OWINGS MILLS — Inside the Ravens’ quarterbacks room, assistant coach Tee Martin and players don’t shy away from ambitious talk.
When coach John Harbaugh recently said he thought 27-year-old Lamar Jackson could become the best quarterback ever, Martin said he believes it is an attainable goal.
“From Day One, ever since I saw him play on TV in college, I thought that [he could be the best quarterback ever],” Martin said. “I’m a father of four, and it’s like, when you see something in young people, you tell them. When you see greatness, you tell them. You own it. You want them to believe in themselves. You believe in them. You want them to know that you believe in them, and that’s what we’re working for.
“We don’t shy away from that statement, we don’t shy away from those types of expectations because if you’re not trying to be the best, then what are you trying to be? Last year, about once a week, we talked about championship quarterbacks. It’s the thing we kind of do once a week.”
Jackson is entering his seventh year in the NFL and has won the league’s MVP award twice, in 2019 and 2023. However, he’s 2-4 in playoff games, including last season’s 17-10 loss to Kansas City in the AFC Championship Game. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes went on to win his third Super Bowl; Tom Brady won seven Super Bowls.
Jackson missed the beginning of training camp with an illness, but he has recovered and is thrown the ball well. The key is to keep improving, especially the accuracy of his downfield and sideline throws.
“There is not a rep that goes by [where] there aren’t teachable moments, and there aren’t questions to be asked and answers to find and answer to questions, and that’s how [Jackson] sees the game – whether it’s the run game, whether it’s the passing game,” Martin said. “We watch individual drills. We watch pretty much everything that we put on tape – we watch it, and we learn from it, and that’s just the humbleness in him, and him understanding that he’s trying to get somewhere as a talent, he’s trying to get somewhere as a teammate, he’s trying to get somewhere as a quarterback.
“And so, I respect that, and every day, we go to work.”