If it hadn’t been for the loss against the Chiefs in the 2024 playoffs, Lamar Jackson wouldn’t have caught the eyes of critics. Despite being a 2 time MVP, he failed to make it to the Super Bowl LVIII. Consequently, Jackson has been suffering from intense scrutiny from analysts, and it’s a daily part of his life now. But wait, Joy Taylor had something else in her mind.

On 23rd July, the experienced analyst commented on the Ravens’ QB on the SPEAK show. She stated that Jackson’s influence on the gridiron will be invaluable to the world when the Ravens win the Super Bowl. In addition, Taylor says that Jackson’s journey as a QB was similar to that of Stephen Curry’s journey as a shooter. Furthermore, the analyst had solid reasons to support her thoughts.

“When you think of someone like Steph Curry, very few people refer to Steph Curry as the greatest player of all time. They might call him the greatest shooter of all time. But no one refers to Steph as the greatest player of all time,” said the host. Even though Curry was not regarded as the GOAT, his influence as a 3-point scorer became the trend in basketball.

The world saw a whole new era of basketball, with Curry’s record-breaking three point shooting. He thus started the transformation of dead eye shooters to 3 point shooters. And from then on, the need for 3 point shooters became a must in basketball.

On the other hand, Jackson’s rushing and passing style of play is also a massive change to the orthodox play style of QBs. Being a dual threat, the Ravens’ 2-time MVP QB has run for more yards than any of the contenders in the first six seasons. Till here, the path of the two seems similar, right?

The difference lies in Curry being a 4 time NBA champion. Since Jackson doesn’t have a title win under his belt, people won’t acknowledge him as the best QB in the NFL till he wins at least one.

Thus, Taylor is seen to support Jackson by comparing him with the best shooter in basketball. She truly believes that Lamar’s influence will soon be understood by the NFL world. But is Jackson ready to fight back against his critics?

Lamar Jackson’s illness: A road-block in his path to glory

It seems like the Ravens’ QB is going through a hard time. Lamar fell ill at the dawn of the 2024 season, which shadowed the horizon in September. Claimed as ‘Pretty bad’ by an insider, the illness made the QB miss the warm-up camp of 22 July. The illness may further lead to losing the time he needs to strike up a chord with Derrick Henry, the new RB of the Ravens. Since Henry is the first to receive the ball from Lamar and rush, a strong chemistry between the duo becomes significant. Moreover, Jackson is also missing chances to practice, which might be a road-block to his preparations for the Super Bowl.

The Ravens are getting their payback chance on 5 September. Seems like Jackson is getting another chance to beat the ones who stole their opportunity to the Super Bowl. But his illness and missing two consecutive training camps raise questions about his return. Will he be able to align himself with the words of Taylor? Time will tell.