Tag: Lamar Jackson

Mark Ingram calls for Lamar Jackson MVP, remains best hype man in football

“If you’ve got a problem, come see me.”

Mark Ingram is still the NFL’s best hype man.

Last week, the Baltimore Ravens running back led “MVP!” chants from the sidelines in support of Lamar Jackson, who had himself a day against the Cincinnati Bengals. He then took to the podium and told the media Jackson was “the MVP frontrunner” and “If anybody else got to say something different about that they can come see me.” It was so much fun.

After Monday’s game in which Jackson was once again unstoppable, Ingram was once again in front of mics, telling the world not to doubt Jackson as the league’s MVP:

“If you’ve got a problem, come see me. Just run that back from last week. It’s all I’m gonna say. Man, people been trying me, but they can’t validate their opinions. So L.J. for MVP.”

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A lot were dead wrong about Lamar Jackson, but some analysts saw this coming

A lot of people were dead wrong about Lamar Jackson. Let’s celebrate the people who were right.

Lamar Jackson went off again on Monday night, leading the Ravens to a 45-6 win over the Rams that was as lethal as it was efficient. He’s the clear frontrunner for MVP this season, and is doing stuff at the quarterback position we haven’t seen, like, ever really.

He’s phenomenal. He’s fun. He’s fantastic for the league.

He’s also someone a lot of NFL experts were wrong about. There was the ridiculous argument that he should have played wide receiver when transitioning to the NFL. Some doofuses have argued that he’s too mobile, whatever that means, and that only NFL passers who stay in the pocket have succeeded in the league.

Some of these arguments come from a football space, maybe. Some are, let’s be honest here, because Jackson is black. And people still are holding on to them! These arguments are infuriating. In the cases of plenty of trolls, they’re most likely disingenuous.

And I’m not going to waste time on them. It’d be easy to dunk on all these people and feel good about myself, and call them out one by one for how wrong they were and are. I’m not going to do that. Rather, let’s highlight a few people who got Lamar Jackson’s offensive explosion exactly right.

First, there were loyal Ravens fans. Well done, believers. Good on you. Plenty saw the way the team played after they gave the team over to Jackson, and predicted big things for this year.

There were also experts who saw this coming. Shoutout Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com, who looked at Jackson film this offseason and wrote, back in July, that Jackson would be “making the leap” this year.

From the article:

Conventional wisdom says the approach can’t last, as if Baltimore won’t evolve. Jackson indeed took too many hits throughout the season, as the Ravens weren’t afraid to run him inside on key downs. But the conventional wisdom also fails to account for how much better a runner Jackson is compared to the competition.

His burst with the ball is superior to that of most running backs. He has the patience and vision of a player who sees the field holistically. While he may not be able to run this much his whole career, the Ravens aren’t crazy to believe he could thrive rushing over 200 times with 400 throws in the first few seasons of his career as he grows his passing skills.

Rosenthal was all over it, and proved dead right. Well done.

How about Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis, who on August 20 wrote the article “You Are Wrong About Lamar Jackson“?

Sharp was right about Lamar Jackson.

From the article:

With a full offseason of camp with the first-team offense, playing in an offense that is being built to emphasize his strengths, guess what?

If you doubt him, you’ll probably be wrong about Lamar Jackson in 2019, too.

He’ll be just as dynamic a runner as you remembered him being last year.

But he’s going to be a far better passer than what you were tricked into thinking he was last year.

Precisely what happened.

Or how about Charles McDonald, who looked at Jackson’s NFL potential back in 2018, before he was even in the league, for Football Outsiders.

McDonald wrote then:

The team that drafts Jackson needs to be aware that there will be some growing pains as he adjusts to the NFL. Still, he’s a supremely talented passer with advanced understanding of what college defenses were throwing at him. His electric ability as a runner will provide an immediate avenue for success, and he’ll play his entire rookie season at age 21.

