The Ravens hit their bye week this week as a 5-1 team that still has Super Bowl aspirations, but there is some disquiet, as players and coaches agree that this team has not been firing on all cylinders during the 2020 season.
“We’re not where we want to be,” head coach John Harbaugh said earlier this week. “I don’t think we were necessarily where we wanted to be last year at this time, either. It definitely is a work in progress, but we know we have a lot of work to do. We have to improve.”
When a team features the reigning league Most Valuable Player, much of the focus will fall on his shoulders, and questions about Lamar Jackson’s passing — his accuracy, his decision-making, his delivery — have increasingly been raised during the past few weeks.
To his credit, Jackson has guided the Ravens to five wins in six games, and as Harbaugh said, “That’s the goal, and that’s what you judge by.”
But the Ravens rank 26th in total offense and 31st in passing offense, and Jackson during the past four games has completed 56.7 percent of his passes — well off his completion percentage during his 2019 MVP year (66.1) and also lower than his rookie season (58.7).
Overall this year, Jackson has completed 63.0 percent of his passes (102-for-162), which ranks 24th among regular starters.
As they prepared for two midweek practices before an extended break for the bye weekend, both Jackson and quarterbacks coach James Urban dismissed concerns over Jackson’s accuracy, mechanics or perceived regression in the passing game.
While acknowledging occasional frustration over a missed deep shot or other open target, Jackson has repeatedly stressed confidence in the passing game, saying that the season is still young and work on the practice field will translate to success in games.
Urban, meanwhile, said that Jackson’s slip in completion percentage can be partially explained by his decision to throw balls away under pressure.
Jackson went 16-for-27 for 186 yards in the Ravens’ 30-28 win at Philadelphia, and Urban said, “I think he had about five throwaways [vs. the Eagles] … which, as coaches, we applaud. One of our quarterback commandments is, ‘Do what’s best for the team at that moment.'”
Urban lamented Jackson taking a sack that knocked the Ravens out of field-goal range, but he said, “On many other plays, he’s making wise decisions to not take a sack or make a bad play worse.”
There are other factors in Jackson’s sluggish completion percentage, including several communication issues with receiver Miles Boykin and missed deep balls for Marquise Brown.
Jackson’s interception at Washington came on a pass in which Boykin didn’t turn around in time, and at Philadelphia, Jackson threw an out route toward Boykin on the sideline, but Boykin was streaking upfield and never broke toward the sideline.
Receivers coach David Culley attributed that in part to the rush of a two-minute drill in which “Miles heard one thing and Lamar said another thing. … Miles understands what has to happen and it’s our responsibility to make sure that [miscommunication] doesn’t happen.”
Perhaps nothing has raised concerns about the passing game as much as Jackson’s delivery. He has thrown from a variety of arm angles throughout his career but seems to have become increasingly sidearm in the past few weeks.
Jackson said the Eagles’ formidable defensive front disrupted passing lanes and led to some unorthodox throws, one of which was zipped into tight end Nick Boyle’s chest for a 7-yard touchdown. But Jackson, and Urban, again dismissed any concerns about his delivery.
“I don’t think I’ve slipped” in terms of mechanics, Jackson said. “There are certain situations in the game where you have to throw in certain windows, with the guys putting their arms up trying to slap the ball. … I’m trying to find angles. So that’s why sometimes my elbow drops trying to get the ball out.”
Urban, meanwhile, said he works with Jackson on having a “consistent platform” and base in terms of mechanics.
“If it occurs to his brain to throw that shallow cross into a window that not many people can do, and throw it a little side-armed, and it’s an accurate throw, then I’m not concerned about the arm angle,” Urban said.
Asked if that platform and base have been problematic recently, Urban said, “I don’t see that at all.”
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