The Ravens are hellbent on designing their scheme around

Lamar Jackson and revolutionizing modern offense in 2019. But if Jackson can’t improve as a passer Jack Butler Jersey , there will be no such revolution." Latest NewsCommentaryWill Lamar Jackson stay healthy long enough for the Ravens to revolutionize offense in the NFL? New,89commentsThe Ravens are hellbent on designing their scheme around the abilities of quarterback Lamar Jackson and revolutionizing modern offense in 2019. But if Jackson can’t improve as a passer, there will be no such revolution. EDTShare this storyShare this on FacebookShare this on TwitterShareAll sharing optionsShareAll sharing options for:Will Lamar Jackson stay healthy long enough for the Ravens to revolutionize offense in the NFL? TwitterFacebookRedditPocketFlipboardEmailPhoto by Will Newton/Getty ImagesMaybe I’m just a Steelers jerk fan when I ask this question: When John Harbaugh, the coach of the Ravens, says he’s going to revolutionize offense in the NFL, is this just his way of saying, “Yeah, our quarterback isn’t very accurate with his passes, but he sure can run, so we’re going to make the best of it”?Yes, it’s true, John Harbaugh, a coach known more for his knowledge of special teams and defense, has been pretty adamant early in Ravens training camp that they can do for the modern NFL offense what the 49ers did in the 1980s under the leadership of the brilliant Bill Walsh, in many ways the godfather of the contemporary passing game. “Standing in front of the team, Harbaugh said the Ravens weren’t going to chase the long-standing model of the drop-back passer. Baltimore is going to break the mold of NFL offenses, the head coach told his players.”That was a snippet from an ESPN.com article published on July 31, which details Harbaugh’s vision.The reason for Harbaugh’s decision to go against the grain is his quarterback: Lamar Jackson, the second-year man out of Louisville and the key component to Harbaugh’s master plan. The Ravens are going to try and keep opponents off-balance with an array of run-pass option schemes designed around Jackson’s ability to make things happen with both his arm and his legs. Fine Joe Greene Jersey , but can Jackson do the arm thing? That’s going to be the real key to this plan. If Jackson can’t, if his accuracy and inability to progress beyond his second read before taking off and running (two things that were listed as weaknesses in his NFL.com Draft Profile), are still problems in 2019, I don’t see how he will last long enough to revolutionize anything.Jackson set the record for single-season rushing attempts for a quarterback last year with 147. That’s a lot of rushing attempts for a passer that is listed at 212 pounds. Even if Jackson is a little bigger this year, as was mentioned in the ESPN.com story, will his frame be able to withstand the pounding over the course of a 16-game season, especially since Harbaugh seems to indicate his young quarterback would likely smash the single-season record for attempts in 2019?To the Ravens credit, they recognized they were going nowhere with Joe Flacco a season ago; they made Jackson their starter late in the year, utilized his ability to make things happen with his feet, and they rode him all the way to an unlikely AFC North title. But in Baltimore’s playoff game against the Chargers, Jackson was exposed as a quarterback a defense could keep in check just as long as it contained him as a runner. Isn’t that the recipe for any NFL defense, make an offense one-dimensional? And if the strength of an offense is running the football, shutting that element down almost guarantees success.To lend some expertise toHarbaugh’s vision, he hired Greg Roman as offensive coordinator. Roman was previously the architect of offenses led by Colin Kaepernick and Tyrod Taylor. Therefore, the theory is, he’ll be able to take Jackson, who is considered to have a much higher upside, and, to reiterate Terrell Edmunds Jersey , pull a Bill Walsh. The thing that Walsh did with the 49ers in the 1980s, though, was take advantage of the many rules enacted in the previous decade—narrowing the hash-marks, eliminating bump and run coverage, allowing offensive linemen to extend their arms in pass-protection, etc.—that were clearly designed to favor the passing game. And in case you haven’t been paying attention over the past 40 years or so, the league has never stopped trying to create ways to make passing the football easier. Instead of trying to take advantage of these rules, the Ravens want to break the mold and go against the grain? What will the Ravens do if Jackson can’t significantly improve on those aforementioned passing weaknesses? If he does, look out to the entire NFL. Fran Tarkenton and Steve Young are in the Hall of Fame. Michael Vick was likely headed there before he made some very poor life choices.Randall Cunningham was a handful in his day. But what made those guys truly special was that they were complete quarterbacks who could sit back in the pocket and pick defenses apart when they had to. NFL defenses are filled with freakish athletes who are big, fast and strong. They dream of getting a free shot at the quarterback. Sure, the Ravens might initially do some damage with this planned attack that’s hellbent on revolutionizing modern offense. But what happens when defenses begin to catch up? And it might not take them