Ravens QB Coach James Urban Offers Insight Into Lamar Jackson's Progress

Jackson playing his best in Year Four.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Ravens quarterbacks coach James Urban has worked closely with Lamar Jackson throughout his young career, and he's seen tremendous strides as far as his ability to throw downfield.

Urban recently gave his latest impression of Jackson and the Ravens offense. 

If you look at all seven games so far, how do you see QB Lamar Jackson’s development, and how comfortable do you see him playing in the pocket? 

Urban: “I see improvement in some areas, and we’re trying to continue that improvement. It’s something we set out to do the whole offseason and a lot of the work that we’ve set out to do we’re starting to see.”

With QB Lamar Jackson, you can see in the numbers that his passing has improved. What do you think has been the key for him to take that next step as a passer? 

Urban: “I just think it’s a natural progression. Not to discount all the hard work that he’s put in – he has. Not to discount some of the schemes that we’ve put in; I just think it’s a natural progression. He’s in Year Four in this league, and that’s the progression you need to make. Like I said before, if we’re not changing our game, then people are catching up to us or you’re not getting any better. So, that was an area of his game that we wanted to get improved upon, and that’s what he’s done.”

Offensive coordinator Greg Roman has talked a lot about this offensive scheme and how he’s built a lot more things into it so you guys can be a little more versatile. Can you talk about how QB Lamar Jackson has made adjustments in games, seeing what defenses are going to do, because they bring something unique every week – and him being able to adjust to that? 

Urban: “Yes, he’s always been that way – since Day One. He is not a ‘paint by numbers’ kind of guy. So, we are constantly talking between series. ‘This is what they’re doing. This is what might come up. These are what plays we’re liking.’ And then he applies the things that we’ve talked about and what he’s seen into how we’re doing it. Schematically, it’s not [written]; like, he doesn’t have to do it ‘this’ way. We can go various directions that we need to go within the game plan.”

A popular topic is about the different looks that you see, and how teams don’t put stuff on film, but all of a sudden, in the first quarter, you see this look that you hadn’t seen. I know you can’t prepare for that specific look, but how does that affect your preparation during the week with QB Lamar Jackson, and kind of what you look for?

Urban: “I don’t chase ghosts, and we don’t chase ghosts in our room. We don’t talk about ‘what-ifs’ and ‘what could be.’ So, we look at the film, we study the film, and then we’re focused on us. That’s our goal – our execution. Our mentality is, ‘It doesn’t matter how they line up, we have plays and schemes, [and] as long as we execute, we’ll defeat those schemes.’ So, that’s kind of how we go about it. I cannot prepare him for every eventuality, and he knows that. We don’t try to do that; we try to learn our offense, learn what we’re trying to do and then apply it as it fits.”

Talking about QB Lamar Jackson’s improvement in the passing game, has that opened up more possibilities and more throws that he can make consistently enough to where you say, “All right, we feel good about building that in and giving him that green light?” 

Urban:“Yes, there have been some areas where we’ve certainly been able to magnify that a little bit more than what it’s been in the past, but some of that is [that] we have some players on the outside who are really making plays, as well – with all of our wide receivers outside.”

A popular topic is about the different looks that you see, and how teams don’t put stuff on film, but all of a sudden, in the first quarter, you see this look that you hadn’t seen. I know you can’t prepare for that specific look, but how does that affect your preparation during the week with QB Lamar Jackson, and kind of what you look for? 

Urban: “I don’t chase ghosts, and we don’t chase ghosts in our room. We don’t talk about ‘what-ifs’ and ‘what could be.’ So, we look at the film, we study the film, and then we’re focused on us. That’s our goal – our execution. Our mentality is, ‘It doesn’t matter how they line up, we have plays and schemes, [and] as long as we execute, we’ll defeat those schemes.’ So, that’s kind of how we go about it. I cannot prepare him for every eventuality, and he knows that. We don’t try to do that; we try to learn our offense, learn what we’re trying to do and then apply it as it fits.”

Talking about QB Lamar Jackson’s improvement in the passing game, has that opened up more possibilities and more throws that he can make consistently enough to where you say, “All right, we feel good about building that in and giving him that green light?” 

Urban: “Yes, there have been some areas where we’ve certainly been able to magnify that a little bit more than what it’s been in the past, but some of that is [that] we have some players on the outside who are really making plays, as well – with all of our wide receivers outside.”

