Lamar Jackson Wants You to Stop Comparing Him to Anybody Else
Since entering the NFL, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has continued to face the constant wave of doubters concerning the manner of his play on the field. The Ravens have maintained a high level of success with him under center that has them once again in playoff contention behind another AFC North division title. With a matchup lined up against another top young quarterback in Deshaun Watson has brought forth more criticism towards Jackson to which he has issued a strong response.
Lamar Jackson’s strong start to NFL career
In his first season-plus in the league, Jackson quickly took over the helm for the Ravens while leading them to much success.
Baltimore has continued to rack up wins with the former Heisman award winner leading the charge behind his dual-threat ability. Jackson has taken that up a notch in the 2019 campaign as he has thrust himself into the MVP conversation as he’s coming off another impressive outing that has put him in rare air in NFL history.
Jackson has notched numerous accolades along the way behind his ability to significant impact the game with his legs. He is 11th in the league with 702 rushing yards, which has well on pace to join Michael Vick as the only quarterbacks to notch 1,000 rushing yards in a single season.
Despite the Ravens holding one of the best marks in the league in possible contention for the best record in the AFC, there has remained some doubt that his style of play is sustainable.
Lamar Jackson stern message to his doubters
The Ravens are lined up for another primetime matchup in Week 11, facing the Texans led by their star quarterback.
Watson has emerged as a legitimate franchise cornerstone behind his stellar play, which has led the conversation over to compare him with Jackson. When posed with that question, Jackson made it clear that he plays his unique style of football, according to Jamison Hensley of ESPN.
The two quarterbacks do share the ability to make plays with their legs, but there is an extremely different approach to the game for both players. Jackson has utilized his game-changing speed in the running game that has been a significant factor to the Ravens holding one of the best rushing attacks in the league.
Meanwhile, Watson developed into more of a pocket passer over the last couple of years with the ability to scramble more similarly to what Russell Wilson has done throughout his career. However, the one that both quarterbacks share is that they are uniquely talented and have brought futures ahead of them.
Lamar Jackson will not change his style of play
Over his brief time in the NFL, Jackson has found much success in approach to the game that features a high usage of his legs to make plays.
There may be the stigma that running quarterbacks don’t have a long shelf life in the NFL, but Jackson is quite aware of those risks but has made more calculated decisions with how he gains yards. At the same time, he still has plenty of time to develop as a passer to become a more accurate thrower that could make him a more difficult challenge for opposing defenses to stop.
The Ravens have also shown much confidence in Jackson’s playing style, as evidenced by the video above during Sunday’s win against the Cincinnati Bengals. The week before, there was also a video of Tom Brady voicing that he is a big fan of how the second-year quarterback plays.
He is far from a finished product, but there is a strong will from him and his team to stay with this playing style as it continues to push Baltimore in an upward trajectory that could see them vie for the Super Bowl.
