Behind scenes, this assistant puts polish on quarterbacks

Hue Jackson is becoming one of the best-kept secrets in the AFC North.

Who?

Hue.

He is the assistant coach who tutored quarterback Carson Palmer at Southern California, and then helped develop him with the Cincinnati Bengals. He is the Ravens' assistant coach in charge of developing rookie quarterback Joe Flacco.

"He has a wealth of knowledge about the game, and has coached in a lot of different offensive systems," said Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, a former Ravens defensive coordinator. "His knowledge of the game is matched only by his tremendous people skills."

In the wake of the Ravens' 41-13 thumping of the Houston Texans on Sunday, Flacco is getting more national attention. After nine games, the former Delaware star has completed 151 of 243 passes for 1,649 yards and seven touchdowns. He has seven interceptions but a quarterback rating of 79.7.

It's almost unimaginable that a rookie quarterback, no matter how talented, would win six of his first nine games. Jackson gives much of the credit to Flacco, whom he calls a tireless worker.

A lot of the national media give credit to Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, who also helped develop Philip Rivers in San Diego.

But Ravens coach John Harbaugh speaks highly of Jackson, 43.

"If you take a look at the whole season, last game in particular, but really the whole season, Hue Jackson has done a tremendous job with our quarterbacks - and not just our quarterbacks, but with our offense in general from a game-plan perspective," said Harbaugh. "And not just with Joe, although Joe is the most obvious quarterback, but with all the quarterbacks, with Troy [Smith], with Todd [Bouman], with the guys that were here before."

Jackson is not just the quarterbacks coach, but he's also an adviser who works well with Cameron on devising and implementing the game plan. Jackson has an extensive background - he has been an assistant for 23 years.

He has been an offensive coordinator twice, first with Washington in 2003 and later with Atlanta in 2007. Besides grooming Palmer at USC, his most accomplished feat was coaching wide receivers Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh from 2004 to 2006 and turning them into one of the most prolific receiving tandems in the NFL.

Jackson wasn't just their coach, but he also was their parent, psychologist, pastor, friend and consultant. At times, only Jackson could control the two knuckleheads.