too long to catch up if Jackson doesn’t have the accuracy to find his shiny new receivers downfield. What happens if Jackson becomes just another run-first quarterback? That’s a lot of hits per game to absorb from those freakish athletes on the other side of the ball. Not to disparage Jackson too much, but Harbaugh’s plan sounds an awful lot like what the Broncos may have had to do with Tim Tebow had Peyton Manning not been released by the Colts prior to the 2012 season. Is what Harbaugh’s proposing truly innovative, or is it merely smoke and mirrors aimed at covering up the deficiencies of his young quarterback?I guess the Steelers and the rest of the NFL will soon find out. The Seven Shots drill. What is it, and why do the Steelers practice it so much at training camp?" Latest NewsCommentaryIs ‘Seven Shots’ the only drill the Steelers practice at training camp?New,3commentsThe Seven Shots drill. What is it, and why do the Steelers practice it so much at training camp? EDTShare this storyShare this on FacebookShare this on TwitterShareAll sharing optionsShareAll sharing options for:Is ‘Seven Shots’ the only drill the Steelers practice at training camp?TwitterFacebookRedditPocketFlipboardEmailPhoto by Shelley Lipton/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesWhen I was a wee little lad—we’re talking toddler age—and football was on the old television screen, I seriously thought those behemoths (well, for the mid-1970’s, anyway) played on a field that was infinite in length.You couldn’t blame my little mind for that. After all Maurkice Pouncey Jersey , the only thing I could see on my screen (well, my mom’s screen,I didn’t have a job) was about 30 yards of field that just kept going and going like a conveyor belt. I didn’t know touchdowns. I didn’t know stadiums. Thankfully, I soon grew up and realized that touchdowns existed, and they were the most glorious part of football. As I heard stories of Steelers training camps from the 1980s, and the things that went on all the way out at mythical (at least to me at the time) Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., I actually believed all Chuck Noll did was make his players do the Oklahoma Drill over and over again. At least that’s what the highlights on the nightly sports report convinced me of. Two guys would knock heads on a simulated play until one of them was driven to the ground or the running back was knocked into next week. This often resulted in fights, with the players on the sidelines hooting and hollering because it wasn’t them. (Remember when players would fight at camp, and they didn’t have to convince everyone they were still cool with each other as if they were members of a boy band that was on the brink of breaking up?)Fast-forward to today, 2019, and the now very popular training camp drill, Seven Shots. Is this the only drill the Steelers practice at camp? I ask this because that’s what Twitter tells me on a daily basis (multiple times each day, in fact). True to its name, the drill consists of seven plays from the two-yard line. Whichever side—offense or defense—winds up with the most “wins” is declared the victor. I get to camp every other year or so, so I can’t remember if this is an actual goal line drill, where the defense has to worry about stopping the run, or if this is a different kind of deal, where the defenders must focus solely on the pass. Since there is no touching of the quarterback at training camp Cameron Heyward Jersey , defenders can’t really stop him via the sack, so how does the defense ever win this drill? I guess it can happen when the likes of Joshua Dobbs, Mason Rudolph, Diontae Johnson and Trey Griffey are involved (no offense to them), but how can anyone ever stop Ben Roethlisberger from completing a pass in Seven Shots? I’m sure it happens, but it’s got to be quite rare. Defenders have a tough enough time stopping him when they can actually wreak havoc on his person. But a Big Ben who can scramble without the worry of being hit? Yikes. Obviously, I understand this isn’t the only drill the Steelers practice at Latrobe, but why has it become so popular? Is it the state of modern football, where stopping offenses from actually driving down the field is now so rare that teams must prepare for the inevitable: First and goal? I guess it makes sense when you think of it in that regard. An offense can drive up and down the field all afternoon, but if it has to settle for too many field goals, this could lead to questions about goal line efficiency (see Todd Haley’s many years as offensive coordinator). As for the defense, Joe Haden can stop Drew Brees all afternoon long, but this doesn’t mean he and his mates won’t have to stop him again at the goal line (see those two darn pass interference penalties from Week 16 of last year). I’m not gonna lie, I spent many years (even this one) thinking Seven Shots was what they were calling those seven on seven drills the Steelers also seem to practice ad nauseam. At any rate, now that I’m aware of the popularity of Seven Shots, it will give me something to look for when the Steelers take on the Buccaneers in the first preseason game next Friday night at Heinz Field. But Roethlisberger (okay, Dobbs and Rudolph—who are we kidding?) better beware. The defenders will get to hit back in any goal line situation that arises, and the offense will only get four shots to “win.”