Ravens preview: Baltimore now at a crossroads?
Training camps are still in the distance, but USA TODAY Sports is providing five things you need to know about every team in the NFL to catch you up on the offseason. Today, the Baltimore Ravens ...
1. The pressure could be building in Baltimore
This isn’t to say coach John Harbaugh is in any kind of trouble, and news media reports at the end of last year indicated he is signed beyond 2017, but since winning the Super Bowl after the 2012 season, the Ravens have compiled a 31-33 record and missed the playoffs in three of the last four years. This comes after it made the playoffs in each of Harbaugh’s first five seasons and advanced to two AFC Championship Games before winning a title.
2. Mornhinweg has been trusted with revitalizing the offense
Since the start of 2011 when Cam Cameron was directing Joe Flacco as Ravens offensive coordinator, the team has cycled through five play-callers. This year it’s Marty Mornhinweg’s turn, as he took over for fired Marc Trestman last season. The Ravens have had a top-10 offense in three of those years and were at least in the top half in another two, but they have had trouble scoring points in the recent stretch of seasons without a playoff berth. The Ravens averaged 22.6 points a game after Mornhinweg took over play-calling after the fifth game last season, and at three previous stops where he began a season as a new offensive coordinator, Mornhingweg has gotten results. With the San Francisco 49ers, the offense went from fourth to second in 1997. With the Philadelphia Eagles, it went from 23rd to fifth in 2006. And with the New York Jets, it went from 23rd to 21st in 2013.
3. The receiving corps is in flux
With the retirement of Steve Smith Sr. and the departure of Kamar Aiken to the Indianapolis Colts, the Ravens return just two wide receivers who caught double-figure passes for the team in 2016: Mike Wallace (72) and Breshad Perriman (33). But they made a late addition in Jeremy Maclin, who was released by the Kansas City Chiefs after the draft. Quarterback Joe Flacco will be counting on Perriman to make a huge leap forward. Dennis Pitta, who had a career-best 86 catches last year, was released in June after re-dislocating his hip during organized team acitivies.
4. The defense also saw its fair share of changes
The Ravens not only drafted five defensive players, but they also traded starting defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan to Philadelphia, released longtime pass-rushing stalwart Elvis Dumervil and saw emerging linebacker Zachary Orr retire, (though he has since expressed a desire to return to the NFL). They also spent $36 million on safety Tony Jefferson and $23.5 million on cornerback Brandon Carr.
5. Flacco remains the constant for an ever-changing offense
Since being selected No. 18 overall out of Delaware in 2008, the 6-6 passer has been behind center for the Ravens. Only eight other starting quarterbacks in the league are older than Flacco, 32. While he has never made the Pro Bowl, Flacco has won a lot of games (83-55 regular season, 10-5 playoffs). And despite the revolving door at offensive coordinator the last few seasons, Flacco has seen his completion percentage rise every year since 2013, and he set career highs in completions (436), and yards (4,317) in 2016.
Owczarski also writes for the Cincinnati Enquirer, part of the USA TODAY Network.
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