Trying to peg where he’ll go in the draft process will be difficult, but he should make the team that pulls the trigger on him very happy.

I’d say the Ravens are very happy.

Per some good internet feedback, I should also shout out Benjamin Solak of The Draft Network, who wrote in June that “Consistency is the name of the game for Lamar right now, and with it acquired, he has the physical tools to take a big leap in Year 2.”

And look at Luke Easterling, back in 2017 (!), making the case for Lamar Jackson as the best quarterback in the draft class.

And while we’re at it, I’ll shout out our own Steven Ruiz, who called out the coded language about Lamar Jackson when he was being evaluated for the NFL Draft.

So yes, dunk on all the doofuses who didn’t see Jackson’s greatness, or can’t even see it now. But also, a round of applause for the analysts and fans who saw this coming.

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Lamar Jackson’s tape from Rams game has us asking: How do you stop him?

The Ravens’ Lamar Jackson finished with five touchdowns, but that doesn’t tell the full story of his dominance over the Rams.

The Baltimore Ravens took apart the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football, winning 45-6 in a game that didn’t even feel that close, if that’s possible.

Lamar Jackson was all but unstoppable. The Ravens quarterback finished with five TDs on 15-20 passing. He only had 169 yards in the air, but it was all he needed, as he also had 8 carries for 95 yards. The threat of Jackson also opened up the running game — the Ravens finished with 285 yards on the ground from five rushers, led by Mark Ingram with 111 yards.

I’m just … I’m not sure what you’re supposed to do with Jackson right now. He can make all the throws, and if you somehow cover the Ravens receivers, he can just turn the corner on your edge rusher and pick up eight yards on the ground, always, forever and ever. He’s like a cheat code right now.

Watch his highlights from the game last night. They’re flabbergasting.

Looking at that tape, again, I’m just not sure what you’re supposed to do with him. No linebacker can keep up with him, so if you spy him, you’re still dead. Go all out blitz he’s good enough to find the open receiver. Sit deep in coverage, he’ll just hang out in the pocket until someone is open, or wait until the rush gets too far up the field and run for a first down.

My favorite moment from the highlights above is at the 3:02 mark where the camera cuts to Wade Phillips on the Rams sideline and he blinks a few times, and you can just see the hope escaping. This is a man with no answers. Just puzzled, and broken.

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Lamar Jackson is the NFL’s best quarterback in 2019

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s arm and legs combine to make him the most efficient and effective quarterback in the NFL.

Entering Week 12, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was already the frontrunner for the NFL’s MVP award. Though he didn’t need to prove himself further as one of the best quarterbacks in the league, Jackson did exactly that against the Los Angeles Rams and their vaunted defense.

He ran around them with his legs and was just shy of perfect through the air en route to a 45-6 dominant victory that saw him relieved by backup Robert Griffin III in the fourth quarter. Jackson finished the game, going 15-of-20 for 169 passing yards, with five touchdown passes, no interceptions and a 139.4 passer rating. He added another 95 rushing yards on eight attempts just for good measure.

With yet another amazing game, Jackson has proven himself to be the best overall quarterback in the league.

Each and every week we hear how Jackson is going to get figured out or excuses for why someone isn’t a complete believer yet. Whether it’s people saying to throw out extra defensive backs to contain him in the pocket or to load up the box to force him to throw under duress, no defense has really figured out how to stop Jackson, and it’s not for a lack of trying or talent.

Against the New England Patriots’ top-ranked defense, Jackson torched them for 224 total yards and three total touchdowns (rushing and passing) in a 37-20 rout. Against the Texans’ solid defense, Jackson had a combined 301 yards and four touchdown passes, knocking Houston’s rankings down a few pegs. Against the Rams’ 11th-ranked defense, Jackson threw five touchdowns and nearly had 100 yards on the ground in spite of playing just three quarters of football.

