Lamar Jackson had a phenomenal year last year and a large part of that success was what Lamar was able to do in the pocket. In addition to cleaning up the fumbles and some of the really awful throws, Lamar was exceptional as a “pure passer” overall. And his offensive line put up great numbers as pass blockers to show for it.
(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)
I used PFF’s ratings to look at the OLs pass blocking numbers in 2019. They had ratings of Stanley: 92.8, Bozeman: 56.9, Skura: 63.5, Yanda: 85, and Brown: 83.3. That’s an average of 76.3, which was very good, if the Ravens OL replicates that in 2020 I believe the Ravens are primed to see another big season from Lamar. Yanda was well above the average, so there is some room to make up here. But improvements from Bozeman and whoever mans the Center position could help make some of that up overall as well.
I wondered if play action was something that helped Lamar, though. The Ravens use a lot of heavy looks, but they used a fair number of spread looks and empty backfields as well. So did this similar group of lineman do better or worse with Lamar vs Joe in 2018, was there a Lamar effect? Or did these guys just improve.
A few things stood out to me when I dug into the numbers. First, the Ravens ran play action passes with Flacco 23% of the time. That feels like a somewhat respectable number but in 2018, when Lamar came in, those passing attempts out of play action increased to 39%. That’s surprising, but for a rookie QB, not stunning. But Flacco had a better passer rating in non-play action attempts than play action attempts 76.1 in play action, and 86.6 in non play action. I’m not sure what to make of that, other than the fact that teams ultimately stopped respecting the run against the Ravens in 2018 with Joe. Lamar, alternately, saw his PA QB rating go from 76.1 to 97.4.
Statistically speaking, you’ve got some small sample sizes, but I think there is a clear indication that Lamar’s added skills as a runner bolstered what the Ravens could do in the passing game. But it turns out that was strictly a “Lamar” effect. The pass blocking ratings by PFF averaged 66.35 with Flacco, under Lamar, that actually dropped to 65.7.
2019 brought a bounty for all the next season. Lamar saw his passer rating rise to 109.5 in non play action pass situations but his play action rating stayed high, going to 120.7. Equally though, the offensive line saw their play jump over 10 points from the prior year with Jackson.
Ultimately, there is nothing statistical that I think stands out here to say Jackson impacted the pass blocking abilities of the team. Stanley and Brown both improved and honestly, it’d be hard not to expect that. But the only area where you might see a Lamar effect would be Yanda. He was clearly in decline, but still very good in 2019, but in 2018, Yanda was actually just good. His rating of 74.6 jumped to 85 in 2020. That could be health, or could be evidence of Lamar’s pocket presence and play action keeping defenses flat footed as a boost to the team.
I expect that the Ravens will be very good at tackle this year on the OL and if Bozeman can take a step forward but OK on offensive line. I just hope the Ravens don’t have to find out the answer to this question of how much Lamar is a factor in 2020.
Ravens Analyst
Jordan Kough is a graduate of University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He’s a long standing Ravens and Orioles fan of many years. He grew up just north of Baltimore and likes the statistical analysis of games as much as watching games themselves.