Bill Polian has another controversial Lamar Jackson take

Former NFL general manager Bill Polian is no stranger to controversial and dubiously factual takes regarding Baltimore Ravens starting quarterback Lamar Jackson. He is back this week with another one ahead of the Ravens' divisional-round playoff game against the Houston Texans.

Appearing on Sirius XM NFL radio's Late Hits show this week, Polian bafflingly said the key for Texans defenders in stopping Jackson is not necessarily to sack him, but to make sure he stays in the pocket and has to throw the ball.

“You have to be very disciplined in your rush. You have to tell the rushers that they’re not there to sack him, they’re there to keep him in the pocket and make him throw the ball and not escape and not extend and not do any of the things that opens up all of these receivers. And that’s hard to do.”

The obvious flaw in that strategy is that Jackson has been one of the NFL's best passers from the pocket this season and is likely headed for his second MVP award. This has also been one of the best and most efficient passing seasons of his career. He set new career highs in completion percentage (67.2 percent) and passing yards per attempt (8.0) while also just missing out on his career high for yards per completion (he finished with 12.0 this season, barely behind a 12.1-yard mark from his rookie season). 

In all fairness to Polian, for as good as Jackson has been inside the pocket he is still more dangerous when he is able to escape and make plays on the outside. He can beat a defense as a passer and also with his ability to run. That said, it's not like keeping him in the pocket is a sure-fire way to beat him. He's been effectively beating teams from there as well. 

The Ravens offense finished fourth in the NFL in points per game (28.4), their highest ranking since 2019 when Jackson won his first league MVP award.

Polian's assessment likely got so much attention because he has been critical of Jackson's ability to pass the football in the past. When Jackson was first entering the NFL Polian delivered what has turned out to be an all-time bad take when he said Jackson might be better served moving to a position other than quarterback. While Polian eventually admitted he was wrong on that, he was one of only three voters in 2019 who did not have him as a first-team All-Pro. Now he is still operating under the thoroughly, repeatedly disproven assumption that Jackson can not beat teams from the pocket. 

One thing that Jackson does have to prove this weekend is whether his regular-season success can translate to the playoffs. Jackson is just 1-3 in his postseason starts. He also has posted a dismal 68.3 passer rating for his career in the playoffs with only three touchdowns to five interceptions. That passer rating is a 30-point drop from his career mark of 98.0 in the regular season.