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Baltimore Ravens: Lamar Jackson could have historic season in 2019

By Richard Bradshaw

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 30: Quarterback Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens runs for a touchdown in the first quarter against the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium on December 30, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 30: Quarterback Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens runs for a touchdown in the first quarter against the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium on December 30, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – JANUARY 06: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens throws a touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree #15 against the Los Angeles Chargers during the fourth quarter in the AFC Wild Card Playoff game at M&T Bank Stadium on January 06, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – JANUARY 06: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens throws a touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree #15 against the Los Angeles Chargers during the fourth quarter in the AFC Wild Card Playoff game at M&T Bank Stadium on January 06, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

The passing side:

No, neither Lamar Jackson nor Michael Vick are accomplished passers. While Jackson has plenty of room to grow and may improve significantly, he’ll most likely never be an elite passer. While that’s OK, he needs to at least get to Vick’s level. Believe it or not, he might not be that far off.

Vick never progressed as a passer until the second-stage of his career, when he joined the Philadelphia Eagles. While he was there, Vick played under future Hall of Fame Head Coach Andy Reid, an offensive mastermind who was able to get the most out of Vick’s talents.

Michael Vick’s 2010 season is one of the best seasons ever for a dual-threat quarterback, and definitely the best overall season of his career. Vick completed over 60% of his passes for the first time in his career, threw for over 3,000-yards (another career first) and posted a passer rating over 100.

Must Read. Baltimore Ravens have to prove themselves in 2019 season. light

For the sake of this article, we won’t compare Jackson to Vick’s 2010 season because of how seasoned he was by that point in his career, and also because of the scheme, coaching, and talent that surrounded him. Instead, we keep our focus on Vick’s time with the Atlanta Falcons.

Vick’s 2006 supporting cast wasn’t anything to write home about, featuring a stud tight end in Alge Crumpler and a young, but underachieving Roddy White (well before his breakout started). Compared to what the Baltimore Ravens fielded in 2018, there’s not too much difference. The Ravens leaned on a stud tight end as well in rookie Mark Andrews, but received very little help from the rest of its receiving core.

The striking similarities led us to the similar stat line that we discussed earlier between the two. Jackson only slightly edged Vick for passing yards, but had significantly fewer touchdowns (projected numbers). I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say it was because he was a rookie, but I’ll also point out that he was running too many times instead of spreading the ball around.

The bottom line here is that Lamar Jackson is a lot closer to a young Michael Vick as a passer than many would expect. So, now let’s bring everything together and wrap this up.

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