Ravens Training Camp: How OC Monken Hopes To 'Empower' QB Jackson
The Baltimore Ravens signed quarterback Lamar Jackson to a five-year $260 million contract extension this offseason and with it comes the expectation of regular season wins and success in the playoffs.
The Ravens went all in on their investment in Jackson by bringing in Odell Beckham Jr. and rookie Zay Flowers to revamp a receiver room that has lacked talent in recent years. The Ravens also brought in Todd Monken to orchestrate the "offensive revolution" in Baltimore after winning back-to-back national championships with the Georgia Bulldogs.
Monken is ready for the challenge of elevating Baltimore's offense in the crowded AFC because he has arguably the most electric signal caller in the NFL at his disposal in Jackson, who is only hungrier for success now that his wallet has been taken care of.
"You really like the challenge of guys that, one, obviously, you have a tremendous skillset, which [Lamar Jackson] does," Monken recently told YahooSports. "The thing you like about Lamar is he's becoming even more diligent. He wants to be great. He wants to be elite. I do not see a guy that signed a contract and said, 'OK, I've arrived.'"
An area of importance Monken has been working on with Jackson is the tempo of the offense. In 2022, Jackson averaged 38.8 seconds to snap the ball, according to The 33rd Team. The only quarterback with at least 300 snaps who took longer than Jackson was Aaron Rodgers.
Monken hopes that getting to the line of scrimmage faster will continue to help Jackson elevate his game even further.
"The idea is to leave the quarterback enough time at the line of scrimmage to assess the defense, make changes and be in control," Monken said. "I'm a firm believer that [if] you want your quarterback to play his best, you've got to empower him... I do believe in getting to the line quicker; I think that gives us more time at the line of scrimmage to assess — for the quarterback."
You can follow Ben King on Twitter at @BKing_2023.
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