Harbaugh: Lamar's critics 'whistling in the graveyard'
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh has no idea why people thought defenses would figure out quarterback Lamar Jackson this season.
Some inside the NFL reportedly said during training camp that this would be the year teams solve the Jackson-led Ravens' offense. Six weeks into the 2021 season, however, the 2019 NFL MVP has torched his opponents while establishing Baltimore as one of the early Super Bowl favorites.
"I think the people who make those statements are kind of whistling in the graveyard just a little bit," Harbaugh said Monday, according to ESPN's Jamison Hensley. "It doesn't have any meaning. Anybody who knows Xs and Os are rolling their eyes when they hear something like that."
Jackson has been a crucial piece for the 5-1 Ravens, who've now won five straight, including a 34-6 victory over the red-hot Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
The 24-year-old has tossed for 1,686 yards - ninth-best in the NFL - and nine touchdowns to five interceptions in 2021 while completing 67.5% of his passes. He also ranks seventh with 392 rushing yards and first with 6.1 yards per carry, a category he's led in each of the last two seasons.
Jackson has also fashioned a league-high three fourth-quarter comebacks.
"He's played phenomenally well," Harbaugh added, according to Jonas Shaffer of the Baltimore Sun. "We've seen some different things from defenses. I think we've seen the same kind of basic principles that we saw for the last two-and-a-half, three years. ... We never see the exact same thing from any team that we've been seeing on tape. We always see something different."
Jackson won his 35th regular-season game Sunday, surpassing former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino for most among players under age 25.