-
Jamison Hensley
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — New Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Declan Doyle is fired up to build a new offense around quarterback Lamar Jackson.
It’s just uncertain when Doyle will start to work with the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player.
The Ravens’ offseason program will begin on April 6 – which was mentioned Wednesday by both Doyle and Ravens coach Jesse Minter — and their on-field workouts will start in May. Jackson has typically skipped most of the voluntary workouts and didn’t attend eight of the nine on-field practices last spring.
Chicago Bears, but coach Ben Johnson called the plays.
When envisioning Baltimore’s new offense, Doyle sees a «higher ceiling» in Jackson’s game. He pointed out how Jackson can improve on the initial play call before going off-script.
«That first play can be more consistent at times with his eyes, with his footwork within the system,» Doyle said. «That’s kind of what I’ve noticed as we’ve watched the tape.»
Jackson, 29, has been among the best dual-threat quarterbacks in NFL history. He currently tied for the best career passer rating (102.2) and has produced the most rushing yards ever by a quarterback (6,522).
Doyle emphasized the goal is to always stick with the play called, but he understands how improvisation by a quarterback can win games, which is what he saw with Caleb Williams in Chicago last year.
«The quarterback is the eraser of game planning errors or mistakes,» Doyle said. «If there’s something where we expected a certain coverage and we didn’t get it, at times the quarterback’s got to put the cape on and go be Superman. And so in a lot of ways that’s the similarity between their games is that Lamar does have the ability to go do that at time