You guys have had injuries at basically every position on the offensive side of the ball. What has impressed you about QB Lamar Jackson’s ability to handle that, and whoever is out there to just keep plugging forward and improving? 

Urban: “We’re all NFL players. Everybody that is out there with us is an NFL player, and we’re proud of the guys that go out there with us. It doesn’t matter. The cliché ‘next man up,’ it is what it is, but all of these guys that are out there, many of them have lots of experience in this league – more experience in terms of years than he [Lamar Jackson] does. So, we’re good to go.”

We’re seeing QB Lamar Jackson make a lot of great throws from different arm angles this season. When you talk about athleticism as a quarterback, usually the connotations are as a runner, but how much does that athleticism play into what he’s able to do beyond the stuff that people were doing 15 years ago? 

Urban: “Well, look, I grew up with Randall Cunningham posters on my wall, and he made crazy plays, so it’s not just been 10 or 15 years. Fran Tarkenton – I mean, there are guys you can name that have been crazy athletic quarterbacks that have done things. My philosophy … My approach has always been [that] I’m not going to coach him out of what he’s done his whole life. What he can do naturally, why would I ever take that away from him – what’s worked? So, some of those unique arm angles, or the ability to race back and throw off platform or whatever all those things are … The things we chase out here [that] you see us doing all the time is that when it’s clean, and it’s easy, and you can drop back and throw it, to do that.”

One of the knocks on QB Lamar Jackson had to do with coming back and leading the team from behind. He’s done that several times this year. Did you notice any chance in his demeanor this year, as far as just being more patient, calmer, or anything where if he’s in a situation where you need to make a play, he’s more ready to do that? 

Urban: “What I think that maybe the Colts game magnified a little bit is it just happened a different way, right? If you think back to Seattle a few years ago, there were a couple times he just broke contain and ran, just because that’s what the play dictated. His approach, and certainly our approach here is we will do whatever it takes to win the football game. So, if he has to drop back and throw it, and that’s what the play, the way they’re playing us dictates, like in the Colts game, and they’re giving us checkdowns, and they’re giving him the ability to do that, and there’s not this crazy pass rush where you get … then he’ll do it. And if he has to tuck it and run, then we’ll tuck it and run. But he’s going to do whatever it takes to win, and that has not changed; that’s the way he’s always been.”

Just generally speaking, how much better do you think QB Lamar Jackson is this year than he was last year or even during his MVP year? 

Urban: “I think he’s better this year than he has been, and I hope that he’s better next week than he was this week, and that’s just how we have to do it. We’re always trying to get better – every single day, tick by tick.”

Are QB Lamar Jackson’s week-to-week mechanics this year as good as you’ve seen him put on tape?

Urban: “The consistency with the mechanics is much improved, yes. Yes, it’s been much more consistent.”

How fun has it been to coach someone with QB Lamar Jackson’s demeanor and also the skill set, as well? He’s a win-at-any-cost person with the ability to win with a plethora of options. How fun is that? 

Urban: “Listen, I’m blessed. I pinch myself every day. In my quarterback room, I have three [Lamar Jackson, Tyler Huntley and Trace McSorley] great guys who work hard. They’re a joy to be around, and we’re all in it together – we’re all rowing the boat the same way. So, they interact, they coach each other, there’s lots of discussion, and he’s certainly a big part of that. So, I feel very blessed.”

When QB Lamar Jackson had to miss time at the beginning of training camp, were you concerned at the time, or did you feel that it was just a bump in the road he’d overcome? 

Urban: “You mean with the COVID thing? (Reporter: “Yes.”) My immediate thing was concern for him, concern for his health. You hate to hear someone have that thing for the second time. And who knows? There are so many unknowns about it. That was my immediate concern. Football, we’ll take care of. And when he got back and got healthy, we just went back to work. I wish he didn’t miss the time, but we certainly made up for lost time.”

Given all the injuries around QB Lamar Jackson, do you ever have to kind of say to him, “You can’t make every single play, and don’t try to do too much to make up for some of those losses,” because he clearly has the desire to do it? 

Urban: “That really doesn’t have much to do with the injuries. That has to do with him always wanting to make a play, which is a great thing, right? You’d rather coach him down than coach him up. You’d rather say, ‘Hey, listen, just take what they give you,’ instead of, ‘Go try to do it.’ So, that’s a good fault to have. He’s maturing in that way.”