Ravens Player Thinks Some Criticism of Lamar Jackson is Racial Prejudice

[JonLP24]

Ask a contingent of sports media (and Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis), and they’ll tell you Lamar Jackson isn’t a threat as a thrower. He’s still just a running quarterback, they’ll say.

Ask Jackson’s teammates, and they’ll tell you a different story. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith backed Jackson, and accused the media of stereotyping the young quarterback.

From SI’s Robert Klemko:

“Any black quarterback, especially with that type of speed, will get labeled that he can’t throw, but he can throw.”

Need proof?

A number of Ravens pointed to this play (below), a 48-yard completion between Jackson and John Brown which got wiped away by an offensive holding penalty. While the play may not have counted on the stat sheet, it proved to Jackson’s teammates that he could sling the ball at the NFL level. Jackson dropped a deep ball right into the hands of Brown.

(Can't copy and paste clip)

Here’s what running back Ty Montgomery said to Sports Illustrated about Jackson’s throwing abilities:

“It’s kind of hard to listen to the TV when they question his ability to throw the ball, because he can throw the ball. His running ability overshadows his arm for whatever reason, but you saw today he was putting throws on the money and trusting his instincts. They’re always going to second guess him.”
https://www.google.com/amp/s/thebiglead.com/2018/11/28/ravens-player-thinks-some-criticism-of-lamar-jackson-is-racial-prejudice/amp/

[exboyfil]

1. Just remember - Warren Moon was undrafted

The Oilers drafted two QBs that year. Could you imagine what Warren Moon and Earl Campbell could have done together for both their careers.

The only QB taken in 1978 that any sort of decent career was Doug Williams (another black QB).

[ProfessorGAC]

2. Imagine If Moon Could Have Been There. . .

. . .at the peak of his athletic ability. Those great years in the CFL were when his arm was the strongest and his legs were the fastest.

Not that his arm wasn't great in the NFL.

[ProfessorGAC]

3. Not Going To Argue With Smith

My only concern is that QB's that run that much end up getting beat up. Ask RGIII. One stellar season and then he was hurt a lot.

Ask Bobby Douglass who can barely walk the last 15 years. He's only 71 now.

Ask Michael Vick who also had a great arm and was accurate. But he got the snot beaten out of him running that much.

There's a reason why all those option QB's, black, white or chartreuse didn't make it in the NFL. They couldn't take the pounding and never had the time to wait for the game to slow down for them, in the pocket.

Jackson is not a giant dude. They have got to get him to be patient in the pocket and learn to pick his spots or he's gonna get hurt.

[exboyfil]

4. Keeping RG3 in that wildcard game

on that torn up field was one of the greatest examples of poor coaching in history. I was screaming at the TV at the time to get him out of there before the injury. I am not a Redskins fan or particularly a RG3 fan, but I don't want to see anyone hurt, and I like seeing young players do well.

Some of RG3s worst injuries have come in the pocket or rolling outside the pocket. They haven't even been contact injuries.

I agree with you that they need to reduce the number of designed plays where Jackson is rushing.

[ProfessorGAC]

5. On That Topic

A QB that can't play at all is, obviously, useless.

Running one 20+ times just increases the possibility that you end up with a useless QB.

Back to Bobby Douglass, those were mostly designed plays and he got the stuffing knocked out of him.

He was built like a tight end and had a rocket arm, except where the ball was going was anybody's guess.

So, the "braintrust" of the Bears (Gibron, Dooley, et al) decided just to have him run. The Bears were 13 - 31 with him as the starting QB and he got killed. He didn't start much for San Diego or New Orleans and hardly played the one year in GB, because he was already toast. He was only 28 when the Bears traded him. So, in 6 years they killed him.

[JonLP24]

6. Yes Mike Shannahan played him too soon after the injury

But he can still play. He is backup to Lamar Jackson.

It looks like most of RG3 injuries came from behind the pocket one was rolling over to his left throwing the ball out of bounds.