Last year, the Baltimore Ravens made defensive heads spin with their record-breaking offense. To no surprise, D-coordinators spent the offseason studying Lamar Jackson’s offense with a fine-tooth comb.
Apparently, they came away with a few tells.
Jackson told The Rich Eisen Show on Wednesday that defenses know what the Ravens are going to do when they line up.
“They’re calling out our plays, stuff like that,” Jackson said. “They know what we’re doing. Sometimes stuff won’t go our way if they’re beating us to the punch.”
Eisen pressed Jackson as to whether he can hear defenders call out the Ravens’ plays.
“Yeah, they definitely do,” Jackson said. “Like, ‘run’ and stuff like that. ‘Watch out for this, watch out for that.’ Sometimes that’s what’s going on.”
Defenses being ready for the Ravens’ multifaceted run game helps, in part, explain why at times this season, Baltimore has lacked juice and consistency for long stretches. Even with defenses knowing some tells, the Ravens have kept their streak of scoring 20-plus points alive. It now sits at 31 straight games entering Week 10 versus New England. Baltimore is also averaging 170.1 rushing yards per game, tops in the NFL.
It’s not the first time we’ve heard whispers about defenders knowing Ravens plays. After Baltimore lost to Pittsburgh earlier this month, linebacker Alex Highsmith said he knew where Jackson wanted to go with the ball before a third-quarter interception.
“I knew when that play started they were coming back to that because they ran the same play on the first half, and I didn’t drop deep enough,” Highsmith said at the time, via ESPN. “So I learned from that play and just dropped deeper. … the ball just fell into my hands.”
At 6-2, Baltimore remains primed for a postseason bid despite the offense not being as potent as it was a year ago. Half the season remains for offensive coordinator Greg Roman and Jackson to fix the kinks before the playoffs begin.
