Daniel Racz @Danny___Dimes

Introduction

When Lamar Jackson entered the 2018 NFL draft, the football community debated whether or not his style would translate to the league. Though some believed Lamar’s athleticism could best be utilized as a wide receiver, the Ravens ultimately traded up into the first round to take the quarterback with the 32nd pick.

In his first full season as the starter, Lamar took the league by storm and won the MVP trophy. Many expected Lamar to repeat his 2019 success, but he fell short of expectations. Lamar did not throw for as many touchdowns, and he caught covid during the season, which caused him to miss time. The Ravens should feature an improved offensive line and playmaker group, so a repeat MVP performance could be on the horizon for Lamar Jackson.

Offensive Line Help

Prior to the 2020 season, perennial all-pro guard Marshall Yanda retired, leaving a hole on the Ravens’ offensive line. During the year, all-pro pass protecting tackle Ronnie Stanley tore his ACL, forcing him to miss significant time. Stanley is expected to be ready for week one, so Lamar will have his left tackle back.

During the offseason, the Ravens made additions to their line. To replace Orlando Brown Jr, Baltimore signed ex-Steeler tackle Alejandro Villanueva. Villanueva has been a consistently above-average tackle since entering the league in 2015, grading out above 70 in five of his six seasons per PFF. The Ravens also drafted guard Ben Cleveland in the third round. Cleveland projects as a potential day one starter and is a depth piece at worst.

Year-Over-Year Improvement

The narrative that Lamar Jackson is a poor passer is without much backing. Lamar operates out of a run-first offense, making him a low-volume passer. Equating Jackson’s lack of opportunity with a lack of talent is a disservice to his game. During the 2019 season, Jackson’s MVP campaign, he threw at a league-average/above-average level in terms of playerprofiler’s accuracy metrics. Jackson finished with a 70.9 true completion percentage and a 75.8 clean pocket completion percentage, both ranking within the top fifteen in the league. In 2020, Jackson finished with 74.9 and 76.9 in those identical metrics, suggesting that Lamar is in fact getting better as a thrower. For all we know, the best is yet to come.

Dynamic Passing Offense

Lamar will not have to shoulder the same load that he has done in previous years. The Baltimore front office made significant investments to overhaul their passing game. While Baltimore has previously invested in size-speed specimens or deep threats, they focused on acquiring route-running specialists with yac or contested-catch skills this offseason. The Ravens drafted Minnesota wide receiver Rashod Bateman with the 27th pick in the draft and selected Tylan Wallace in the fourth round. The Ravens also signed Sammy Watkins, but the two rookie wideouts are the main cause for optimism. Wallace dominated for years at Oklahoma State and will give Lamar a separator on the outside. Bateman can win from anywhere on the field, and he boasts sub 4.40 speed. The new-look Ravens’ offense could transform into a more balanced attack, and Lamar Jackson could be the main beneficiary. 

The post Why Lamar Jackson will return to MVP caliber appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Pierre Wilson

The 2021 NFL Draft saw five quarterbacks go in the first round. This is due in part to that position being considered one of the most important for the success of an NFL franchise.  We’ll look back at this draft class in the future and have conversations about which teams got it right with their quarterback pick.

One draft class that’s looked back on quite a bit, for quarterbacks, is the 2012 class.  This group included number one overall pick Andrew Luck, third round pick and Super Bowl champion Russell Wilson, another third rounder and Super Bowl champion Nick Foles, as well the talented veteran starters in Kirk Cousins and Ryan Tannehill.  Even undrafted Case Keenum has had a serviceable career in the NFL.

The one name not mentioned in the list above was actually the quarterback that was named the 2012 Offensive Rookie of the Year, Robert Griffin III.  RGIII took the league by storm his rookie year in Washington and had many debating if he should have been the number one overall pick, over Andrew Luck.

The shine on Griffin didn’t last much beyond his rookie season, so I wanted to take a look at the top three reasons for Robert Griffin III’s decline.

1. Injuries – Let’s get this obvious one out of the way first.  After a successful rookie campaign, one that included the Offensive Rookie of the Year award and leading the Washington Football Team to their first playoff appearance in five seasons, Griffin tore both his LCL and ACL in a 24-14 wild-card loss to the Seattle Seahawks on January 6^th in 2013. 

