. . . or does it ultimately boil down to "Is your quarterback good enough?"
I see the Bills fans trying to argue that Josh Allen would be good enough to be Patrick Mahomes if he "only had more weapons."
Now, the Ravens fans are making the same excuses. But Mark Schlereth isn't buying in. . .
Have the Ravens not given Lamar Jackson enough offensive weapons? Former Super Bowl champion calls 'bulls---'
The excuses are running thin for Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens in the eyes of three-time Super Bowl champion Mark Schlereth. The former Broncos great turned NFL analyst recently put Jackson in the crosshairs, specifically dismissing the idea that the Ravens have not given him weapons throughout his career.
While highlighting how many weapons the Ravens have brought in throughout Jackson's tenure, he also noted that it's on the two-time NFL MVP to help develop those players into viable contributors.
"I do not want to hear from all of you out there that are telling me that Lamar Jackson, 'Well, they don't get him weapons,'" Schlereth said on The Stinkin Truth podcast.
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Spoiler!
"How many first-round wide receivers do you need to draft? 'Well, they're not drafting the right one.' Well, you're not developing them. How do you develop them? Your quarterback has a long way to go in developing wide receivers, so I don't want to hear that bullshit from you anymore or any of you Baltimore fans. I'm tired of it."
Baltimore drafted Jackson in the first round back in 2018. Including that offseason when it also brought in tight end Hayden Hurst in the first round (No. 25 overall), it has invested heavily at the pass-catching position. In 2019, the club drafted wideout Marquise Brown. Then, it added fellow receivers Rashod Bateman in 2021 and Zay Flowers in 2023. Brown was a solid contributor during his tenure with Baltimore but didn't exactly live up to his first-round billing and ultimately was traded to Arizona. Through three seasons, Bateman has yet to break out. Flowers showed promise as a rookie last year, but that was only one season.
"They've drafted first round on talent, they drafted tight ends in the first round, they drafted three different wide receivers since 2018 in the first round," Schlereth continued. "I mean, Aaron Rodgers went 16, 17 years with the Green Bay Packers and they never drafted a guy in the first round whether it was a tight end or a wide receiver for him. So don't tell me about it. ... Produce in the playoffs."
That last bit is the rub on Lamar Jackson's story in the NFL to this point. Despite winning two MVPs and producing as one of the top duel-threat quarterbacks in NFL history, it has yet to translate to wins in the postseason. Jackson is 2-4 in the playoffs in his career, which has put him under the microscope, especially with the team attempting to give him weapons. So long as he is unable to get them over the hump, he'll open himself up to personal scrutiny and questions of whether or not the Ravens have done enough to allow him to succeed.
Originally Posted by KCJake:
Lamar doesn't have what it takes to win in big games. Regardless of the talent he has around him. Anyone that has some football knowledge and is being honest with themselves will tell you this.
Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla:
Neither do Josh Allen or Joe Burrow.
I think, in an alternate reality where he was able to beat Mahomes, Allen would go on to win a SB. I don't think anyone in the NFC would top him.
And I think Burro, Allen, and Stroud are better than Jackson. Soon they'll all regularly beat him in the playoffs. Stroud has the opportunity to be really special.
I don't think Allen can't win a SB - I think he can't beat Mahomes... [Reply]
Last year was probably the Ravens best shot at a SB in the LameArm era. And it ended like most playoff games, with Mahomes going to the next round! [Reply]
More/better weapons obviously increase the chances of winning. Just look at purdy. How would he look without all those weapons? Well, we know already that without CMC, SF scores 6-7 points less per game. When Mahomes had Tyreek, Sammy, Travis and Kareem Hunt, the Chiefs scored 35+ points per game. Without Tyreek and Sammy, that dropped to 24 points pe game?
Or, flip it. Put either Josh Allen/Joe Burrow under center SF last season. They probably both win that SB. Even Lamar could probably win a SB with all the weapons that SF has had the last couple seasons.
Of course, the piece we're not talking about is coaching. It's not just having the best weapons. Coaching plays a huge part in winning at the highest level as well. Andy and Spags are probably as necessary to the Chiefs winning the last two SBs as any player or group of players. [Reply]
Originally Posted by |Zach|:
I think Burrow, Allen, and to a lesser degree Jackson are amazing SB worthy QB's.
I just think they came around in an era where the best football player in the history of the NFL was around.
I honestly believe both those things are true. Some really amazing potential careers are getting muted because of a legend.
They're all in the wrong conference.
If any of them were in the NFC, they could be mentioned in the same breath as NFC greats like Brock Purdy, Jimmy Garoppolo, Cam Newton, Matt Ryan, Jared Goff.... they could make the NFCCG without ever beating a team with 10+ wins and be looked upon like they've accomplished something amazing.
But, they're in the AFC where football is hard. [Reply]
Once you get paid +$45MM/year your “weapons” excuse goes out of the window. You’re paid to be a force multiplier. So, if a qb need “more weapons” then they should receive “less money”. And I felt this way about Mahomes last year. The best “weapon” an elite qb can have is an elite defense. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Chief_N_Bama:
Once you get paid +$45MM/year your “weapons” excuse goes out of the window. You’re paid to be a force multiplier. So, if a qb need “more weapons” then they should receive “less money”. And I felt this way about Mahomes last year. The best “weapon” an elite qb can have is an elite defense.
Exactly. Look at the weapons Tua has, and he still hasn’t done shit. Now they’re about to have to pay him, and I doubt he takes a team friendly deal. [Reply]
