Raven Country

Ravens' Lamar Jackson Gives Former OC Shaky Endorsement

The Baltimore Ravens will face their former offensive coordinator this week.

Jon Alfano

Nov 17, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) throws a pass against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images
Nov 17, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) throws a pass against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images / Barry Reeger-Imagn Images
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Leading into Monday night's game between the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers, all focus is on the reunion between their respective head coaches in John and Jim Harbaugh, as this marks the first game between the two since Super Bowl LVII.

However, there are plenty of other reunions to consider, as former Ravens are everywhere in the Chargers organization. Perhaps the most interesting one will be between Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who previously held the same role in Baltimore from 2019-2022.

Obviously, Jackson and Roman won't face eaach other directly on Monday, but that doesn't change the history between the two. Roman helped Jackson develop at the NFL level, and win his first MVP award in 2019. There were some bumps along the way, and Roman's run-heavy scheme drew some public criticism, but it seems like their partnership was mostly positive.

With Roman set to face his former team for the first time, Jackson was inevitably going to run into questions about him. He was asked Thursday on how Roman helped him develop as a player, and while he only had nice things to say, a long pause before his answer raised some eyebrows.

"It was good," Jackson said. "We had a lot of success. I won my first MVP with 'G-Ro's' system. We had a lot of great seasons. I believe it was just short. It was just short; that's all."

Roman resigned as the Ravens' offensive coordinator after they lost to the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2022 Wild Card round, a game Jackson missed due to injury. Leading up to his departure, public criticism surrounding his scheme reached an all-time high.

That said, Jackson's long pause was most likely just him thinking, not any indication of a rift between them. Not only did they have more ups than downs together, but Jackson isn't the type of person to air out his grievances publicly like that.

At any rate, Jackson is faring well with second-year offensive coordinator Todd Monken now running the show, winning his second MVP last season and now gunning for a third this season. The offense hit a snag in Sunday's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, so it's up to Jackson, Monken and co. to get the unit back on track.

"We're not doing a good job of being consistent," Jackson said. "We have our moments where we go into the game [and] score on the first drive. Then, there's been a couple of weeks we haven't scored on the first drive, and it's just been taking us a little while to get [into] our groove. We have to work on that; that's the biggest thing for us right now, just being consistent and, like I said earlier, just putting points on the board, because that's our job."

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Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

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