RGIII was never able to gain that rookie form again.  He was struggling in the 2013 season and that ultimately led to head coach, Mike Shanahan, allowing Kirk Cousins to start the final three games, (in order to avoid injuries to Griffin) with Washington already being eliminated from the playoffs that year.  Griffin would also dislocate his left ankle during the season opener in 2014, against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

2.Team Environment – One aspect that I think went overlooked in the Griffin decline was team environment. Many felt that Washington needed to move on from head coach Mike Shanahan, which led to the hiring of Jay Gruden in 2014.  Gruden had proven himself as an offensive minded coach in the Arena League, as well as in Cincinnati as offensive coordinator of the Bengals.  Many felt that Gruden’s scheme was never a fit for Griffin and was more centered around the talents of Kirk Cousins, who has similar mechanics and pocket presence of Bengals QB Andy Dalton.  Mike Shanahan’s scheme wasn’t all that complicated to many, and Griffin was able to easily pick up on the zone-read option and heavy dose of plays designed to the “X” wide receiver.  Gruden brought in a lot of different personnel packages and route combinations that RGIII was never able to adapt to, as it didn’t fit into the quarterback that he was. 

Griffin also didn’t necessarily have the offensive talent surrounding him.  The oft injured Jordan Reed didn’t have his breakout season until 2015, when Kirk Cousins had already been given the keys in Washington.  Alfred Morris broke out with Griffin in 2012 rushing for over 1,600 yards and 13 touchdowns, under the Mike Shanahan scheme.  He would rush for over 1,000 yards three straight seasons though declining each year leading up to 2015, where he only rushed for 751 yards and a touchdown.  You then toss in some of the dysfunction and scandals that have been reported out of Washington with owner Dan Snyder, former GM Bruce Allen, and even photos of former head coach Jay Gruden himself enjoying the nightlife a little too much and you have to believe the team environment played a part in Griffin’s decline.

3. Pride – I want to start this by saying I can’t speak to Griffin’s character.  I wasn’t there and Robert Griffin III has always come off as a humble and well-spoken individual.  However, I believe pride impacts us all.  We all have moments in life where we feel a great deal of satisfaction in our own achievements and accomplishments.  This isn’t a bad thing.  We should 100% celebrate the wins in our lives, as they can be few and far between, but we can’t allow those to change us as a person.  It would be extremely hard as a young man coming out of college to be thrown into the spotlight of the NFL.  Many of your dreams as a child are now fulfilled in one moment.  We’re talking individuals that often come from very little, fighting and clawing their way to something.  Something better for themselves.  Something better for their family.  A life they never truly knew could be a reality…and that’s simply making it to the NFL.  When you then toss in first year success, after already breaking so many barriers, and the sky’s the limit.  You’re the man.  You’re the franchise.  You now have family, friends, teammates, coaches, agents, and endorsement companies all in your ear about who you are and what you can become.

For anyone, that would be something to feel prideful about and I believe that pride may have gotten to Robert Griffin III.  I feel pride led him to rush back from major injuries before he was ready.  I’m sure the organization played a big part of this too, but as an athlete you need to ensure you do what’s best for yourself, family and your own career first.  Something that I think athletes today do a better job of and receive a lot of scrutiny for.  I think pride also led RGIII to believe he was bigger than the team at times.  He thought he was more polished in the pocket than he was.  He felt he was the main reason for the franchise’s success.  A former teammate and NFL wide receiver, Santana Moss, had an interesting quote to a reporter back in 2014 when he said, “No one who ever played this game can do it on their own or can’t be helped by good coaching.  I know everything this game gave to me I got because of what I did and what my coaches and teammates did to help me.  And no matter how much talent you have, it can change quick in this game.  You gotta know that.  You gotta remember that.”

I think that’s something we all can remember in our own lives.  None of us are bigger and better than those that helped us get to where we are along the way.  All of the major accomplishments in our lives aren’t just because of us as individuals.  It’s about who helped us along the way.  Who kept pushing us to keep trying?  Who helped us along the way when we stumbled?  Who encouraged us to keep fighting towards our goals?  Who cheered for us through ups and downs?  Pride often leads to us forgetting those people and focusing solely on ourselves.  I, personally, feel that played a part in the decline of Robert Griffin III. 

