The Ravens future success hinges on their ability to sign Lamar Jackson, according to former Falcons coach Mike Smith.
Baltimore and Jackson are at an impasse with contract negotiations, which were shut down during the regular season.
The two sides will resume talks and Smith said it's vital for the Ravens to get a deal done.
“It's hard to win when you don't have a quarterback and they have missed Lamar Jackson," Smith said on The BallFather Podcast, presented by Sportskeeda. "I don't know what's going to happen next with Baltimore and their quarterback situation because right now Lamar is not happy. And they know they can't win with the guys that they got."
The Ravens do have talented players, especially on defense, but they need Jackson at quarterback to battle for a championship. Baltimore, however, also needs to add some talented wideouts to support Jackson if he is back with the team.
"But they've got a great group of guys around a great quarterback," Smith said. "So, if they can get this thing worked out with Lamar Jackson, they're going to be good. Baltimore has not paid guys before and they've moved on. They'll make a good evaluation of what's going on in terms of what he's wanting, but It's going to be interesting to see. But they need Lamar Jackson leading the Baltimore Ravens into the future because he is one of the top quarterbacks. He's an elite quarterback in the National Football League.”
Smith was also perplexed about the critical fumble by Tyler Huntley in the playoff game against the Bengals.
Huntley fumbled trying to extend the ball into the end zone at the Cincinnati 2-yard line in the fourth quarter. Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard recovered the ball and ran 98 yards for the score.
That proved to be the difference in the game as Cincinnati closed out a 24-17 victory.
“What in the heck was going on at the bottom half-yard line?" Smith asked "Does a kid not know how to run a quarterback sneak-push sneak? It was an absolute head-scratcher. It changed the whole trajectory, the game, they're going in to score, that quarterback sneak from the six-inch line.
"And the quarterback tries to leap over the line of scrimmage when he's got pushers behind him. If you really watch that real closely on that play, when he jumped the pushers actually turned his body because they weren't on the ground and they contributed to the ball not getting across the goal line."
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