When a quarterback runs for 1,200 yards in a season people will not take him seriously as a quarterback. When he runs for 1,000 yards the following year, it's inevitable that you will hear asinine and ignorant takes like, "Lamar Jackson is a running back."
It's easy to forget that Lamar Jackson won a Heisman in 2016 and not just because he is quick on his feet. He threw for 272 yards per game that year, with a 148.8 quarterback rating, and a 30:9 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He has been a really good passer as a professional quarterback as well.
The problem has been the offensive play-calling in Baltimore. Lamar isn't scrambling every play. Those were designed quarterback run plays, all thanks to offensive coordinator Greg Roman.
Thankfully Roman is out and Todd Monken, the former Tampa Bay offensive coordinator is in.
Todd Monken and Lamar Jackson have the NFL on notice
Monken is a coordinator with a history of airing it out, and with the additions of Odell Beckham and Zay Flowers at receiver, he will be able to do just that with his quarterback.
While other mobile quarterbacks such as Trevor Lawrence and Patrick Mahomes have been averaging about 3.5 carries per game during their careers, Jackson has been carrying the ball 11 times per game. That's almost as much as 1,000-yard rushers Rhamondre Stevenson, Tony Pollard, and Aaron Jones.
It's not like Jackson has been inefficient at quarterback. His 62.9 completion percentage is better than Lawrence and Josh Allen, and his 2.7-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio is better than both, and on par with Bengals signal-caller Joe Burrow. He hasn't been able to show that until now.
In the team's 25-9 Week 1 victory over the Houston Texans, Jackson completed 77 percent of his passes, and threw the ball 22 times versus six carries, for a 3.7-to-1 pass-to-rush ratio. This is a significant bump over the 2.9-to-1 ratio from last season.
Monken sees the arm talent in Jackson that has been there from the very beginning, and he has just the playbook to let Lamar show the rest of the world.
The duo has just put the NFL on notice. The Ravens are going to throw the ball this year, and that's bad news for opposing defenses.