The good news for him is that he has still been able to live out his dreams beyond Washington, spending the last few seasons with the Baltimore Ravens before being waived in January of this year.  I truly hope his time was well spent in Baltimore, as they have a franchise quarterback themselves, to whom RGIII should have been the perfect mentor for…as long as he didn’t let his pride get in the way.

The post 3 reasons Robert Griffin III Lost his Spark appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Brady Atkins

In the 2020 NFL season, just five players had more than eight carries over 20 yards. The leader of the bunch was Derrick Henry, who finished the season with 16 such scampers en route to an NFL Offensive Player of the Year award. Second was Nick Chubb, the Browns star running back who, despite missing four games due to injury, managed to turn 12 of his 190 carries into rushes of over 20 yards.

Neither Henry nor Chubb’s inclusions on the list are particularly surprising. Henry is an All-Pro running back, and Chubb is a back-to-back Pro Bowler. The rest of this list, however, is staggering.

Third place in 20+ yard carries, the only other player in the league with more than 10, is Lamar Jackson, the Baltimore Ravens quarterback. Not Alvin Kamara or Dalvin Cook, two absolute stars at the running back position, but Lamar Jackson, the man under center. 

As we travel down the list, it gets even more shocking. Tied for fourth place is J.K. Dobbins. Not just a rookie, not just a player who finished with fewer than 150 carries in his debut season, but a low-volume first-year running back who played on the same team as Jackson. To take it a step further, the man tied with Dobbins at eight carries over the 20-yard mark is Gus Edwards, a three-year player who has never totaled more than 750 yards on the ground, never been given more than 150 carries, and, just like Jackson and Dobbins, plays for the Baltimore Ravens.

In the 2020 NFL season, just five players had more than eight carries over 20 yards. Three of them played for the same team, the Baltimore Ravens.

Baltimore’s running success in 2020, all with a wide cast of characters who to some degree or another are shocking inclusions to the list, isn’t a fluke. It isn’t a miracle that Dobbins and Edwards, both with a lack of experience, were able to have so much success on the ground. It’s just the Lamar Jackson effect.

The Brilliance of Lamar Jackson

Lamar Jackson’s rushing dominance dates all the way back to his rookie season in 2018.

Well, actually, it began long before that. Even before his college days as a Louisville Cardinal, where a sophomore season with 1,571 yards on the ground and 21 rushing touchdowns helped him become the youngest player in NCAA history to win the Heisman trophy back in 2016. Rather, Jackson was a threat on the ground even in the days of high school football, when his skills as a runner and a thrower shone brightly to help him become the 12th ranked duel-threat quarterback in the 2015 recruiting class, despite being a smaller size player than NFL scouts typically look for in quarterbacks. 

Jackson, for as long as he has played football, has been torching people on the ground. The season following his Heisman winning campaign, he rushed for even more yards, this time breaking the 1,600-yard mark, and doing so on fewer carries too.

So, maybe Jackson’s excellence in the NFL should have been seen from a mile away– but it wasn’t. Jackson fell to the very end of the 2018 NFL Draft, was the fifth quarterback taken in the class, after faces like Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen each went over 20 picks before him. Because of his size, and because of his exceptional athleticism, Jackson was seen less like a quarterback prospect, and more like a wide receiver prospect by some scouts.

But Jackson’s career trajectory hasn’t just exceeded expectations, it has redefined the standard for NFL signal-callers, and has re-opened the door for rushing-oriented offenses to thrive in the modern era of the league. All because Jackson’s immense skill set on the ground has allowed him to torch the league from the moment he arrived.

Even in his rookie season, one where he started just seven regular-season games, Jackson made a nearly untouchable impact on the ground. Not only were his 4.7 yards per carry on par with league stars like Ezekiel Elliot, but the quarterback actually managed to outpace players like David Johnson, Leonard Fournette, and Kareem Hunt in yards per carry. With the exception of Cam Newton, no other quarterback hit over 100 carries in 2018, and Jackson was able to remain one of the league’s most efficient ball-carriers, even with the high volume.

