All men are not created equal. We apologize, but you were lied to. Not everyone will possess Bill Gates’ IQ or John Elway’s clutch gene. Not everyone can motivate a room like Ray Lewis. Every Baltimore Ravens defender can’t be the playmaker that Ed Reed was.
Then, there’s Lamar Jackson. To truly encapsulate what he does from the quarterback position, we have to mention Frank Tarkenton, Randall Cunningham, Michael Vick, and Steve Young as comparisons. Jackson is a two-time MVP who could have earned his third trophy had a few more votes gone his way this past season.
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Some discuss his need to win a Super Bowl as a means of validation. We won’t. Jackson will win a Lombardi Trophy at some point. With the team he has been surrounded with, some believe that day will come sooner rather than later.
Jackson says this team’s offense is elite and has no ceiling.
“I believe our offense has no limits, because we got guys that can play any position. Man, there’s no roof. The ceiling is unlimited for our guys, and I really don’t want give our offense away… We’re going to keep it under the radar until teams have to see us.”
There you have it, straight from the source and live from Ravens training camp. It’s year eight, and Jackson and company are tired of these early playoff exits.
Might this be the year? The additions of everyone from DeAndre Hopkins and Jaire Alexander to rookies Mike Green and Malaki Starks have this fan base salivating. Last season, Baltimore led the NFL in rushing, and Jackson threw for 4,172 yards and 41 touchdowns while leading all NFL QBs in passer rating (119.6) and QBR (77.3).
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They say a quarterback’s best friend is a strong running game. Jackson has that. Derrick Henry came just 79 yards short of becoming the first player in NFL history to eclipse 2,000 yards rushing in a single season twice. Everyone knows how good he is. Jackson wants you to know there are weapons everywhere.
“We have a great group of guys, a great wide receiving corps, great running backs, great tight ends [and a] great offensive line. We got the same guys back, [with] one guy missing [from last year] on the O-line. Defense is looking incredible as always. We’re looking great on paper, like I said, but we’re going to see when the time comes.”
You’re on notice. So are the rest of us. Baltimore turned the 2024 NFL season into a 17-game fireworks show. Expect more of the same, if not more, in 2025.
This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: Lamar Jackson pulled no punches with his views on the Ravens’ offense