The Baltimore Ravens have 5 problems they have to fix right away, here they are:
5. The Lamar Jackson Gimmicks take flow out of the offense:
The Lamar Jackson project isn’t working for the Baltimore Ravens. Don’t mistake that for a dig at Jackson, who has the potential to be a great quarterback in the future. Jackson has done a fantastic job being a gimmick in the offense. He’s not being used as a quarterback, but as an insertion into the offense that creates hesitation for opposing defenses. Despite this frustrating fact, Jackson and Flacco have handled it without much of a hitch.
The problem is that putting Jackson into the game is depriving the offense rhythm. The Ravens had a possession against the Browns that could have come away with points. They wasted a couple plays, one being in the red zone, with Jackson being on the field. Flacco then threw an interception on the goal line. Flacco doesn’t get a pass for making a bonehead play, but this feature of the offense can’t be helping him.
The Ravens have gotten some positive things from this experiment. Alex Collins scored a touchdown when Jackson provided a well-timed distraction, in a game against Denver. The results haven’t been consistently good though and with Jackson not showing much danger as a passer, defenses know what’s coming. Marty Mornhinweg would be wise to get this part of the offense out of the game plan. Flacco, while handling it like a professional, is obviously not into it. The purple and black need to do everything they can to help their quarterback succeed. When Flacco has been on a roll this season, the Ravens have looked borderline unstoppable.