Lamar Jackson and the Ravens have been on a rampage this season. They’ve lost only three games with a margin of 7, 3, and 2 points against the Steelers, Colts, and Browns, respectively. Just from last year to this year, their points per game have increased by 7 points, so it is safe to say that Todd Monken’s entry into Baltimore has helped the team’s offense flourish.
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Coach Monken came up with a plan to revamp the offense to fully utilize Lamar Jackson’s epic talents. Thus, his performance review was up for debate amongst the Ravens Flock after another dominant performance against the Jaguars this Sunday.
Did Todd Monken live up to your expectations this season ? #RavensFlock pic.twitter.com/kOP8Iz4oHC
— Lacco (@FreeJamarLacco) December 20, 2023
Most fans agree that he has given Jackson the right weapons in the right place to make the right decisions. At least the dominant 11-3 record would say so. But as far as Monken’s own performance is concerned, there are all kinds of opinions fans put forward. Some say he has been great, but there are others who find personnel to be the true change that brought the Ravens’ offense together.
Yes. As a football fan first, I just wanted us to run an NFL style offense. Sprinkle in some QB options, idc. But running an option based offense in the NFL is INSANE.
— Flock. (@bigcuddyy) December 20, 2023
Thus, it is still a question as to what exactly clicked this year for the Ravens. And how much of that can be attributed to the Monken Project? There are different things that he was brought in to solve. But making the best use of Lamar Jackson‘s talent would have been his number one priority.
Analyzing Todd Monken’s Impact on Lamar Jackson
One part of the puzzle is the red zone performance. Even until October, Monken’s main agenda was solving the red zone issue. And it was a problem he had inherited from the last season as Baltimore stood 30th in the league in the red zone, scoring only 44.44 percent of touchdowns. This year, they are at 10th overall, bettering from 44.44% to 60%.
This fan put it best:
We’ve seen Roman call 4 verts in the Red zone time after time and just told mfs to make it work. And A 300LB FULLBACK line up at the X. Offense putting up points still and situationally we’ve been so much better. The Monken project has been a success
— You’re a ghetto gloworm (@dwinizzle) December 20, 2023
So, at least in the red zone, the Monken project has been a success. But still, others believe that the offense relies heavily on Lamar Jackson’s magic.
No. The passing game is mediocre and relies on Lamar magic.
Did Monken improve the passing game or has the improvement been bc of personnel? When NA is drawing up the play n it works it’s probably the personnel.
— Andrew (@AKonizeski) December 20, 2023
While some believe it will still take some time and some more adjustments,
I think it’ll really gel next year. I think he’s still learning what Lamar likes and we need to change the o line to match his scheme. Then I think we’ll see a lot more of those precise cruise control drives that happen inconsistently rn but still frequent enough.
— john tolliver (@johntollll) December 20, 2023
He is at 70% of my expectations, we need more deep passes and unexpected plays.
— Luis lion (@luislallo82) December 20, 2023
The offensive coordinator change has been a welcome one after Greg Roman’s stale offense failed to break through at the highest level. However, two things could worry Monken and the Ravens: One is that two losses came against division rivals. And second, that regular season is only half the battle. The other half comes once the playoffs arrive since the real win for Baltimore remains to be the Lombardi and nothing less.
