Tom Brady, Peyton Manning Name Lamar Jackson in Their Top 5 Active QBs
Lamar Jackson has been given lofty praise this offseason after his peers ranked him No. 2 in the NFL Top 100. Over the weekend at Fanatics Fest, two of the greatest of all time gave Jackson his credit as Peyton Manning and Tom Brady each named the two-time MVP among their top five active quarterbacks.
"Lamar Jackson does things that just don't seem possible with the football in his hands. He makes throws, he runs and he's smart about — he protects himself, too," Manning said. "Look, I never could run, so I never had that problem. The thing we were talking about earlier, quarterbacks that like to run, you still got to find a way to get out of bounds or get down and be there on the next play and not get hurt. Defenses — if the quarterback gets hurt, they're probably going to win that game. So, I love the way Lamar carries himself. I think he'll have a great year this year."
"Lamar Jackson always impresses me as a player," Brady said.
It's far from the first time Brady's given Jackson credit. It's been well-documented Brady has great respect for Jackson. Before he retired, Brady said Jackson is "next."
David Ojabo Praised After Preseason Performance
After being medically cleared to play Saturday against the Atlanta Falcons, outside linebacker David Ojabo showed flashes of why the Ravens drafted him in the second round in 2022. He was persistent as a pass rusher and used his strength to set the edge in the run game on Saturday. Many pundits took notice.
NFL.com’s Kevin Patra: "After two seasons washed out by injury, the former second-round pick dipped his toe into the preseason waters on Saturday. The edge rusher generated two QB pressures on just 15 first-half defensive snaps against Falcons backups. Ojabo was active, showed a good spin move and ran a solid stunt. Most importantly, Ojabo looked fresh and healthy. A pre-draft Achilles injury dropped the first-round talent and relegated him to two games as a rookie. Last year, his season ended after three games due to an ACL tear. Proving he can stay healthy in Year 3 will be big. The Ravens can use edge aid behind Kyle Van Noy and Odafe Oweh. Ojabo could be that guy if he can stay on the field."
The Baltimore Sun’s Childs Walker: "This was how he and the Ravens imagined it — Ojabo whipping around his blocker's outside shoulder and hurrying Falcons quarterback Taylor Heinicke into an incompletion."
The Baltimore Sun’s Brian Wacker: "After showing good burst, power and consistently being in the backfield in practice all week, the 2022 second-round pick carried those same traits to the game. On the stat sheet, he was credited with just one quarterback hit, but he was bothersome and disruptive on a handful of occasions and showed off his bend when it came to getting around the edge and even looked good dropping into pass coverage."
Press Box’s Bo Smolka: "Ojabo showed good moves and burst firing off the edge against the Falcons' backup linemen. His pressure forced Falcons quarterback Taylor Heinicke to throw a third-down pass that was broken up by Trenton Simpson, and Ojabo also gave a good, clean shot to Heinicke just after he unloaded another pass that fell incomplete."
PFF’s Gordon McGuinness: "The Ravens' 2022 second-round draft pick looked better than he ever has for the team in Saturday's win over the Falcons. He held the edge well against the run, earning a 69.0 PFF run-defense grade. He also flashed as a pass-rusher, with a hit and a hurry from just nine pass-rushing snaps, on his way to an 82.5 PFF pass-rushing grade"
Pundits Share Concern About Ravens Offensive Line
Through two preseason games, the Ravens have given a lot of run to the majority of their starting offensive line. While left tackle Ronnie Stanley and center Tyler Linderbaum have been on the sideline, Andrew Vorhees, Daniel Faalele, Roger Rosengarten, and Patrick Mekari have played a hefty number of snaps with middling results, writes The Athletic's Jeff Zrebiec.
"There were a few breakdowns obvious enough where scrutiny is inescapable, particularly when Ravens coach John Harbaugh had a few of his projected starting offensive linemen playing into the third quarter," Zrebiec wrote. "…there was a common trend: A lack of push in the run game against a Falcons defense sitting most of its starters. The Ravens finished with 71 rushing yards on 30 carries, a paltry 2.4 yards per carry average. Baltimore's longest carry of the day covered 8 yards. The Ravens got zero or negative yards on six rushes in the first half. Another five rushes resulted in 2 or 1-yard gains. In many cases, the running backs haven't stood a chance. Per TruMedia, the Ravens' backs averaged just 1.08 yards before contact this preseason."
Zrebiec isn't alone in his concerns, as Walker and Baltimoresports.com’s Todd Karpovich also aired their grievances of the offensive line.
"If the Ravens' offensive line does not grow up and grow together in a hurry — with coach George Warhop standing in for an ailing Joe D'Alessandris — its inconsistency could undermine everything else that's good about the team's offense," Walker wrote.
"The Ravens were able to overcome the mistakes by the offensive line against the Falcons. However, they can't afford those types of miscues when the regular season begins," Karpovich wrote. "Harbaugh will have an opportunity to get more clarity on the offensive line next week when the team travels to Green Bay for a joint practice before playing the final preseason game at Lambeau Field."
Zrebiec, however, noted how restrictive the Ravens have been in the preseason.
"Of course, some perspective is needed. Quarterback Lamar Jackson and the team's top two running backs, Derrick Henry and Justice Hill, haven't touched the field in the preseason," Zrebiec wrote. "Jackson and Henry will undoubtedly change the face of the Ravens running game and almost certainly make the offensive line look much better, too. Linderbaum, already one of the game's best centers, and Stanley will help, too. The Ravens are also not exactly going deep into Todd Monken's playbook. They're keeping things as vanilla as possible."
The Ravens have the skill-position players to win on offense and are paired with a loaded defensive unit. But they'll need the offensive line to be serviceable throughout the season.
"But nothing has the potential of squashing a season of high expectations more quickly than the star quarterback facing constant pressure and the big offseason running back addition getting hit in the backfield," Zrebiec wrote. "The Ravens insist they have the right guys to prevent that, and they better be right."
Trenton Simpson Is 'Ready to Replace Patrick Queen'
The Ravens drafted linebacker Trenton Simpson in 2023 as a possible replacement for Patrick Queen, and with Queen now in Pittsburgh, it's Simpson's turn to start. After another excellent preseason performance, pundits proclaim Simpson is the heir to Queen's abandoned throne.
ESPN’s Jamison Hensley: "Trenton Simpson is ready to replace Patrick Queen at inside linebacker. Simpson made impact plays all over the field and stopped the Falcons' first three drives," Hensley wrote. "A third-round pick from a year ago, Simpson has gone from a question mark at the start of the offseason to one of the team's top performers this summer. …Whether it has been a preseason game or a training camp practice, Simpson has been fast and aggressive, becoming a reliable playmaker next to middle linebacker Roquan Smith."
Baltimore Beatdown’s Josh Reed: "The second-year pro didn't play as long in this game as he did last week, yet he still managed to be every bit as impactful. Simpson showed just how ready he is to become Patrick Queen's replacement beside Roquan Smith. Against the Falcons, he made clutch plays behind the line of scrimmage, in open space and in coverage, all of which came on the Falcons' first three possessions of the game."
