All the heavyweights of the past season are having a hard time showing up in the 2024 season. One of those teams is the Baltimore Ravens, who had a shabby 0-2 start to their season. That’s because suddenly, the team is confused with its offensive identity and the head coach, John Harbaugh is in a bit of an experimental phase.

After week 1 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the HCs comments about Derrick Henry raised some eyebrows. The Ravens didn’t give the ball to Henry as much as they were expected to, and Lamar Jackson was still doing some heavy lifting as far as the run game is concerned. These tactics didn’t sit well with Mark Schlereth, the former Broncos lineman.

“After week 1, Derrick Henry had 15 carries and John Harbaugh goes, ‘Well, we didn’t bring him here to run the ball 30 times in a game.’ What? What do you mean? That’s exactly why you brought him here because that’s who you guys are. Quit trying to make Lamar Jackson, Tom Brady. Like, he’s not,” Schlereth said.

To set the record straight, Henry ran the ball 13 times over 46 yards in the game against the Kansas City Chiefs and even scored a touchdown. However, John Harbaugh wants to keep it fair and square and give equal touches to all his players. It’s a nice ideology, but it’s a far cry from the offensive plays that we’ve seen from the Ravens so far. The former Broncos lineman wanted to convey the same on The Stinkin Truth Podcast with Mark Schlereth.

“We didn’t bring Derrick [Henry] to be the guy that gets the ball 30 times a game,” Harbaugh said after the Chiefs game. “He’s done that before. That’s really not the plan.” What the Ravens HC wants to do is to switch around things every week so that the opposing teams have a hard time countering them. Earlier in June, Harbaugh mentioned how Henry is “really good in pass protection,” and how it will be a great help to Lamar Jackson. But check out what Harbaugh said about utilizing his roster.

“I think that evaluation [of the run game] will be best made over the course of the season, and I’m very confident there’s going to be games where Derrick is going to go for 100-plus [yards] or more, and you’re going to be asking me why Zay [Flowers] only got two catches,” Harbaugh said.

As it turned out, Lamar Jackson rushed the ball (167 yards) more than Derrick Henry (130 yards) in the last two games. However, besides scrambling, Jackson threw for a total of 520 yards and 2 touchdowns in the two games the Ravens have lost. Would things be different if Derrick Henry was given more chances to run the ball? It seems so. Another thing to note here is that Henry had 31 carries in the past two games while Jackson had 21.

All this implies is that the Ravens are still using Jackson in run heavy plays and Henry has been used over short bursts. So, is this what Harbaugh meant when Harbaugh said he had a “vision” for Lamar Jackson?

John Harbaugh’s faith in Lamar Jackson: A blessing in disguise or a disaster waiting to happen?

Back in July, Harbaugh had a tantalizing thought about his 2x MVP quarterback. Apparently, he sees him as the greatest quarterback to ever grace the game. Jackson’s work ethic and his athleticism has already convinced Harbaugh that the Ravens QB is the chosen one.

“The vision that we have together is that Lamar Jackson is going to become and be known and be recognized as the greatest quarterback ever to play in the history of the National Football League,” Harbaugh said. “That’s the vision. It’s going to happen by Lamar, his work ethic and his brilliant talent, by all of us pouring into that effort together as a team, and by the grace of God and God’s good will. That’s how it’s going to happen. And I believe it like we’ve already seen it.”

Last year, Jackson led the league with 821 rushing yards, and he might be on the same trajectory this year. Moreover, Derrick Henry was the second highest scoring running back in the league behind Christian McCaffrey with 1,167 yards and 12 touchdowns. The running back, who signed a 2-year $16 million deal might feel conflicted with how he’s being used in this team.

Do you think the Ravens are under-utilizing Derrick Henry? Let us know in the comments.