OTL: Look Past Legs & Arm – Jackson’s Mind Wins Too

Not bad for a running back.

If you’re a Ravens fan, you’re familiar with that phrase, uttered by star quarterback Lamar Jackson after he threw for a perfect passer rating against the Dolphins in the 2019 season opener.

Jackson has been labeled as a running back, athletic wonder or injury-waiting-to-happen since he first started wearing out opposing defenses in college. Though we have all seen his dramatic improvement with his passing acumen throughout the course of his career, there is still another part of his arsenal that isn’t spoken about enough.

That mind.

I’ve long thought Jackson plays a bit like a point guard when plays break down. He moves along the perimeter of a defense that is often too scared to commit too hard to him for fear of ending up on a poster, and then he creates an angle to get the ball to his teammate in a winning position. It’s a cerebral approach to taking advantage of what the defense is giving you.

The Washington Post’s Adam Kilgore took this line of thought deeper.

“He’s a savant,” [Ravens quarterback coach Tee] Martin said. “That’s the only way I can say it. If you’re a teacher at a high school or college and you realize you have this genius student and they’re just a little different than everyone, cultivate an atmosphere for him. Don’t try to bring that person down to everyone else’s level. Make everyone go up to his level. And Lamar is like that kind of student. He is different.”

Kilgore discussed how new offensive coordinator Todd Monken has given Jackson more ownership of the offense this year, and Jackson has seized the moment.

This year, Jackson can change multiple aspects of a play on any snap. If he diagnoses a pressure his blockers cannot account for, he can alter how the offensive line protects him. If that change will not buy him enough time, he can change the routes his receivers run. Several times this season, Jackson has switched one running play to another, sensing a gap in the defense, and conjured a long gain.

Receiver Nelson Agholor, new to the Ravens this season, discussed how Jackson actually uses his mind to maximize his physical gifts, and how he can use them to make opposing defenses pay.

His athleticism comes from his cerebral understanding,” Agholor said. “Yeah, he’s gifted, but he makes plays because he’s thought about his process. He doesn’t just tuck and run. He knows the time to tuck because he’s moved guys … with his eyes enough to give himself that gap.

Jackson himself said that he feels his athleticism, and how opponents fear that, enables him to take advantage of things, displaying a marriage between the cerebral and physical gifts he possesses, and has crafted.

Kilgore believes it is Jackson’s complete package that will keep defenses from being able to completely keep him under wraps.

The entire NFL’s focus will be on Jackson for however long the Ravens remain in the postseason. Observers will marvel at his brilliance and scrutinize his playoff past. Everybody will watch him, even if nobody will really know what he is seeing.

Moving along…

Mark Andrews is doing everything he can to get back, including using an hyperbaric oxygen chamber over the last 2 months.
pic.twitter.com/NTzf5nJgln

— Garrett Downing (@GarrettDowning) January 18, 2024

Is Mark Andrews going to be back on the field this weekend?

I’ve been skeptical of the tight end’s return since it was first suggested there was a chance he would be back for the playoffs, but it’s starting to look like it’s a very-real possibility — if not this week, maybe next, if the Ravens do advance.

I don’t believe the team would risk further injuring Andrews in these workouts as a bluff, as the prospect of doing further damage to their star tight end would not be “worth the squeeze,” as they say.

If Andrews can even just get on the field during red-zone or third-and-short situations, he could make a very real impact, both as a receiver who is adept at using his body to shield defenders from the ball, and as an attention-grabber who could free up somebody else to beat a linebacker one-on-one (paging Mr. Likely).

It’s exciting to consider, and makes you think back to one Ray Lewis and his return from injury for a postseason run, lo these many years ago.

Dalvin Cook Signed to Ravens’ 53-Man Roster, Will Play in NFL Playoffs vs. Texans

Dalvin Cook was recently signed to the Ravens 53-man roster, and it appears he will in fact be part of the team that suits up to take on the Texans. This comes on the heels of the team cutting Melvin Gordon, who had shown definitive flashes of his talent, but also his noted propensity to fumble the ball in his time as third back on the offense.

I’m not entirely sure how this running back rotation will look in the playoffs. The Ravens have balanced out the majority of their attack between the now-injured Keaton Mitchell, Gus Edwards, Justice Hill and Gordon throughout the season, but I’m guessing we will see less “load management” now that the playoffs are here.

Or, not. And Edwards, Hill and Cook will be peppered in and out of the lineup dependent on what Monken has in mind each series.

This is part of the unknown that I’m guessing could keep the Texans’ defensive coaching staff guessing a bit in their preparation this week.

Also of note:

New Beer Honors Ravens Legend Tony Siragusa

Betting Houston at Baltimore: Can Stroud Do it Again?

Today’s injury report: pic.twitter.com/Y9QX7gKCxm

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) January 17, 2024

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