Peters and Jimmy Smith. They elevated that defense and it was almost instantaneous and in Jimmy's case it happens every single time to the point where I don't get how people can deny it.
There are two things about this assertion that bother me. One is it feels to much like we are canonizing Lamar and that his mere presence elevates those around him. Its one step away from, on every Peters INT having the camera pan over to Lamar and the announcers go "Look at Lamar cheering; that really gave the courage and energy needed to jump that route." It just sounds ridiculous and its not that far off what we are doing to be honest.
The other more core problem is that is somehow serves as a slight to QBs who couldn't magically nake the defense better. Peyton Manning put up 42 points in a loss in the playoffs and I'm supposed to believe by this metric that its his fault for not helping the defense.
ToP was nice, but the best part of Lamar and the Ravens offense was that they scored points and the defense did not give them up and once the teams had to throw it into that secondary it was over.
As an aside, am I the only one concerned how much worse the offense got after Matt bloody Skura got injured? Is the Oline depth THAT bad?
I'm not too concerned about Peyton Manning or his defense as it relates to Jackson/Ravens. I know its just a side point and its an interesting one to consider but a comparison doesn't logically follow (to me at least).
Our offense so far as the extent to which we were using Lamar didn't really open up until after The Steelers and our defense clearly took some steps in the right direction with the additions. On their own, they improved certainly.
Any defense that cannot stop the run and cannot rush the QB isn't going to be successful. We couldn't do either. Our defense allowed L. Bell his best effort and couldn't get off the field on third down vs. The jets (until it got out of hand) as an example.
I take your point that we are in a rush to anoint Lamar. Thats a fair point. its so difficult to play QB consistently through ones career and he'll have to show that he can do that...so we'll see. I can hardly blame myself for it. he was an absolute breath of fresh air and a kick in the butt for this franchise.
If you put his predecessor at QB for the 2019 team, I'm afraid we would find out very quickly just how much Lamar benefitted this defense. One that can't rush the QB and can't stop the run.
also - Id like to have a serious look at a dominant center/interior.