Former NFL head coach Jon Gruden posted a video on his new YouTube channel in which he used a whiteboard to illustrate the tremendous potential of the Lamar Jackson-Derrick Henry backfield combination this season.
Gruden, the lead announcer for Monday Night Football in between coaching stops, is pretty excited about what the Ravens offense could do with the zone read.
Gruden drew a zone read series play on the board, describing how difficult it would be for the Kansas City Chiefs to account for Henry and Jackson simultaneously.
Former NFL head coach Jon Gruden breaking down the Lamar Jackson-Derrick Henry combo is the exact primer you need for WK1.
After 5+ months, we finally get to see what it looks like Thursday night. #RavensFlock pic.twitter.com/CvdbTjjjeF
— Bobby Trosset (@bobbybaltim0re) September 3, 2024
He summarized it like this: “So that combination of Derrick Henry going one way and Lamar Jackson going the other way, good God! I wouldn’t want to be a part of (trying to defend) that!”
Many consider Cam Newton the greatest dual-threat quarterback of all time, but two months ago, he expressed his belief that Jackson has already surpassed him in this regard.
Northwestern starting quarterback Mike Wright was tutored directly by Newton while attending the legendary quarterback’s 7-on-7 camps in high school. Wright believes that Jackson and Newton are on their own elevated plane when it comes to quarterback speed.
“It’s easy to fall in love with how fast a quarterback is,” Wright said in an exclusive interview published for RG.”
“I’ve heard it my entire career, whenever you see a quarterback run as fast as he can- you’re like, ‘oh my god, this guy is fast.’ That’s the first thing you think about whenever you read a scouting report on myself or Lamar, you think about how fast he is and what he can do in the run game.
“That’s what makes guys like Lamar and Cam (Newton) such a threat; they also beat you with their arm.”
Wright, who ran track at Mississippi State before transferring to NU, is right- whenever a quarterback is lightning fast, it just overshadows all their other skill sets, including those in the passing game.
And the addition of Henry, a four-time Pro Bowler and two-time NFL rushing champ, provides the thunder to supplement Jackson’s lightning.
“The other thing is they got Derrick freaking Henry, good luck tackling this guy,” Gruden added.
“Let’s say you’re an unblocked safety and you’re in the hole. You’ve got nobody blocking ya, you’ve just got to tackle Derrick Henry.
“You want that job? You ain’t gonna sign up for that.”
After a long offseason of speculation and forecasting, we finally see what this potentially lethal backfield combination looks like Thursday night in Kansas City.
Gruden’s anticipation and excitement are very much reflective of most of the Ravens’ fanbase.
