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Lamar Jackson not being warmly welcomed by Joe Flacco, Ravens already impressed; The Ravens are already gushing over Lamar Jackson
by John Breech
If the NFL wants to put together a dramatic reality show this year, they should skip out on Hard Knocks and just put a camera in the quarterback room of every team in the AFC North.
Not only do we have the ongoing drama in Pittsburgh with Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers, but it appears that Joe Flacco hasn't exactly broken out the welcome wagon for Baltimore's newest quarterback, Lamar Jackson.
Flacco hasn't given an interview since the Ravens selected Jackson, and it's starting to seem like he may not he thrilled with the team's choice. First, there was the draft event last Saturday where he shot down reporters who were trying to get his reaction to the Jackson pick. That was interesting, if only because Flacco almost never passes on an opportunity to talk to the media.
Also, Jackson revealed at the Ravens rookie minicamp on Saturday that he still hasn't heard from Flacco. It's been nine days since he's been drafted, and there hasn't been anything as simple as a text message to welcome him to the team.
The Ravens got their first extended view of Jackson on the practice field Saturday, and it sounds like they came away impressed. If you remember, one of the reasons Jackson fell to the bottom of the first round is because some teams were convinced that he didn't have the accuracy to succeed in a pro-style offense.
Well, it doesn't sound like John Harbaugh is too concerned about that. After watching Jackson throw during practice on Saturday, the Ravens coach sounded excited about his new quarterback.
"The thing I was really impressed with is I thought he was accurate," Harbaugh said, via the team's official website. "You read the reports and stuff like that, but he's a naturally talented thrower. He's got natural arm talent. That's something that I think people were questioning, so to see him out here throwing the ball naturally and very accurately, I thought that was a big plus."
Ravens assistant General Manager Eric DeCosta, who will soon be taking over the GM spot from Ozzie Newsome, explained this week why the team traded up to land Jackson after they initially passed on him at both the 16th and 25th spots in the first round.
"He was a player that some people in this building were tremendously excited about," DeCosta said, via the team's official website. "Lamar just brings a lot of dynamic qualities that we're excited to see."
Those dynamic qualities were on display at Louisville, where Jackson totaled 9,043 career passing yards and 4,132 rushing yards during a career that included two conference player of the year awards and a Heisman.
"You feel like you're watching a special athlete, you're watching a guy who transcends college football with what he can do," DeCosta said. "His dynamic qualities to make plays as a passer, as a runner, taking Louisville and making them a really, really strong football program."
With Jackson now in Baltimore, Flacco probably should be worried. CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora has already said that he doesn't expect Flacco to be with the Ravens much longer. You can listen to La Canfora talk about the team's quarterback situation by clicking the link below.
"Flacco wasn’t going to be back in 2019 even if they waited to the fifth round to draft a quarterback we had never heard of," @JasonLaCanfora said. "But this absolutely cements it."
by John Breech
If the NFL wants to put together a dramatic reality show this year, they should skip out on Hard Knocks and just put a camera in the quarterback room of every team in the AFC North.
Not only do we have the ongoing drama in Pittsburgh with Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers, but it appears that Joe Flacco hasn't exactly broken out the welcome wagon for Baltimore's newest quarterback, Lamar Jackson.
Flacco hasn't given an interview since the Ravens selected Jackson, and it's starting to seem like he may not he thrilled with the team's choice. First, there was the draft event last Saturday where he shot down reporters who were trying to get his reaction to the Jackson pick. That was interesting, if only because Flacco almost never passes on an opportunity to talk to the media.
Also, Jackson revealed at the Ravens rookie minicamp on Saturday that he still hasn't heard from Flacco. It's been nine days since he's been drafted, and there hasn't been anything as simple as a text message to welcome him to the team.
The Ravens got their first extended view of Jackson on the practice field Saturday, and it sounds like they came away impressed. If you remember, one of the reasons Jackson fell to the bottom of the first round is because some teams were convinced that he didn't have the accuracy to succeed in a pro-style offense.
Well, it doesn't sound like John Harbaugh is too concerned about that. After watching Jackson throw during practice on Saturday, the Ravens coach sounded excited about his new quarterback.
"The thing I was really impressed with is I thought he was accurate," Harbaugh said, via the team's official website. "You read the reports and stuff like that, but he's a naturally talented thrower. He's got natural arm talent. That's something that I think people were questioning, so to see him out here throwing the ball naturally and very accurately, I thought that was a big plus."
Ravens assistant General Manager Eric DeCosta, who will soon be taking over the GM spot from Ozzie Newsome, explained this week why the team traded up to land Jackson after they initially passed on him at both the 16th and 25th spots in the first round.
"He was a player that some people in this building were tremendously excited about," DeCosta said, via the team's official website. "Lamar just brings a lot of dynamic qualities that we're excited to see."
Those dynamic qualities were on display at Louisville, where Jackson totaled 9,043 career passing yards and 4,132 rushing yards during a career that included two conference player of the year awards and a Heisman.
"You feel like you're watching a special athlete, you're watching a guy who transcends college football with what he can do," DeCosta said. "His dynamic qualities to make plays as a passer, as a runner, taking Louisville and making them a really, really strong football program."
With Jackson now in Baltimore, Flacco probably should be worried. CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora has already said that he doesn't expect Flacco to be with the Ravens much longer. You can listen to La Canfora talk about the team's quarterback situation by clicking the link below.
"Flacco wasn’t going to be back in 2019 even if they waited to the fifth round to draft a quarterback we had never heard of," @JasonLaCanfora said. "But this absolutely cements it."
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