How the Ravens Are Revolutionizing Lamar Jackson’s Deep Passing Game

Joey Pulone/Baltimore Ravens PhotosQB Lamar Jackson

The Ravens offense was one of the best in the league last season, ranking fourth in points and sixth in yards per game.

But if there’s one area the Ravens want to take big strides in this year, it’s creating more explosive plays.

“We were certainly efficient in a lot of ways last year. Certainly, we could be more explosive,” Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken said. “Some of that is we were winning in games at the end. The other is how do we get the ball pushed down the field?”

Monken pointed to the Ravens’ yards-after-catch potential and specifically brought up wide receiver Rashod Bateman as somebody they want to take more deep shots to, along with Zay Flowers.

“We do have plenty of speed,” Monken said. “Now we just have to utilize it and scheme it.”

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Baltimore was middle of the pack (tied for 14th) in passing plays of 20 or more yards last season. The Ravens were better in the running game with 21 rushing plays of 20+ yards, which was the second most. The arrival of Derrick Henry should help even more in that regard.

When it comes to hitting more big passing plays, Lamar Jackson is of course the focal point. A lot has to go right to connect on those lower percentage throws (strong protection, an open receiver, etc.). For Jackson, it’s about delivering a good ball.

Often when Jackson has missed, it’s been too long. On Tuesday, Quarterbacks Coach Tee Martin talked about how he coaches Jackson on his deep accuracy when he sees him overthrow the receiver.

“I don’t say anything [to him]. You’ve got to let it rip,” Martin said. “You can’t get into the head of the thrower. You just can’t. You just keep getting reps with those people. There are so many variables there. Did he get moved off his spot in the pocket? Was it a clean release? The position of the DB. You don’t make any excuses. You just go at it against and keep trying until you get perfection.

“At the end of the day, it’s about ball placement, timing, separation from the receiver. There’s a lot combined with that. There’s no one way to throw a deep ball. … You just want to keep working to where you get as many of those variables out of the way so you can diagnose it.”

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Zach Orr Isn’t Concerned About OLB Depth

The Ravens placed outside linebacker Malik Hamm on injured reserve Thursday. Third-round pick Adisa Isaac has yet to practice since rookie minicamp due to a hamstring issue and is still on the non-football injury list.

Baltimore signed outside linebacker Quincy Roche, but Defensive Coordinator Zach Orr was asked if he’s concerned about his depth at the position at this point.

“Losing Hamm was tough. Our prayers are with him,” Orr said. “We’re still excited about Adisa. Hopefully we get him back soon. But I think we have guys that can help carry the load until Adisa gets back.”

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NFL Officials Coming to Help Ravens on Dynamic Kickoff

Baltimore is turning over every stone in its effort to gain an advantage on the NFL’s new “Dynamic Kickoff.”

The Ravens will bring in NFL officials to referee the play in practice, which will help give them a better idea of what to expect when preseason games start next week.

Special Teams Coordinator Chris Horton said the Ravens are still experimenting with how they want to handle the new kickoff, which requires the team covering the kick to wait until the ball is touched or hits inside the landing zone (between the receiving team’s 20-yard line and goal line).

“As the refs start to join the practice, we start to see how much leeway we are truly going to get in timing that ball up,” Horton said.

“Once we get those guys out here, we’re just going to keep trying things, putting those out there, just so we can get a good understanding of the play, and they’re going to officiate it.”

Chris Horton on Adjusting to Dynamic Kickoff

Ravens Rookie Switches Positions

Undrafted rookie Qadir Ismail, the son of former Ravens wide receiver Qadry Ismail, is now listed as a tight end on the roster instead of wide receiver.

Qadir had been cross-training with the tight ends since minicamp. He was first a quarterback at Villanova, then a wide receiver at Samford. Now he’s a tight end in the NFL as his football journey continues.

With his father watching practices as a member of the media, Qadir had a nice touchdown catch over the middle during Monday’s practice.

The Ravens lost undrafted tight end Travis Vokolek to the Arizona Cardinals late last season. Now the 6-foot-6, 215-pound Ismail will compete with Scotty Washington and fellow undrafted rookie tight ends Mike Rigerman and Riley Sharp for a spot on the roster.