ExtremeRavens Posted 1 hour ago Posted 1 hour ago Lamar Jackson stepped out of the field house, jogged down the turf ramp and onto the practice field on a chilly Thursday afternoon in Owings Mills. It’s his new normal, returning to action after missing the previous day’s session, something that has occurred for five straight weeks and shows no signs of changing as the Ravens’ season hangs in the balance. At this point in the year and after a succession of injuries — hamstring, knee, ankle, toe — he views the weekly day off as a necessity for his 6-foot-2, 208-pound frame. “I feel like rest days are one of the most important things when you’re recovering from any injury,” Jackson said Thursday. Asked if he thinks the missed practices have impacted his play or led to a rash of turnovers of late, he said no, instead pointing to some of them being the result of tipped passes. Over the past month in particular, however, the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player has endured the worst stretch of his career. Jackson hasn’t reached a 60% completion rate in any of his past four outings. He has also thrown four interceptions, fumbled three times and at one point went three straight games without producing a touchdown — the longest span of his career — before ending that drought with one passing and one rushing touchdown last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also had an interception in that game, completed just 54.3% of his passes, struggled in the red zone and in the final two minutes of the game and the Ravens lost for the second week in a row after getting blown out on Thanksgiving night at home by the Bengals. Have Jackson’s absences made things more challenging for what has been an incongruous offense, particularly in those critical situational moments? “I think any time a player, especially your quarterback, is not able to practice — you’re talking not only the mental side of it but the timing with the receivers and then the physical part of it — there are some challenges with that,” offensive coordinator Todd Monken said Thursday. “It’s not just Lamar, it’s any player that misses time, and you’ve got to find a way to overcome that.” That’s been an insoluble constant for the quarterback and consequently the offense. It has also been something Baltimore has needed to balance. “There’s no science to it,” coach John Harbaugh said earlier this week. “You want to have everybody practicing every day; that’s your goal as a coach, but it’s a long season. These guys go through a lot; Lamar as much as anybody. “He has the ball in his hand every play; he is making plays; he’s doing what he does; he’s competing like crazy. So, there are going to be times when he is just not going to be up for practice. It’s just not going to be the best way to go about doing it, and that’s a conversation between Lamar [and] the trainers. We’re involved in that to some degree, but what’s best for him to be ready to play his best on Sunday, that’s really what matters. So sure, you’d rather have everybody practicing all the time, but if it’s not the best thing to practice, because you want to get your body right, I think you have to respect that as a coach. I know you have to respect that as a coach, so I respect Lamar and his judgment.” Jackson, meanwhile, hasn’t blamed his performance this season on injuries, saying that if he’s in a game he should be able to do all the requisite and typically exceptional things he usually does. Still, he needs to rest when he can get it, he said. When he’s not at practice, he said, he looks at film afterward. During practices he is not participating in, he said he sometimes watches from the team’s adjacent treatment room, which looks out on the practice fields. Now comes a trip to Cincinnati for a rematch. A game back of the AFC North-leading Pittsburgh Steelers and the likely path to the playoffs being through a division title, the Ravens (6-7) know little-to-no room for error and can’t afford another loss, particularly in the division. The last time the two teams met, Jackson completed just 17 of 32 passes with no touchdowns, one interception and two fumbles against what has been one of the worst defenses in the NFL all season. He said this time that the Ravens have to avoid turnovers and put more than 14 points on the board. “I feel like we just played them yesterday, but looking forward to new results, different ending,” Jackson said. He also said he feels healthy, perhaps buoyed by the extra days off over the past five weeks. Said Jackson: “I feel good.” Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article Quote
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