The Baltimore Ravens have an extremely formidable duo in quarterback Lamar Jackson and head coach John Harbaugh. The two have experienced plenty of success over the course of their time together in Baltimore, and will look to build on it during the 2021 season.
NFL Network’s Bucky Brooks stirred up plenty of controversy a few months ago when he proposed an idea of the Ravens considering moving off of Lamar Jackson and let him “graduate” in order to select a younger quarterback under team control at a reasonable price, such as Justin Fields.
Brooks named five QB-coach duos that are under pressure heading into the 2021 season, and put Jackson and Harbaugh in No. 2 spot on his list. When explaining his decision, Brooks pointed to the lack of postseason success that the two have had.
“Jackson has posted a 30-7 career regular-season record and claimed an MVP award in 2019 while dazzling as an electric dual-threat playmaker. But questions persist about his pocket-passing ability after observers watched the Ravens’ run-heavy offense fizzle in three straight early playoff exits. With Jackson and Co. underperforming in the postseason, the pressure is mounting on Harbaugh to diversify the offense to give the Ravens a better chance of advancing in the tournament. Will the Super Bowl-winning head coach stick to the unorthodox script that has made the Ravens perennial title contenders in the Jackson era? Or will he scrap the plan in favor of a traditional approach that could produce better results in the postseason? The outcome of the decision could make or break the Ravens’ next few seasons.”
Jackson and Harbaugh certainly do need to perform better in the postseason in order to get Baltimore to their goal of winning a championship. The team hasn’t made it past the Divisional Round in the playoffs over the first three years of Jackson’s career, and with a talented roster from top to bottom ready to compete in 2021, it’d be somewhat of a disappointment if the Ravens can’t advance to at least the AFC Championship this year.
Despite the lack of playoff success, it feels like the pressure to better diversify the offense is being placed on offensive coordinator Greg Roman instead of Harbaugh. While the head coach definitely has a hand in that part of the game, Roman could be the one blamed for any lack of a successful passing game.
The duo of Harbaugh and Jackson have been successful, but it’s time for them to ascend to another level. Both are great at what they do, and they should be able to do great things in 2021.