Yet, we’re likely going to hear about how Jackson and the Ravens need to beat the San Francisco 49ers in dominant fashion for people to truly believe. And when asked why someone isn’t fully on the Jackson-train, it’s his passing yardage that gets called into question.

Passing yards are far too often used as the biggest metric to determine a quarterback’s worth in the NFL and by some of the most notorious of pundits. With Jackson on pace to barely crack 3,500 passing yards this season, it’s far too easy to dismiss what he’s done in 2019. Yet, it’s the efficiency at which Jackson has struck that should really impress.

Jackson’s TD:INT ratio is nearly 5:1 right now. He’s tied with Russell Wilson for the most touchdown passes in the league but Jackson has the highest TD% among quarterbacks with more than 13 attempts. He hasn’t thrown an interception since Week 5, though he now has two games with five touchdown passes this season. He has two games with a perfect 158.3 passer rating this season — something just two other quarterbacks have ever done before (Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger). He’s tied for the third-highest passer rating in the NFL.

That right there is already enough evidence to at least put Jackson in the discussion as the best quarterback in the league. But he’s so much more than just his arm, even if Jackson really wants people to assess him as a passer first and foremost.

Jackson currently has 876 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns on 124 carries this season. He’s ranked ninth in the NFL in rushing yards, tied for 11th in rushing touchdowns and his 7.1 yard-per-carry average is first by a wide margin (1.3 yards-per-carry over second place). Jackson is on pace to not just beat Michael Vick’s single-season rushing record but blow it completely out of the water.

There’s not another quarterback like Jackson in this league and that’s often the problem when trying to compare and rank him. The name we most often seen thrown around is Vick for obvious reasons. But even taking the best separate passing and rushing seasons from Vick’s career and combining them wouldn’t match what Jackson’s on pace to do this year.

Like it or not, we can’t look at Jackson and measure him by the same exact metrics as the rest of the league’s quarterbacks. We have to combine his rushing and passing totals and where they rank to get even the slightest insight on how impressive Jackson actually is. When doing that, it’s crystal clear that Jackson is the NFL’s best quarterback at this point.

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Lamar Jackson is ridiculous in such a great, fun way

Lamar Jackson is so much gosh darn fun.

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Lamar Jackson is a very special talent, which is something we were all reminded off – as if we even needed a reminder – Monday night when he absolutely tore up the Rams in a 45-6 win for the Baltimore Ravens.

Jackson was just ridiculous Monday night. He finished with five touchdown passes, which is a NFL record for a QB in his MNF debut. He also rushed for 95 yards and made the Rams defense look silly until he was pulled from the game early in the fourth quarter.

It was just really fun to watch Jackson do his thing and have fun doing his thing at such a high level.

What makes this second-year QB so great – besides his ability to make incredible throws and also torch a defense with his feet – is his competitive spirit. This guy wants to win as much as a Tom Brady or a Kobe Bryant or a Michael Jordan wants to win. He goes 110 MPH on every play and wants to make his opponents pay each time he takes a snap. He wants to compete so hard and rip out your heart every chance he gets, no matter the score of the game. That’s how legends in all different sports do it.

Losing is his enemy. And he appears to really hate his enemy.

Remember that time against the Seahawks this season when he told John Harbaugh that he wanted to go for it on fourth down and then ran for a touchdown on the play? That’s the type of confidence and killer instinct that separates the greats from really goods. And Jackson is well on his way to becoming one of the greats.

Jackson has wins over Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson, and Tom Brady  this season. Now he has a huge win over what was a good Rams defense that looked like a shell of itself as Jackson and the Ravens marched up and down the field at will on Monday night.

Baltimore’s offense right now feels like it’s pretty unstoppable. They stretch a defense out and then kill you with a running game featuring Jackson and Mark Ingram, who is running with such power and confidence right now. Want to stop the run? Then Jackson beats you with his arm or scrambles out of the pocket and picks up huge first downs with his feet.

He’s truly better than everyone else right now and should be the top name in any NFL MVP debates.

