When teams prepare to take on the Baltimore Ravens, they have to specifically gameplan for quarterback Lamar Jackson. That’s nothing revolutionary by itself since every team in the league has to put together a specific gameplan to stop the opposing quarterback. What is unique to Jackson and Baltimore is how a team can prepare themselves for what they’ll eventually see on the field.
Jackson’s speed, agility and arm strength put him in a unique class by himself. As the most dynamic quarterback in the league, very few teams have someone on their roster capable of mirroring that style on a scout team. according to Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, the only way to do it is to either have Michael Vick or pick up a copy of the “Madden” video game franchise.
The comparison to Vick has been a frequent one and it makes sense.
Just take a look at this run from Jackson against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2. He hit 19.7 mph on a 19-yard run, beating defenders to the edge and needing the safety to push him out of bounds.
This touchdown run against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3 shows a similar speed followed by practically dead stopping to make a defender miss.
That type of talent is impossible to teach and even harder to deal with on the field — just ask Chiefs defender Alex Okafor. But even if you managed to find a player capable of doing those things on the ground, they’d then need to have a cannon for an arm, capable of throwing a perfectly-placed deep shot like the 41-yarder to Marquise Brown in Week 2.
Since very few players in the league can do what Jackson can do, that means teams likely walk into Sundays guessing at just how dynamic Jackson really is. The first few runs probably catch defenders off guard — again, just ask Okafor, who’s been in the league for seven years now and still got caught one-on-one vs. Jackson — or have them paying too much attention to Jackson out of fear. The end result is still the same though . . . big plays.