But Jackson was as explosive his rookie year as he was efficient, finishing tied for ninth in the league in carries over 20 yards. Again, in just seven starts. Jackson’s success in limited sample size would prove to be more than an aberration in 2019, his MVP winning season.

Jackson’s brilliance on the ground in his second NFL season is hard to quantify. The Ravens quarterback finished sixth in the league in rushing yards in 2019 with 1,206 yards. Impressive in and of itself, considering once again, Lamar Jackson is not a running back. But it gets even better. Jackson hit that top-ten mark with 176 carries. No other of 16 1,000 yards rushers in 2019 did so on fewer than 200 carries, and the closest anyone came to breaking 1,000 yards on less than 200 carries was Miles Sanders, who hit 818 yards with 179 reps on the ground.

That efficiency had Jackson in a league of his own, and by a lot. Second place in yards per carry back in 2019 was Raheem Mostert, the 49ers back, who finished with 5.6 YPC. Jackson hit 6.9, and did so even while missing the final game of the season. And still, Jackson managed to match efficiency with explosion, leading the league in 20+ carries with 11.

Even without an MVP to back it up in 2020, Jackson once again continued to torch opposing defenses. Leading the league in yards per carry, breaking 1,000 yards on the ground, and, as mentioned earlier, being one of just three players to have more than 10 carries of over 20 yards.

What Jackson does on his own is production at the quarterback position that’s completely unique. Even if his passing stats struggle in comparison to players like Patrick Mahomes or Tom Brady, his total level of production makes up for whatever deficiencies Jackson may possess as a thrower. His combined 4,227 yards of offense were good for sixth in 2019, and the quarterback finished with 3,762 in 2020.

But what Jackson is able to do for his own offense might be even more impressive than what he’s able to do on his own. The boost he’s provided to the running backs on his team, the way his rushing brilliance has opened up the passing game, that is the true essence of the Lamar Jackson Effect.

What Is The Lamar Effect?

Gus Edwards, the Ravens undrafted running back from the 2018 class, the same class they drafted Jackson, has never had a season under five yards per carry, and has finished top ten in the NFL in that metric twice.

Mark Ingram, the former Ravens running back, had just once in his 10-year career had a season over five yards per carry. Past his prime, Ingram hit that mark in 2019, in what would be the third 1,000-yard season of his career, and just the second season Ingram had with over 10 touchdowns.

JK Dobbins, the Ravens rookie running back, had over 800 yards and nine touchdowns in his first year as a pro, all while splitting reps in a crowded backfield, all while getting just 134 carries, and all while being a rookie running back.

That is the Lamar Jackson effect. It’s not about what the MVP does for the Ravens’ offense on his own, it’s about what he opens up for the others players on his team. Dobbins was a highly touted rookie in the 2020 class, but expecting him to be the season’s third-most efficient ball carrier, ahead of established stars like Nick Chubb, Aaron Jones, and Dalvin Cook, all while reaching the endzone more than all but 10 other runners, is beyond any reasonable expectation.

It’s the same story for Mark Ingram and Gus Edwards’ recent success. Ingram had been a nice player prior to joining the Ravens, but was just a two-time Pro Bowler in eight years prior to joining the Ravens, and well past the age when running backs are supposed to be past their prime. None of that mattered in Ingram’s surprise 1,000-yard season, one where he, much like Dobbins in 2020, finished as a top-10 runner in efficiency. 

In fact, since Jackson became Baltimore’s full-time starter two years ago, five times have Ravens players finished in the league’s top ten in yards per carry, with Edwards finishing just outside the top ten in 2020, still with 5.0 yards per rush to his name.

All this, and all under difficult circumstances. Edwards faced eight-man boxes on just over 34% of his carries, the sixth most in the league. Dobbins finished within the top 20 as well at 23%. Things weren’t open at the start of the play for the Ravens’ designated ball carries, and yet, they opened up as the play developed.

The easiest explanation for this? NFL defenses are afraid of Lamar Jackson, the league’s deadliest runner and the most explosive player on the football field since the time he was in high school. And the Ravens know it. 