The Ravens are now 9-2 and host the 10-1 San Francisco 49ers next Sunday, which should be a fun one.

But really, any game with Jackson in it is a fun one, and NFL fans are lucky to be able to watch such an immense talent doing his thing.

Monday’s biggest winner: Marcus Peters.

Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Peters, who was traded from the Rams to the Ravens earlier this season, had some fun playing against his former team. He picked off Jared Goff late in the blowout win and then was seen appearing to mock Jalen Ramsey, the star cornerback the Rams traded for shortly after saying goodbye to Peters. Oh, and the two also had some words after the game. What a wild night in Los Angeles.

Quick hits: Jason Garrett MNF jokes… Knicks pull a Knicks… Heat break out beautiful jerseys… And more!

– Dez Bryant was one of many NFL fans to make a Jason Garrett joke after the Ravens went for it on 4th down early in Monday night’s game.

– The Knicks went out of their way Monday to shoot down Richard Jefferson’s claim that he retired instead of playing for the Knicks. Not a great look for the Knicks, but what else is new?

– The Miami Heat unveiled their ‘Vice Wave’ jerseys and they are spectacular.

– Booger McFarland made no sense on this call during MNF.

(Follow me on Twitter at @anezbitt. It might change your life. Just don’t tell me about your fantasy team.)

4 takeaways from the Ravens 45-6 win over the Rams

Here’s what we learned from the Baltimore Ravens’ latest big win over the Los Angeles Rams and just how good this team actually is.

The Baltimore Ravens have extended their winning streak to seven straight with a 45-6 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 12. The win secures the stranglehold the Ravens currently have over their division, as well as keeping them right behind the New England Patriots in the AFC playoff race.

But with the season ticking towards its end, it also taught us some things about the Ravens and just how good they are. Here are the four biggest takeaways from this win.

1. The Ravens are one of the most terrifying teams to play in 2019

Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images

The Ravens have won seven straight games and of those seven, you would have to go back to their Week 6 win over the Cincinnati Bengals to find the last game that they won by only one score. Every game since then has been a multi-score victory.

Lest you think that Baltimore has been beating up on cellar-dwellers, four of those wins came against the Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots, Houston Texans and Rams — all playoff-caliber teams with proven quarterbacks in Russell Wilson, Tom Brady, and Deshaun Watson.

The Ravens overcame some early bumps and have become one of the best teams in the league and forcing opponents to pick their poison, either burning them through the air or on the ground, or with a defense that has shown that it can score as well. Sometimes the Ravens burn teams with all three of those and that should terrify the teams remaining on their schedule, as well as whatever team they have to face in the postseason.

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Lamar Jackson is the Ravens Player of the Game in Week 12 vs. Rams

Lamar Jackson is our player of the game in the Baltimore Ravens 45-6 win over the Los Angeles Rams on “Monday Night Football” in Week 12.

Is it any surprise that Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is our player of the game for Week 12?

Jackson made a statement on his MVP campaign as he was 15-of-20 for 169 yards and five touchdown passes in the 45-6 win over the Los Angeles Rams. He also had 95 yards rushing on eight attempts as Los Angeles had no answer when trying to contain him.

Jackson continues to defy any preseason expectations as he was nearly flawless in this one. He finished the first half 9-of-9 with 87 yards and three passing touchdowns, with another 80 rushing yards. The 167 total yards were more than the Rams picked up in the first 30 minutes, who only had 113 net yards on offense by halftime. Baltimore scored on all four of their first-half possessions and led 28-6 at the break.

The offense did not slow down in the second half as they opened the third quarter with Jackson finding running back Mark Ingram for seven yards on his fourth touchdown pass of the night. The final touchdown drive for Jackson was his last series of the game with another seven-yard touchdown, this one to Willie Snead.

As the Ravens cruised into the fourth quarter on their way to their seventh consecutive win, Jackson got some much-deserved rest as Robert Griffin III took over at quarterback.

