Ravens training camp: all eyes on Lamar Jackson, but Joe Flacco is still the quarter # 1



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OWINGS MILLS, MD – There is no quarterback controversy in Baltimore. Certainly not now.

Of course, in a city so hungry for anything that looked like an NFL passing game, it did not stop a handful of fans from shouting, "We want Lamar" after first rookie Lamar Jackson . camp. But the reality is, they are going to have to wait a moment to see Jackson in whatever else that 's a complementary role on Sunday. The Ravens were the first team to take the field for the camp last week, and, taking in their first practice sessions, it is obvious that all eyes are on the selected player with the final choice of the first round .

Harbaugh being very wise with his veterans – the Ravens have an extra week of work due to their participation in the Hall of Fame – and with most of the recognizable pieces of the team being out of the field mid-air. way through the practices slowly "," according to Harbaugh, there was not much to see apart from Jackson's appearance compared to quarterback Robert Griffin III., Oh, and he was n & rsquo; Nor is there any controversy over there, since Jackson is unequivocally the # 2 quarter on the depth chart and I suspect Griffin is not even on the list when the season starts (he could man of all kinds, with no interest outside him on the free market and Baltimore probably able to mix it on and off the list on a weekly basis if necessary depending on injuries.]

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So , for the moment (and probably forever), everything is about Jackson. Any decent jet that he produced – and there were many – produced an audible reaction from the crowd and you can certainly see flashes of what might be coming. He unleashed some perfect deep bullets – including a bomb to receiver Jordan Lasley on the sideline as the Ravens' social media team was quick to get on Twitter. He looked strong and dynamic running on the left sideline from time to time, then pushing the ball off the other side of his body on a line towards the hashmarks. Sometimes it seemed like his long ball was flickering a bit – maybe his part of the NFL football fit, a little different from college – but overall he certainly looked the part.

And, without a doubt, the most interesting parts What was largely mundane practices with many special teams working and nobody in the blocks and not yet a collision to catch up, were when Baltimore used several quarterbacks. There were times when Jackson threw the ball to Griffin at one end and at times when Flacco and Jackson shared the same backfield. These games and formations will be the first ways for Jackson to take the field in the games that actually count in the standings, although we will likely see a lot of him running the entire offensive in the pre games. -season.

"Flacco said of the multi-quarterback looks." Right now, when we do it, I think it's like a big red flag in defense, like, "Hey, they do probably something. "But Lamar is an athlete, and he can throw the ball, so the opportunities are definitely endless. "

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Saturday night was going to be the big public unveiling of Jackson, with the Ravens set for the first annual padded under lights at M & T Bank Stadium (camp sessions at the center of the team are limited to just a few thousand spectators and can be hard to find). Alas, this was washed away by the rain, but with five exhibition games, and with the Ravens focused on getting Flacco, who has battled back and knee injuries in recent years, the week 1 is as healthy as possible. Six years ago, Flacco led them to the Super Bowl.

With so many players in this field, they are eager to embrace the change, given the constraints and misfortunes of this passing game. and returning from a year when Flacco managed to reach an average of 5.3 yards per attempt and with an average of no more than 7.0 yards per pitch since 2014, the momentum between Flacco and Jackson will be under scrutiny intense here. Flacco has handled the situation with aplomb and will be a great teammate and will say much of all the good stuff, but if the attack is lukewarm and the Ravens do not watch the role of a playoff club, Jackson could see a lot more ground in the second half of the season. Frankly, no one knows exactly how all this will play (Flacco should not play a lot of his rookie season and ended up taking all the shots) and the former MVP Super Bowl respects the winner of the Heisman Trophy, but also specify It's always his team.

It is widely understood that the owner Steve Bisciotti – at a time when unused tickets were at unprecedented highs and with the general interest of the fans in his team reaching unprecedented lows – was very involved in Jackson's security in the first round. So, even if Flacco flourishes under pressure as it did in the past, it could very well be elsewhere in 2019, despite everything, with a return to form perhaps a trigger for a Trade as it was for Alex Smith in Kansas City a year ago "I think everyone has thoughts and feelings when that happens," said Flacco about the Ravens traded against Jackson in the first round. As far as I'm concerned in the field and what really matters, I take it as I always take it, I work hard.

"I come into this building and I work, and I try to push others and I try to build relationships with them and I do everything I can to improve this team . And I do not change that. But obviously, I think everyone, whether they feel good or bad, when Lamar was drafted, there was a certain feeling. "

Will this feeling eventually end up including having trouble answering questions so often about a quarterback of unproven support?

"No, I do not [believe they will] because I think we"

We will certainly see, but in the meantime, it's still his team and what should be a much improved group of passcensers . (Receivers Michael Crabtree, Willie Snead and John Brown are all new, as are Hayden Hurst and Mark Andrews), there is no choice but to reach that height. 2018 will be all the talk in Baltimore along the way.

"I've seen them all out of season.I love everything about Joe.We have to be better for him.He will tell them that he needs to be better.But have a good season for him and get the new additions and then work every day in the offseason and the break that they had leave, and they worked and then see them now … I m wait for Joe to have a year of career this year and him "

A year ago, even if it was not enough to keep Smith alongside the Chiefs, despite a campaign close to MVP, stay tuned

Observations

  • Baltimore Could Finally Have Corrected Jimmy Smith is way ahead of schedule after returning from an injury to Achilles and has already taken part in team exercises: "He has Looks good there, "said Harbaugh, and Tavon Young was one of the best. The NFL's young rookie in 2016 and is back after missing all of 2017 due to an injury. "Tavon is back to where he was," said coach Chris Hewitt. enter the camp of a rookie season 2017 and Eric Weddle and Tony Jefferson should be able to contain things at the point of safety.
  • Hurst and Andrews missed early training because of muscle problems, but nothing serious and have been ravaged by injuries in recent years. old, Harbaugh is going to deceive himself decisively on the side of caution in such a long camp
  • Terrell Suggs is an absolute monster of nature and seems to be in better shape than ever before. It will need to be because Baltimore has almost no proven track record of going beyond it and there remains the biggest question with this team. They have launched Suggs into the ground in recent years, and they desperately need young people like Timmy Williams and Tyus Bowser to emerge to help Suggs and veteran Matt Judon, who continues to emerge.
  • There is no doubt that Alex Collins is the star here, and he has added five pounds of muscle to 205 this year. A year ago, the mate was not sure of winning a training squad, but he was very fit in this attack and the focus on the RPOs and the return of All Pro Wounded Marshal Yanda should open more tracks for him this year. . "I want to be the guy, I have this fire in me," Collins said. If Kenneth Dixon can avoid a suspension and an injury, he could be very productive in the third period.
  • Yanda is completely recovered from his ankle / foot injuries that cost him a good chunk of 2017, but a shoulder injury to him being held back as a precaution. Harbaugh said he could play a regular season game right now, and everyone is focusing on the same mode in September.
  • I have difficulty seeing a selection of recent draft picks. The former first quarter WR Breshad Perriman will be a commercial lure if he does nothing during the pre-season (his hands were terrible and he received support from the Bronx supporters of the camp a few times when He held the ball on routine roads). Maxx Williams, LB Kamalei Correa and DE Branson Kajusi do not make this team a team based solely on their former draft status and have been largely lost causes at this point.

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