Big Blue View
With the blockbuster news of John Harbaugh agreeing to become the New York Giants’ next head coach, the question becomes: How is he going to lift this team out of the doldrums of the past decade? The Giants have question marks on both sides of the ball. Who Harbaugh hires as defensive coordinator is an important question for a team whose defense, or absence thereof, was the primary reason they did not contend for a playoff berth in 2025.
Still, offense pays the bills in today’s NFL. Harbaugh took over a Baltimore Ravens team in 2008 that had declined from their Super Bowl days under previous head coach Brian Billick, an era in which their defense dominated but the offense was subpar. Since Harbaugh became head coach, the Ravens have drafted two quarterbacks in the first round: Joe Flacco with the No. 18 pick in 2008, and Lamar Jackson with the No. 32 pick (after a trade-up from Round 2) in 2018. Flacco was (and still is) a conventional dropback passer and was not considered an elite quarterback, but he pretty consistently passed for more than 3,000 yards per season, and once over 4000 yards, in the first half of his career. He was good enough to lead the Ravens to a Super Bowl title in 2012.
Jackson is the more interesting case. He was considered a boom-or-bust prospect, with accuracy issues and a slight frame that worried GMs because his running was a big part of his game. Indeed, when he took over as starter late in the 2018 season when Flacco was injured, he completed only 58% of his passes, and while his running sparked the Ravens’ drive to the playoffs, they were one and done because Jackson couldn’t win through the air.
Starting in 2019, though, Jackson’s game took off. He has consistently been well over 60% in completion percentage, has twice led the league in ESPN’s QB rating metric, and won two MVP awards. The contrast between his 2018 and 2019 seasons is stark:
Jackson, along with three other rookies, Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, and Josh Rosen, were among the NFL’s worst QBs in 2018, completing significantly fewer passes than expected and effectively contributing nothing to their offenses in expected points.
One year later, here was the same figure:
In one season, Jackson became an elite NFL quarterback, right up there with Patrick Mahomes. He has gone through a succession of offensive coordinators but remained a top-tier QB throughout. From 2019-2022 his OC was Greg Roman, who has been criticized for being too run-dependent and who was recently relieved of his Los Angeles Chargers OC duties after their disastrous performance in the Wild Card game against New England.
Since 2023, the Ravens’ OC has been Todd Monken, whose offensive philosophy is more pass-oriented. There is a perception that Monken has done a better job, but it’s difficult to see evidence of that in Jackson’s stats:
Yes, Jackson’s 2023 and 2024 were his best seasons to date...