The accolades continue to pile up for Jackson. He became the first player in NFL history with consecutive games with at least four passing touchdowns and 50 rushing yards. He’s the youngest player in NFL history with multiple five passing touchdown games in a season as well. The Ravens are the first team in league history to win back-to-back games against teams with winning records by 34-plus points.

Baltimore is outscoring opponents by an average of 36-14 over the seven-game win streak and Jackson is a massive reason why. Jackson has been nearly unstoppable over the last five games and with yet another nearly perfect performance, he earns yet another post-game award.

The San Francisco 49ers top-ranked defense is up next, but considering how Baltimore neutralized Aaron Donald and the Rams, there’s little reason to believe even the best can stop Jackson and this Ravens offense.

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Irish in the NFL: Boykin Shines Again in LA Coliseum

Boykin caught 77 passes and 11 touchdowns at Notre Dame but I’ll always remember this block before anything else he did in blue and gold.

With the Baltimore Ravens playing on and owning Monday Night Football this week it meant for a chance for the nation to get a closeup of MVP-frontrunner, Lamar Jackson.  Before we get to the Notre Dame connection to this game let me just say that his meteoric rise to super-stardom makes me incredibly happy to be wrong about what he might be able to do in the NFL.

He’s not only the most exciting player going this season but he’s also got to be the favorite to win the MVP award after doing what he did to the Patriots a couple weeks ago on Sunday Night Football and again for his five touchdown passes and complete domination of the Rams on Monday Night Football.

Now to the Notre Dame side of this game:

Miles Boykin must have a thing for the Los Angeles Coliseum.  In last year’s regular season finale you may remember what he did to spring Tony Jones, Jr. to the end zone to clinch a 12-0 regular season.

Boykin caught 77 passes and 11 touchdowns at Notre Dame but I’ll always remember this block before anything else he did in blue and gold.

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Well, Boykin was at it again Monday night as the Ravens embarrassed the reigning NFC Champs on their home field, 45-6.

It may have been out of hand at this point but its remarkable to me how Boykin’s highlight catch tonight occurs in almost the exact same spot as his block, nearly exactly a year to the day, that sent the Fighting Irish to their first College Football Playoff appearance. (Shoutout to Austin Hough of The Goshen News for pointing that out to me on Twitter).

I also wouldn’t be doing my proper work if I didn’t send mad-praise the way of Ronnie Stanley who has been an absolute monster for the Ravens and is a huge reason their downright nasty rushing attack works as well as it does.

The Ravens now sit at 9-2 on the season and atop the AFC North standings.  Along with Boykin and Stanley, former Notre Dame corner back Bennett Jackson, Jr. is also currently on the Ravens roster.

7 studs, no duds from Ravens’ 45-6 win vs. Rams

The Baltimore Ravens blew out the Los Angeles Rams in Week 12 but these seven players are deserving of special recognition for their play

The Baltimore Ravens once again were doubted entering the week. And once again, they handled their business by beating the Los Angeles Rams 45-6 in Week 12.

With such a lopsided score, I can’t in good conscience say any player on Baltimore’s roster was a dud. Even if I could pick out a player that didn’t have an amazing game, not a single Ravens player had a dud-worthy performance. So I present, the seven biggest studs of Baltimore’s Week 12 win over Los Angeles.

Stud: QB, Lamar Jackson

Jackson started the game 9-of-9 for 87 yards and three touchdown passes. His first six runs went for 80 yards and yet another highlight-reel addition. Jackson being perfect to start the game was why they got out to such a large lead and were able to coast.

Jackson finished the game early in this blowout, giving way to backup Robert Griffin III in the fourth quarter. Jackson’s night ended with him completing 15-of-20 passes for 169 yards, five touchdown throws, no interceptions and a 139.4 passer rating. He added 95 yards on just eight runs.

Against a very talented defense, Jackson made sure he’ll earn a unanimous MVP award this season.

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