As Lamar Jackson's Suspect Supporting Cast Grows Thinner, Ravens QB Asks Even More Of Himself

Lamar Jackson, unlike oh so many people in the Baltimore sports market, will not make excuses.

Although he could.

Jackson is shrewd and cunning and calculated, as has been made clear in years of arduous negotiations directly with the team about his contract and with the total leverage he holds over this franchise. The team never came close to securing him to a contract extension for a multitude of reason, and while Jackson is always quick to smile and deflect from any potential conflict, it stands to reason that after years of being beat up and asked to more with less than he should – both in terms of the offensive line and in terms of proven playmakers in the passing game – he wanted the Ravens to prove something to him this season.

In the final guaranteed year of a contract – which he had to endure a non-exclusive franchise tag and a credible collusion allegation and issue a trade demand to get addressed in the first place – the onus was on general manager Eric DeCosta a staff of first-time coaches (especially 30-year old offensive coordinator Declan Doyle) to show what they could do for him. Through three weeks, outside of dervish receiver Zay Flowers, that has been mostly failure.

On Sunday in Brazil, Jackson had to overcome no offensive line – in pass protection or run blocking for traditional runs – and no one besides Flowers being a regular target and a defense hellbent on giving away every 11-point lead the QB hands them. And he bailed all of them out again, but man that’s gotta get exhausting. And now the situation looks even worse this week against a better defense (but lesser overall opponent in the Titans) with a rookie guard at center and two back-ups competing for the right to start at guard next to him, and the one veteran this GM did pay on the OL this season, John Simpson, looking far more like part of the problem himself, than a solution .

The short-yardage and goal-line stuff that was terrible a year ago looks even worse with this five-man unit, and this will be a group in flux for weeks as recent practice-squad signings are brought in and linemen continue to shift around. A guard snapping to him for the first time (save triage-mode in Brazil) with menacing defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons lined up over him, is hardly doing all you can to fortify your generational QB in his walk year, but it’s not new to Jackson, he is clearly taking mental notes, and he will always say all the right things, regardless.

“At the end of the day this game is the next-man-up mentality,” Jackson said before Wednesday’s practice. “With three guys going down before even the fourth game, it was cray and for two guys to go down in one game, and for my right guard – we drafted to be my right guard - to end up playing center in a game in another country, it was crazy. But shoutout to him for being able to make that transition at the snap of a finger.”

Ioane said of Jackson: “It’s not so much what he did, it’s what he didn’t do it. He came in and said, ‘Aright, let’s go play ball.’ He kept it cool, calm. It’s a good thing especially for someone like me, a rookie, in a moment like that with a lot of things going wrong.”

Injury Report

Jackson missed part of practice with a back issue, and rookie head coach Jesse Minter downplayed any impact when he met the media after Wednesday’s session. Jackson’s legs are clearly going to have to be more baked into the game plan every week, and it stands to reason under center rums for Derrick Henry, in his revenge game with the Titans, might not fare that well, forcing Doyle to lean into Justice Hill and Zay Flowers attacking the perimeter.

In a perfect scenario, the Ravens would have landed a solid center with ties to this offensive system to be with Jackson through the initial install – as Doyle’s mentor, Sean Payton, explained to us on “The Daily Flock” this spring. Or invest real draft capital in someone to be given all the key reps with Jackson for OTAs. Now they are scrambling.

“Just get extra snaps, that’s all we can do,” Jackson said of adjusting to another new center.” Get extra snaps in different movements.”

Slamming into the middle of bad interior offensive line against the Titans defense – allowing just 3.6 yards/carry – is a bad idea. And while teams have run the ball up the middle on them an NFL-high 33 times, the Titans are third in the NFL in Expected Points Added defending those runs. Keeping Simmons from collapsing the pocket before it forms and slinging Jackson all over the field is paramount.

“Their interior defensive line is probably as good as anybody’s,” Minter said, something they’d best be mindful of Sunday.

No Complaints

Jackson won’t moan no matter how this goes, of course.

If anything, he seems to be asking more of himself than ever before, stepping out to be more vocal and having what appear to be deeper interactions on the sidelines at times and being more of a hype man for others instead of just studying his tablet (which is obviously important) He is performing at a truly MVP level and anything less than that and this team has a losing record.

He continues to ask even more of himself at a time it's fair to ask more questions than ever about the group put around him on offense.

“I pretty much lead by example,” Jackson said, “but sometimes those guys need to hear my voice and know what I’m thinking, and to let them know I have their back at the same time they have mine.”

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