Change My Mind: Lamar Jackson

Today’s Take: Lamar Jackson is just “RG III” waiting to happen.

The Argument: Conveniently enough, they are both on the same roster. Hopefully, he is warning Jackson about what happens to running quarterbacks in this league.  Let’s be honest, if anybody leaned that lesson in the NFL, it was him.  Like it or not, the National Football League is all about protecting quarterbacks, and nearly all those protections evaporate the second the quarterback pulls down the ball and flees the pocket.

History doesn’t lie. Right now, Tom Brady and Drew Brees are still playing top-flight football in their 40s, these are two guys who don’t leave the pocket much.  Right now, do you know who else is  40? Michael Vick.  Do you care to hazard a guess where he is as you read this? He’s probably in a cryo-therapy tub because he got the absolute shit beaten out of him during his career…which don’t forget had a two-year intermission which allowed to heal up from the first half of his career.

In other words, while the hype-machine in the sports media has kicked in overdrive on Lamar Jackson, the fact remains that even his most ardent supporters admit “there’s room for him to grow.”  What that is “code” for is Jackson has tantalizing athletic ability, but as a pure passer, he shows just enough flashes of brilliance to keep drawing interest from a quarterback-hungry league.  I’ve seen him make the occasional amazing throw on the run, but for every one of those, I’ve also seen him short-hop a receiver or chuck it into an opposing team meeting.

The bottom line is while Jackson shows a ton of potential, history suggests he won’t live up to it. This guy never impressed me in college. He racked up fat numbers against the Wake Forests of the world, and disappeared against real talent. Whatever progress he makes as a passer will disappear when he’s pressured, then he will revert to what he does best.  Once he goes back to relying on his legs to create escapes, that’s when the toll on his body will start piling up, and then will come the eventual blown-out knee.  Once that happens, voilà…Lamar Jackson becomes another “RG III.”

Change my mind.

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About J-Dub

What your view of sports would be if you had too many concussions

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4 comments on “Change My Mind: Lamar Jackson”

1. gary loggins

   September 8, 2019

   

   Wait… RGIII’s still in the NFL???

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   Reply
   • J-Dub

     September 8, 2019

     

     Believe it or not…yes he is…

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     Reply
2. SportsChump

   September 10, 2019

   

   The Dolphins must have read this post before Sunday’s game.

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   Reply
   • J-Dub

     September 10, 2019

     

     The Dolphins are the NFL equivalent to Wake Forest.

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     Reply

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