Todd Monken on offense getting to the line quicker: ‘[if] you want your quarterback to play his best, you’ve got to empower him’

The Monken offense moves at a different pace

Consistently this training camp, the Baltimore Ravens’ offense has approached the line of scrimmage with hefty time remaining on the play clock, and it’s by Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken’s design.

“The idea is to leave the quarterback enough time at the line of scrimmage to assess the defense, make changes and be in control,” Monken said. “I’m a firm believer that [if] you want your quarterback to play his best, you’ve got to empower him.”

Play clock issues were a significant issue of the previous regime. Former Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman was asked about them numerous times last season and in previous seasons.

Baltimore Beatdown’s Spencer Schultz covered the topic extensively on the Ravens’ struggles with the play clock and how the issues followed Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman throughout his career.

Enter the 2023 season helmed by Monken, and the speed of the offense getting to the line of scrimmage and the tempo of practice as a whole is noticeably faster, leaving Jackson ample time to get the play call in from Monken, get to the line and make his reads, and not from a play call wristband.

“One of the most important things is your ability to communicate the calls, and the best way for that to happen is to not start with wristbands,” Monken said. “[Jackson] has to hear what I say; he has to process the call; he has to regurgitate to the players; he has to get the cadence. We can always go to wristbands. Wristbands are easy; you just read it. Hard is learning the offense, being able to process and make the calls.”

This all leads to Monken blessing Jackson with the reigns of his offense, and putting him in a position to succeed with time on the clock.

“But I do believe in getting to the line quicker; I think that gives us more time at the line of scrimmage to assess – for the quarterback,” Monken said.