https://bleacherreport.com/articles...rterback-but-hes-nowhere-near-a-great-one-yet
Some exceprts:
It's early in training camp—though not quite so early for the Ravens, who opened camp a week before most other teams and kick off the 2018 season in the Hall of Fame Game against the Bears on Thursday night—but one thing is clear: Jackson may be a great quarterback someday. But today is not that day. And the season opener September 9 won't be, either.
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Not that Ravens coaches or players are worried about Jackson, a first-round pick and eventual successor to Flacco.
"As far as his accuracy and all of that: He has really, really worked hard," offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said. "You can see on the practice field—it's coming now. He's getting better every day."
"Now, there'll be a time where he takes a step back to take two steps forward ... but he's done an outstanding job up to date. He's way ahead of the curve now. This guy's a hard, hard worker. Tough-minded guy."
The Ravens, like any team that's massaging a multiple-quarterback situation so it does not inflame into a controversy, are committed to staying on message: Flacco is the starter; Jackson is learning and working hard. You hear variations of that message whenever a coach or veteran is asked about the rookie.
"Lamar's a baller, man," wide receiver Michael Crabtree said. "He's out there right now working, trying to learn the offense, learn the coverages, the reads, and I feel like he's getting there."
"He's a very exciting young talent," linebacker Terrell Suggs said.
"Lamar is doing great," tackle Ronnie Stanley said. "It was definitely hard for him at first, but you can tell that he's improving, and he wants to improve more."
You get the idea.
_____
But while Flacco is having an exceptional camp, he's clearly past his never-scintillating prime. And Jackson dealt with nonstop predraft prattle about being better off at wide receiver than quarterback. So all eyes and ears are on the Ravens as they assert Flacco's primacy and Jackson's status as a promising, industrious rookie quarterback, all the while undercutting that message, just a little, by auditioning Jackson as a gadget-play wide receiver.
____
Still, what's most exciting about Jackson isn't his potential to run the Wildcat or single wing, but his potential to become a dynamic all-purpose, every-down starting quarterback. And there's plenty of evidence of that potential. All you have to do is look past the wobblers and clangers.
___
Minutes after rattling the rafters with an off-target pass, Jackson finds Chris Moore in the back corner of the end zone during a goal-line seven-on-seven drill. The pass is crisp and precise: no clang, no need to repeat the rep. With Flacco, Crabtree and others getting rest-the-veteran treatment during the second halves of early-camp practices, Jackson-to-Moore is technically a starter's rep.
"That dude's amazing," Moore said of Jackson after the session. "He can throw way better than I thought he could."
Moore watched Jackson on television last year like the rest of us—"You had to watch him: He won the Heisman!" Moore reminded—and assumed Jackson had a similar skill set to Louisville's previous quarterback, whom Moore's Cincinnati Bearcats faced a few times in college.
"I thought he was gonna be similar to Teddy Bridgewater," Moore said. "But he's an athletic freak. And he can throw like any quarterback who couldn't run."
Anyway .... a solid read. Football is almost here. Hallelujah.
Some exceprts:
It's early in training camp—though not quite so early for the Ravens, who opened camp a week before most other teams and kick off the 2018 season in the Hall of Fame Game against the Bears on Thursday night—but one thing is clear: Jackson may be a great quarterback someday. But today is not that day. And the season opener September 9 won't be, either.
____
Not that Ravens coaches or players are worried about Jackson, a first-round pick and eventual successor to Flacco.
"As far as his accuracy and all of that: He has really, really worked hard," offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said. "You can see on the practice field—it's coming now. He's getting better every day."
"Now, there'll be a time where he takes a step back to take two steps forward ... but he's done an outstanding job up to date. He's way ahead of the curve now. This guy's a hard, hard worker. Tough-minded guy."
The Ravens, like any team that's massaging a multiple-quarterback situation so it does not inflame into a controversy, are committed to staying on message: Flacco is the starter; Jackson is learning and working hard. You hear variations of that message whenever a coach or veteran is asked about the rookie.
"Lamar's a baller, man," wide receiver Michael Crabtree said. "He's out there right now working, trying to learn the offense, learn the coverages, the reads, and I feel like he's getting there."
"He's a very exciting young talent," linebacker Terrell Suggs said.
"Lamar is doing great," tackle Ronnie Stanley said. "It was definitely hard for him at first, but you can tell that he's improving, and he wants to improve more."
You get the idea.
_____
But while Flacco is having an exceptional camp, he's clearly past his never-scintillating prime. And Jackson dealt with nonstop predraft prattle about being better off at wide receiver than quarterback. So all eyes and ears are on the Ravens as they assert Flacco's primacy and Jackson's status as a promising, industrious rookie quarterback, all the while undercutting that message, just a little, by auditioning Jackson as a gadget-play wide receiver.
____
Still, what's most exciting about Jackson isn't his potential to run the Wildcat or single wing, but his potential to become a dynamic all-purpose, every-down starting quarterback. And there's plenty of evidence of that potential. All you have to do is look past the wobblers and clangers.
___
Minutes after rattling the rafters with an off-target pass, Jackson finds Chris Moore in the back corner of the end zone during a goal-line seven-on-seven drill. The pass is crisp and precise: no clang, no need to repeat the rep. With Flacco, Crabtree and others getting rest-the-veteran treatment during the second halves of early-camp practices, Jackson-to-Moore is technically a starter's rep.
"That dude's amazing," Moore said of Jackson after the session. "He can throw way better than I thought he could."
Moore watched Jackson on television last year like the rest of us—"You had to watch him: He won the Heisman!" Moore reminded—and assumed Jackson had a similar skill set to Louisville's previous quarterback, whom Moore's Cincinnati Bearcats faced a few times in college.
"I thought he was gonna be similar to Teddy Bridgewater," Moore said. "But he's an athletic freak. And he can throw like any quarterback who couldn't run."
Anyway .... a solid read. Football is almost here. Hallelujah.
