I was frustrated with Lamar after the Chief’s game but as I’ve had a couple weeks to think about it I realized (in my opinion) I was being pretty stupid. He’s the reigning MVP for god’s sake.
We’re talking about the NFL, where guys are paid millions of dollars to figure each other out. What makes Lamar special has always been his legs, not his arm. There was, and is, the potential for his arm to become his primary asset but his passing has never been what made him a truly great quarterback. The fact that he is such a good runner that can also really sling the ball is the X Factor. He’s terrible outside the numbers and average at going through progressions. That’s just a fact. If he throws the ball 40 times in a game, it’s going to be ugly more often than not. It probably won’t be like that forever (though it might), but for now it is.
With that in mind, all I’m seeing is a 23 year old with less than 2 seasons under his belt as a starter that is having growing pains as a passer. Combine that with not using his legs as much or as well as he did in his first and second years (for a variety of reasons), and you get what we’re seeing now...and we’re still blowing teams out on a regular basis.
I feel like, as a fan base, we’re so defensive about Lamar that we’re setting the expectations way too high and robbing ourselves of enjoying our VERY, VERY good football team.
It’s sad.
No.
I'm not setting expectations too high. He is. When you win MVP, what should the expectation be? Just tell me what it should be.
The reality is this... his legs are what makes him special. His legs, also, will decline, every single season, until he's in his 30s, and his legs are no longer special in any way. There is no version of Lamar Jackson where he's out running everybody when he's in his 30s. That is the expectation that every single fan should have.
And knowing that, it means you don't get to wait until your 30s to learn how to play QB from the pocket. To learn precision accuracy, to learn how to read defenses and progressions, etc. If he learns that, he'll play for 15 more years. If he doesn't, he'll play for about 6-8 more years. I'm fine with either, but the reasonable expectations is that one skill sets improves while another declines. That's how good QBs become great QBs.
Its early in his career, but the latter portion, in my eyes, is not developing at a level that I think it should, nor do I think anybody can sell the idea that its developing the way the Ravens want it to. Doesn't mean it won't, and it doesn't mean it can't. It means, so far, it hasn't.
You are seeing what teams are doing. Due to a combination of play calling, ineffective execution, and opposing opposition, Lamar is not running nearly as much, not running nearly as effectively, and the Ravens as a team aren't humming as an offense like we did last season. You either throw up your hands and say "well that's who we are" and roll over and die, or you adapt. And adaptation means players grow, get better, and develop skills in other areas.