Baltimore has built an offense that lives, dies, and oftentimes thrives on their ability to execute the run-pass option. By a wide margin, the Ravens led the NFL in RPO’s in 2020, with 213 over the course of the season, with the second-place team clocking in at 176. They ran the RPO even more during Jackson’s MVP season, 271 times, to be exact. And more often than not, these run-pass options are resulting in runs. Explosive ones, too.

The RPO has helped lead to confusion at the line of scrimmage. Teams sell out to stop the Ravens running backs, but with Jackson’s ever-present threat as a runner himself, it’s hard for defenses to determine who will end up with the ball. 

With threats all across the backfield, Baltimore has committed to the running game in a pass-happy league. Nobody has run the ball more times than the Ravens over the last two seasons, and nobody has done so with as much success as Baltimore either. In 2020, the Ravens as a team finished fourth in NFL history in team rushing yards with 3,071. The team three spots above them, in first place with a staggering 3,296 yards, the 2019 Baltimore Ravens. 

Both of the Ravens’ historic rushing seasons were thanks to high-efficiency running. As a team, the Ravens averaged 5.5 yards per carry in both 2019 and 2020. Just one other team in the top 30, the 2006 Atlanta Falcons, was able to hit that mark. The Ravens did it twice in two years.

Once seen as a relic, the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson have revitalized the running game in the NFL, doing so in their own way. With a high-volume runner at quarterback with unparalleled ability as a scrambler, along with a supporting cast of unlikely stars, the Ravens have finished as a top-seven scoring offense in each of the last two seasons.

Elite offensive production through the lost art of running the ball. That is what Lamar Jackson brings to the table.

The Mass Production of Lamar-lite

The NFL is a copycat league. Once one team finds something that works, the other 31 scramble to try and replicate it. So, in the future, will the NFL try to steal the success of the Ravens as run-heavy teams that feature the quarterbacks as a massive part of that rushing attack?

Well, we already are. 

The book on Lamar Jackson coming out of college was, ”˜sure, he’s talented, but can someone of his size really stand up to the physicality of the NFL when his biggest asset is his ability as a runner?’

That was in 2018, where, through just seven games, Lamar Jackson flashed his potential for brilliance. A Ravens team that started 4-5 with Jackson on the sideline suddenly skyrocketed to 10-6 by the end of the year.

Enter Kyler Murray, the Arizona Cardinals’ unquestioned star quarterback, and the first overall pick in 2019 despite Murray weighing in a full five pounds lighter and four inches shorter than Jackson, and with Murray’s greatest strength being, you guessed it, his ability as a runner.

Lamar Jackson has laid the path for a new generation, and has formed the way we view NFL archetypes. Maybe a quarterback doesn’t have to have the strongest arm, or be the most accurate passer. Maybe, just maybe, talent is talent, regardless of what form that talent takes.

NFL teams are beginning to pick up on that. In 2018, the year before Jackson became a full-time starter, just he and Cam Newton were the only quarterbacks to get over 100 carries. Just two years later, that number has doubled, with players like Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson, and Taysom Hill each finishing with over 80, and the Eagles’ rookie Jalen Hurts hitting 63 despite starting just four games.

Those quarterbacks are finding success with their legs too. Where just three quarterbacks in 2018 finished with over 500 yards on the ground, five hit that mark in 2020, and two, Jackson and Murray, each broke the 800-yard mark. 

A high volume of quarterback carries has helped on the scoreboard as well, as four of the offenses with quarterbacks who received over 80 carries finished in the top-eight in scoring during the 2020 season.

And the trend isn’t going anywhere. Of the stacked class of rookie quarterbacks set to enter the league in 2021, four of the projected top-five, Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Zach Wilson and Trey Lance each had over 65 carries in their final college seasons. And two, Wilson and Lance, each added over 10 touchdowns on the ground in their respective last full college years.

What Lamar Jackson has brought to the league is undeniable. His success has sparked a rushing renaissance, and has ushered in a new era of quarterbacks, one whose talent lies in the running game just as much as it does the passing game.

But, as will be the case until his retirement, there is only one Lamar Jackson.

There is only one man who can truly bring the Lamar Effect to an offense.

The post The Lamar Jackson Effect: How Jackson opens up the offense appeared first on Pro Football Mania.