Greg Roman Responds To Jackson's Play-Calling Critique
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman remembers the days when Ray Lewis and Ed Reed appeared to be one step ahead of the opponent's play-calling.
It's a matter of film study, reading formations and recognizing the quarterback's cadence.
So, he took recent comments from Lamar Jackson about the predictability of the team's play-calling in stride.
"Calling out plays on the defense is nothing new,m" Roman said. "I can talk about Ed Reed and Ray Lewis, every play, they’re trying to guess what play you’re going to run based on what they’re seeing – that’s the chess match.
"That’s kind of where it gets interesting because if you’re not good at anything, you have no tendencies. So, you really want to work to be good at everything."
Jackson had voiced his concerns earlier in the week on the "Rich Eisen Show." Eisen had asked Jackson why the offense was not clicking at the same level as last year,
"We're going against defenses and they're calling out our plays and stuff like that," Jackson said. "They know what we're doing. A lot of that. Sometimes, stuff won't go our way if they're beating us to the punch. ... Watch out for this, watch out for that.' Sometimes that's what's going on."
Jackson has completed 134 of 213 (62.9) his pass attempts for 1,513 yards, which ranks 27th in the NFL. He has thrown for 12 touchdowns and four interceptions.
He's on pace to throw for 3,026 yards with 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions (94.1 rating).
Overall, the Ravens have the league's 31st-ranked passing attack.
If Jackson knows that opponents know the play the Ravens are about to run, does he have the freedom to call an audible?
“There are definitely some plays where audibles are available and built-in," Roman said. "I’ll just say this; when … And again, it’s pretty stock NFL, ‘Let’s line up in a formation, see what they’re in and call an audible.’ That happens. That’s part of everybody’s offense – some people more than others. Then you have teams, such as ourselves, and maybe the 49ers, that we’re going to be multiple formations and motions and whatnot.
"You try to, basically, have the ability to call and run plays. So, there’s definitely a blend of that by [the] situation in play. Some quarterbacks audible or have the freedom to audible every play. Sometimes, that works out well for them. Sometimes, it doesn’t. Some people really don’t do it at all. I’d say we’re somewhere in between there.”
Jackson is not the first player to voice concerns about the offense this season.
Following a 28-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, wide receiver Hollywood Brown tweeted “What’s the point of having souljas when you never use them (Never!!)." He later deleted the post, but it raised more concerns about the offense.
Roman said the team is doing its best to stay ahead of opponents.
“If you’re not good at anything, you have no tendencies,” Roman said. “If you’re in the best possible situation, you can do basic things very well, and people still can’t stop you. I think that’s what you’re always striving to do.
"But that doesn’t always work in the NFL. That doesn’t work all the time. You’ve got to change it up. So we work hard at changing it up.”
