Baltimore Beatdown
In their preseason opening victory over the Indianapolis Colts last Thursday, the Ravens notably produced very little in the passing game. With Lamar Jackson on the sidelines, newest backup Cooper Rush played the first sets of offensive series before handing duties over to Devin Leary. Unfortunately for the Ravens, while they were able to secure a win regardless, Rush and Leary had forgettable performances.
The pair combined to complete just five of 16 passes for49 yards with one interception each between the two of them. Rush was intercepted on his first throw of the game, which was a less-than-ideal introduction to his Ravens tenure. Then, Leary struggled to the tune of a 3-for-12 showing through the air.
Luckily, the Ravens received strong contributions from their rushing attack and special teams, which helped compensate for a lack of passing prowess. The Ravens ran for 177 yards on 42 carries as a team with two touchdowns highlighted by Keaton Mitchell and Rasheen Ali. Rookie LaJontay Wester’s 87-yard punt return for a score was the premier highlight of the game.
In light of this game, the question begs: is it too early to overreact and say the Ravens could have a potential backup quarterback problem develop?
This is really a question surrounding Rush. With respect to Leary, Rush is the sole backup to Jackson while the former has long had an outside chance of sticking around in an emergency No. 3 quarterback or practice squad role. The truthful answer to this question probably lies somewhere in the middle of both extremes.
On one hand, while backup quarterback is not an insignificant role in the makeup of a roster, the reality is that if Jackson were to miss regular season action the Ravens would be in much worse shape no matter who fills in. In times where this scenario has unfortunately come to fruition in previous years, we’ve seen the Ravens’ offense take a major step back with the likes of Tyler Huntley and Josh Johnson under center.
That’s likely part of the reason, though, that the team expended greater resources this offseason to finding an upgrade in Rush. They signed the seven-year veteran to a two-year, $12 million contract in free agency; not a substantial number by any means, but much more than they’ve traditionally exhausted in the backup quarterback spot.
On the surface, Rush is in fact an upgrade over Jackson’s backups in year’s past. He’s coming off a career-best season in which he started eight games, in place of the injured Dak Prescott for the Dallas Cowboys, and managed a .500 record with 12 touchdowns to five interceptions and 1,844 passing yards. As a spot-starter in his career, Rush has done a good job helping keep the Cowboys afloat. He has a 9-5 record as a starter overall.
So, for the Ravens to get the proper “bang for their buck”, they need Rush to be a similarly steady presence behind Jackson. Rush has had a relatively quiet summer for the Ravens...
