Vikings Defense Prepping for Ravens Dynamic QB…

Patterson explained that Baltimore’s offense is more complex than the zone-read options that teams with mobile quarterbacks run.

“In college, I had to defend it a lot. But in the NFL, none,” Patterson said. “That’s what’s unique about Baltimore. I’ll give you a perfect example. In college football, you know, when people get ready to play Army, or get ready to play Navy, or get ready to play Air Force, that’s a tough week of practice for that team. Because you’re trying to figure out how you fit up all these different types of options. To get all that done in a week is difficult to do.

“Well, that’s what you have with Baltimore, OK? So it’s not just the zone read that everybody talks about,” Patterson continued. “You’ve got load, you’ve got a double load. You’ve got midline. They’ve got all different kinds of weight, double-arc option, so they’ve got all different kinds of option football.

“Just like you’re playing Army, Air Force or Navy, so you’ve got to spend the week making sure your players understand where you fit on each style of option football that they run,” Patterson added. “The other thing that makes it difficult is then they come back and run regular pro football run plays at the same time, so you’re trying to defend two different styles of runs throughout the course of the game.”

And, despite all of this, Jackson is still a quarterback … meaning the Vikings need to worry about defending the pass, too.

The 2018 first-round pick has thrown for 1,943 yards with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions so far in 2021.

“He’s got a strong arm. He can throw the deep ball well down the field. He can throw well on the run,” Patterson said. “I think he’s gotten better over the years with his accuracy as a quarterback. So, he’s a tough guy to defend.”