NFL quarterbacks that make plays with their legs tend to expose themselves to a much higher risk of injury, but new Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman is not planning to give that any thought when he designs a system for Lamar Jackson.
Roman, who served as Baltimore’s assistant head coach and tight ends coach last season, told reporters this week that he plans to overhaul the team’s offense “from soup to nuts.” He also spoke about the benefits of having an athletic quarterback who can contribute in the running game, which led to a question about Jackson potentially getting hurt.
“I think it’s a little overrated, the whole danger thing,” Roman said, via Jonas Shaffer of The Baltimore Sun. “Why? Because, and this is empirical data here, over the years, you kind of realize that when a quarterback decides to run, he’s in control. So now [if] he wants to slide, he can slide. If he wants to dive, he can dive, get out of bounds, all of those different things. He can get down, declare himself down.”
That’s all a big if, of course. Roman also made the point that quarterbacks who are standing in the pocket and don’t see hits coming are opening themselves up for injury, but that’s why pocket awareness is important.
We see Roman’s point. Designed runs give the quarterback more control over the play, but quarterbacks who run are going to get hit more. That’s just a fact.
Running is always going to be part of Jackson’s game, but he’s going to have to improve his passing if he wants to avoid the types of reactions he got from Ravens fans last year. It’s up to Roman to help the former Louisville star find that balance.
