Lamar Jackson let Nelson Agholor know he was dissatisfied.
The Ravens quarterback anticipated his new extensive receiver to run a unique route throughout the group’s minicamp follow Tuesday, and Jackson spoke out in a means he may not have in previous years.
In this respect, he appeared to attract inspiration from offensive coordinator Todd Monken, a far louder follow critic than his predecessor, Greg Roman.
“Yeah, you could say that. It’s rubbing off a little bit,” Jackson informed reporters Wednesday, laughing as he praised Monken’s outspoken model. “Not even talking about [Greg] Roman, when I first signed, when I seen [Monken], I didn’t think he was really that explosive when he was speaking. Even in the meeting room, he’s going to have you laughing and stuff, but he’s dead serious about what he’s saying, and it means a lot, just for him to have that going on with our offense. Everybody’s dialed in and knows what coach is thinking.”
Monken doesn’t need credit score for Jackson’s higher assertiveness, however he does need a loud presence orchestrating his offense.
“It has nothing to do with me,” he stated. “It has a lot to do with the quarterback and the communication, being the epicenter of what we do. That’s the start of what we do, the quarterback being loud.”
The higher quantity from coordinator and quarterback is one other mark of change for a Ravens offense that had stagnated below Roman. The full dimension of Monken’s imaginative and prescient received’t be identified till September when the actual video games begin, however his offense, ragged although it seems to be at occasions throughout this implementation stage, actually sounds completely different.
He’s asking Jackson to take cost on the line of scrimmage and to be assured about making adjustments within the seconds earlier than every snap.
Jackson stated he has yearned for that stage of authority.
“Coach Todd Monken is just giving us the keys to the offense, letting us do our thing,” he stated. “Yeah, I was definitely eager. There’s certain things we see in the film room that we might not get when we’re playing. And sometimes, I want to make adjustments. Coach Monken is giving us that free will to make things happen.”
Ravens coach John Harbaugh believes the brand new strategy will sync with Jackson’s maturation as a quarterback.
“It will be a different lens he’s going to be looking through,” he stated. “I do think it’s going to fit Lamar; I’ve told him that. We had a great talk about it [Monday]. I think it’s going to fit the way he sees the game really well; that’s the hope. He feels that way right now, so now we’ve just got to get to work and let it rip and see what happens.”
Though Monken has solely labored together with his franchise quarterback for just a few weeks, he’s seeing the buy-in he had hoped for: “He’s embraced trying to be louder, trying to be in control, and he’s embraced learning the system. We’ve still got a ways to go.”
By that, Monken implies that for all his chic instruments, Jackson’s subsequent evolution can be to stay a step forward of opponents earlier than every snap.
“There’s not a throw he can’t make. There’s not a play he can’t make,” he stated. “Like any player, it’s when you get to the line of scrimmage, what is [the defense] doing? What does that mean to us? Are our eyes in the right spot? Are we giving ourselves a chance for the play to be successful?”
Will this summer season of change result in rising pains within the early weeks of the common season? Jackson doesn’t suppose so. He famous that the Ravens went 14-2 and posted essentially the most environment friendly offensive season of their historical past in Roman’s first season as coordinator.
“I don’t think it’ll take that long,” Jackson stated. “The sky’s the limit with this offense.”
Jackson lastly had an opportunity to work with essentially the most well-known of his new extensive receivers when Odell Beckham Jr. took the sector for follow Tuesday. The superstars had talked of enjoying collectively earlier than Beckham signed his one-year cope with the Ravens and earlier than Jackson agreed to the reported $260 million extension that may hold him in Baltimore.
How did actuality match as much as the plans they made?
“I think he looked pretty smooth — crisp routes, great hands,” Jackson stated.
Beckham reiterated that he is perhaps in a unique NFL metropolis if he was not so intrigued by enjoying with Jackson.
“It’s one of the reasons why I signed here,” he stated Tuesday. “I’ve watched him for years. I watched him when he was at Louisville. … One of my favorite players growing up — I’m sure he’s always used to getting the comparison — was Mike Vick. He just has that ‘it’ to him.”
After minicamp ends Thursday and earlier than coaching camp commences in late July, Beckham plans to fly to Florida to proceed figuring out with Jackson.
“I believe it’s very important, just so we can keep our chemistry going, because the season is right there,” Jackson stated. “The offseason is almost over.”
He hasn’t made a degree of adjusting his physique since final season ended with him sidelined by a knee harm. He nonetheless has a relationship with personal quarterback coach Adam Dedeaux however hasn’t labored with him this offseason.
Does Jackson really feel the load of elevated expectations, given the NFL-record contract he signed and the playmakers the Ravens have put in round him below a brand new offensive coordinator? If the group doesn’t transfer the ball extra effectively this 12 months, odds are that followers and analysts will level immediately at him.
“I feel the same I been feeling,” Jackson stated. “I don’t feel like I have pressure on my shoulders about anything.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com