09-01-2024 NFL Preview - Flipbook - Page 10
NFL ’24
Sunday, September 1, 2024 10
Jackson
from Page 8
“You would hope it’s only going to get
better, and it has,” Monken said. “Systematically and individually, it’s been a great
offseason, and he’s been great.”
How so?
“Just how we do it,” Monken continued.
“Just so we are on the same page probably.
How do we streamline it to where we are
on the same page? Players can anticipate
calls, can anticipate situations where we
want to go A, B, C, D each week. What are
our staples that we want to be able to get
to? So, eliminate as much of the guesswork
as you can.”
With less guesswork and more understanding of one another, Jackson says he
appreciates the autonomy afforded him
under Monken.
One of the more entertaining examples
last season came ahead of a key Week 16
showdown against the Miami Dolphins
with the top seed in the AFC on the line.
Jackson told Monken he was going to drop
back as if he were left-handed in the game
after having done so successfully in practice.
The result of the play was a 75-yard
bomb to Flowers with safety Javon Holland
crossed up by the quarterback’s movement.
“I’m listening to coach, seeing his vision,
but certain things I see on the field or what
I see on film, I’ll pitch my ideas,” Jackson
says. “He’s a smart guy. He has answers.
He’ll let me know right away. If he didn’t
think about something, we can talk about
it or he already has the answer on why we
shouldn’t do this or should do that.”
Having Henry, who last season rushed
for 1,167 yards and 12 touchdowns and four
years ago topped the 2,000-yard mark,
should take some pressure off, too.
The Ravens are long familiar with the
6-foot-2, 247-pound bruiser, whom they
tried to acquire just ahead of the trade
deadline last year. In Jackson’s other NFL
MVP season, 2019, Henry decimated their
defense in the playoffs with 198 yards on
30 carries for the Titans in a stunning 28-12
divisional round upset in Baltimore.
And even at age 30 — a time when most
backs’ production falls off a cliff — he has
shown little in the way of slowing down.
In his final game for Tennessee last season,
Henry gashed the Houston Texans for
153 yards and hit 21.7 mph in the process,
according to Next Gen Stats.
But perhaps most intriguing or promising are the bonds Jackson has forged with
Flowers and Likely.
The day after last season’s AFC title game
—duringwhichFlowershadacriticalfumble
as he stretched for the goal line in the fourth
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is entering his seventh year in the NFL. KARL MERTON FERRON/STAFF
quarter — the quarterback visited the wide
receiver’s home. He wanted to enlighten
the then-rookie to the kind of reaction
that would follow and to let him know the
outcome was bigger than just one play.
It was a big brother moment of sorts,
which is how Jackson describes his relationship with the fellow South Floridian,
but it wasn’t the only one.
The two spent part of their offseason
working out and hanging out. On the youth
field where Jackson competed against
Flowers’ brothers as a member of the
Pompano Beach Cowboys, Flowers caught
one pass after another from the quarterback. Off it, they grew even closer.
“We were just working on timing, and
sometimes it was me adding something to
the top of the route or me doing a move that
he likes,” Flowers told The Sun. “It’s just
good being around each other. You don’t
have to throw to have a connection — it’s
better to throw, but hanging out and being
with somebody, that will give you more of
a feeling of how a person is.”
Jackson is already well-acquainted with
how Likely is and what his impact could be.
Over his first two seasons, he has 66
catches for 784 yards and eight touchdowns, five of which came last year. He’s
been a more than sufficient fill-in for when
Mark Andrews has suffered injuries the
past two years, including last season when
he missed the final six games of the regu-
lar season and the divisional round of the
playoffs.
But this year, Jackson’s eyes widen over
the possibilities and expectations of having
Andrews and Likely on the field at the
same time — and for good reason.
Last year, the Ravens were one of the best
teams in the NFL at getting a first down or
scoring a touchdown when Andrews and
Likely were both on the field. But it was a
rare occurrence. According to TruMedia,
Andrews and Likely were on the field for
just 6.9% of Jackson’s passes.
“That’s a two-headed monster right
there,” Jackson says. “This year [Likely] is
gonna be out of this world. We’ve seen it in
practice. Every day he’s making something
happen making a spectacular catch.”
Jackson notes one play in particular that
happened in a walk-through practice not
open to the media when he threw a high
pass against a quarters defense in which
Likely went up and snared the overthrown
ball with one hand while falling to the
ground.
“We were like ‘What the heck?’” Jackson said. “He’s what a quarterback wants.”
Yet, there were and still are times when
Jackson’s footwork can get sloppy, leading to inaccurate throws, short and deep.
Other times, he has struggled to remain
consistent in his progressions.
But there’s been plenty of progress, too.
Jackson has more input and better
command of the offense. Last season, his
scrambles outpaced his designed runs for
the first time. And he often stayed behind
the line — sometimes admittedly to his
detriment — buying time with his feet as he
worked to his third or even fourth target.
Now in his seventh year in the league,
Jackson attributes his growth and understanding of the scheme to being older and
more mature as a player.
“The game has slowed down a little for
me,” he told The Sun. “I can react faster to
certain things.”
Coach John Harbaugh has been unusually effusive in his praise, particularly
earlier in training camp when he put Jackson on an even higher pedestal.
“The vision that we have together is that
Lamar Jackson is going to become and be
known and be recognized as the greatest
quarterback ever to play in the history of
the National Football League,” he said.
“That’s the vision. It’s going to happen
by Lamar, his work ethic and his brilliant
talent, by all of us pouring into that effort,
together as a team, teamwork, and by the
grace of God and God’s goodwill. That’s
how it’s going to happen. And I believe it
like we’ve already seen it.”
Jackson demurred.
“I’m not the GOAT, Tom Brady [is] the
GOAT,” he said. “Yes, I believe that’s motivation — I appreciate that; I’m still on my
way.”
