Adam Rank Wrote Maybe The Dumbest Article Of All-Time

The Baltimore Ravens have been one of the most popular stories around the NFL. They are off to a 2-0 start and have outscored opponents 82-27. Lamar Jackson looks like he made a significant leap (so far) after an ugly 2018 season. Jackson is completing nearly 72 percent of his throws and is always a threat on the ground, of course. It’s a good start for the Ravens. Let’s see if they can keep it going (highly doubtful).

You just knew that the overreactions would start to pour in over the Ravens. This is the way it always is. One media member took it way too far that it just can’t be ignored. Adam Rank of NFL.com recently wrote a column claiming that the Ravens have a better offense than the Chiefs. Excuse me? No, I’m not kidding. Rank claims the Ravens are the team with the best offense in the NFL.

VIA ADAM RANK:

“Listen, I don’t try to live my life as a contrarian. That’s not true — I kind of do. I spend a lot of time in public houses and taverns, and I have a two-hour commute that allows me to hear a lot of the sports world’s most popular opinions. Sometimes, I think it’s best to take a look at the other side.

In this space, I articulate positions that are the opposite of what most people think — unpopular opinions, if you will — and explain why, well, my unpopular opinions are right and everyone else is wrong. Below, I shine the spotlight on a truly special offensive team.

Your latest Game of the Century this week will feature one of the most prolific offenses in the NFL right now, a group that seems nearly impossible to defend. And that team is going up against the Kansas City Chiefs.

You read that correctly: The Baltimore Ravens have the most balanced and dangerous offense right now.

Don’t take this as a slight against the Chiefs. I always hate when you tell people you prefer one awesome thing to another awesome thing, and they take it to mean you believe the other awesome thing is washed. This is not the case. The Chiefs have a great offense, and I love them, as my fantasy lineup will attest. The truth is, I’m just really feeling the Ravens.

Think of it this way: The Chiefs are like the popular girl who is all wrong for the protagonist in your typical 1990s teen rom-com. The Ravens are the best friend who has been secretly pining for the boy for years, and now she’s finally taken off the glasses and painting smock.”

This article has a chance to go down as the dumbest article in the history of mankind. Adam Rank has turned into RG3 defender that claims he is better than Andrew Luck. Rank has turned into guy that thinks Colin Kaepernick was a good quarterback. Rank has turned into guy that thinks Marcus Mariota is a quality starting quarterback. It’s a joke.

Here’s the bottom line. If you took the range of outcomes for Lamar Jackson moving forward. There’s really only a few outcomes. He’s out of the league in 3 years because of getting hit too much. Maybe Jackson finds a way to be capable until Greg Roman runs out of plays. Note that the same thing happened with Kapernick when Roman was his play caller. Note that the exact same thing is happening right now in Chicago. Matt Nagy has done all that he can with Mitchell Trubisky. He’s just not good. Then there’s like a 5-10 percent chance that he’s 80 percent of Michael Vick and can last in the league for 5-8 years as a legit starter. Starting quarterback for the league’s best offense? Yeah, zero percent chance on that one.

Defenses figure these guys out eventually. Jackson is not an accurate thrower of the football. Don’t sit here and give me that two game sample size. Baltimore played the tanking Dolphins who will go down as statistically the worst team ever. Then Baltimore squeaked out a win against the Cardinals. The team that had the first overall pick this past year. They beat up on the two teams that will have the number one pick in back to back years. Jackson has proven nothing thus far. Blake Bortles, Andy Dalton, and Kirk Cousins all opened the 2018 season with 5 or more touchdown passes in their first two games too. Would you consider any of them top tier franchise quarterbacks?

Jackson is not an accurate thrower of the football. Never has been. You can’t win Super Bowls with guys that are not. It’s just the way it is. This has nothing to do with his ability to be a dual–threat guy. I couldn’t be a bigger fan of Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson. I love both of them. Watson and Wilson have shown the ability to be elite throwers. Jackson’s resume suggests otherwise. As a rookie, Jackson completed 58 percent of his throws. It got worse in the playoffs when the Chargers got a second look at him. Jackson completed 48 percent in the playoff game and his stat line was far worse before garbage time when the Chargers already secured the win. In 3 years at Louisville, Jackson never completed 60 percent of his throws in any season. Couldn’t do it as a Freshman, as a Sophomore, or as Junior. Now I’m supposed to believe that a guy who couldn’t carve up college defense with accuracy is now an accurate NFL quarterback? Stop it.

It’s all about the shelf life with Jackson. You saw it in the playoffs. The Chargers got a second look at him, and it was over. The more defenses get film on him, the less competent Jackson will look. Just give it time. How many weeks will this kind of success really last? You tried to lecture me how great Mitch Trubisky was too. Jackson and the Ravens have a new play caller this year so they have teams a bit off guard. Let’s see how this offense looks when the weather starts to get cold.

Rank’s post is also a complete slap in the face to Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, and the entire Chiefs organization. Patrick Mahomes threw 50 touchdown passes in 2018. He has the ability to do that every single year as long as Andy Reid is calling the shots. Mahomes is probably the best player regardless of his position. He’s the perfect modern day quarterback. Andy Reid is the best offensive coach in the sport. Don’t even try to argue it. He took dog shit Donovan McNabb to 4 straight NFC Title games. McNabb wasn’t a good quarterback. Never was. Just go look at his Redskins tape. Reid is so good that he convinced you that AJ Feely was a great starting quarterback and got a second round pick for him. Reid is so good that he took Michael Vick straight out of jail and turned him into a superstar pocket passer. Vick completed 60 percent of his throws once in a season. That was with Reid.

We both know that Mahomes and Reid are better than Jackson and Harbaugh. A 3-year-old can figure that out. When you start adding in Travis Kelce who is the best tight end in football. Mark Andrews looks legit but, c’mon. He’s not in Kelce’s class or at least not yet. Tyreek Hill is the best deep ball threat in the NFL. KC also has Sammy Watkins, Demarcus Robinson, and Mecole Hardman. Would you rather have that group or a group that consists of Marquise Brown, Miles Boykin, and Willie Snead? This article is a slap in the face of every member of the Chiefs organization. If the Chiefs offense is a Ferrari, then the Ravens offense is a Fiat at best.

Again, I get it on a certain level. Rank wants to generate clicks. “How do I get people to read my posts? Oh, I know. Let me say the craziest thing I can possibly find. Ravens offense better than Chiefs offense. This should work.” Here’s the real issue with Adam Rank. He’s tough guy with bold takes but also back pedal guy. If you’re going to stick your neck out there like this on a crazy article, at least have the stones to stand by it. Rank has no stones. When you’re getting bullied by Matt Flynn, that tells me you’re fake tough guy. Sad. Pathetic. Embarrassing.

How are those hamstrings feeling, Rank? Hell of a back pedal on that one. Just tell Matt Flynn the truth. He wasn’t a good quarterback. Not that hard. It’s only hard when you’re fake tough guy.

I didn’t know much about Adam Rank before this year. I knew he worked for NFL.com. That was the extent of my knowledge. In a short period of time, Rank has turned into one of the bigger sports media clowns in the business. An absolute pathetic human. Here’s a challenge for all of you reading this. Four years from now compare Patrick Mahomes to Lamar Jackson. Let’s see how they stack up. It’s going to be a JOKE.