We’ve reached another lull in the NFL off season calendar, as the Ravens wrapped up OTAs this week. There will be a mandatory mini-camp on June 13th and then an extended respite before Training Camp begins again. It’s been a little while since I’ve emptied out the old noggin, so here’s a few thoughts in the wake of the Baltimore Ravens OTAs:
After not attending the “football school” event that the team held, newly extended franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson was present for voluntary OTAs. I’m sure it was a welcome sight for Coach Harbaugh and the rest of the organization to see number 8 on the back fields at 1 Winning Drive. Since there’s not a ton of media access permitted during the OTAs, the big takeaways for me were Lamar Jackson’s attendance and that no one got hurt at the glorified walk throughs. We’ll chalk up OTAs as a win for the organization.
With the offense in general, count me as a “thanks but no thanks” with regards to a pursuit/acquisition of DeAndre Hopkins. This is not in any way a slight on Hopkins as a talent and on what kind of duo he could form with Lamar Jackson. However, given the amount of resources already dedicated to remaking the wide receiver room this off season (the signing of Nelson Agholor and Odell Beckham, along with the drafting of Zay Flowers) and more pressing needs at edge rusher and cornerback, I think the organization should focus their remaining financial resources on supplementing those positions. Furthermore, not only have the Ravens already revamped the wide receiving corps but lest we forget the Ravens have an All Pro TE (and Lamar’s favorite target) in Mark Andrews, along with 2nd year TEs Isiah Likely and Charlie Kolar. Not to mention, the RB duo of JK Dobbins and Gus Edwards should be fully healthy and far enough removed from their devastating knee injuries to be a full go for the 17 game season. The bottom line is this, there’s only 1 football and for all of the changes that new OC Todd Monken will make to the offense, I don’t see the Ravens suddenly becoming an offense that consistently throws the ball 40-45 games. Their bread and butter will still be a dynamic running game.
Speaking of the running game, Ravens OC Todd Monken had an interesting quote. When asked about his offensive philosophy with regards to what already exists in Baltimore, Monken said “That is the challenge for sure is marrying up what’s been done here in the past in terms of running the football and controlling the game…(with) what I’m used to, which is maybe a little more open sets, a little more space.” To me, this sounds like a testament to Monken’s flexibility and adaptability as a coach. I get the impression that Monken will be keeping, or at least incorporating, some of Roman’s run game concepts and blocking schemes. If the efficacy of the Ravens’ rushing attack from the Roman era can be successfully combined with Monken’s passing attack, which focuses on spacing of pass catchers, utilizing the screen game and running different plays and motion from the same formation, opposing defenses are going to have an awful lot to deal with in the upcoming season.
Amongst the changes to the offense for 2023, I hope we see better, more efficient utilization of JK Dobbins. His disappearance in the red zone last year, particularly for an offense that struggled mightily in the red zone, was simply baffling. In the regular season, Dobbins had only 14 carries in the red zone last season and a mere 7 carries inside the 10 yard line. Granted, we know that Dobbins was hampered/limited early in the season by scar tissue resulting from his off season knee surgery and then missed some time after the follow up surgery. Upon Dobbins return after his knee scope, he averaged 6.55 yards per carry, which covered 70 runs over 5 games; including the Wild Card game in Cincinnati. Doing some back of the napkin calculations, in the afore mentioned 5 games after Dobbins returned, the Ravens had 14 red zone possessions. On 9 of those possessions, Dobbins did not touch the football at all. The Ravens went 0 for 9 in scoring TDs on those possessions. On the 5 remaining possessions where Dobbins did have a touch, the Ravens scored TDs on 4 of those 5 possessions; Dobbins scored 2 of the 4 TDs. I expect the Ravens to make a gigantic improvement in their red zone TD % conversion rate this season and JK Dobbins should be the centerpiece of that improvement.
One final thought on OTAs, Coach Harbaugh was encouraged by the attendance overall. On the defensive side of the ball, it was great to hear that big names like Roquan Smith, Marlon Humphrey, Kyle Hamilton and Marcus Williams were in attendance. Also, kudos to Patrick Queen for participating in OTAs. It would’ve been easy for Queen to skip the voluntary workouts, considering the team’s decision not to exercise his 5th year option and the drafting of Trenton Simpson. Perhaps Queen’s motivation to have a great season is strictly personal; so that he can cash in on the open market next off season. Either way, the Ravens will benefit from a focused Patrick Queen lining up alongside of Roquan Smith for 2023.
With the Lamar Jackson saga now put to bed and mandatory mini-camp coming up soon, along with Training Camp looming on the horizon, we should start to get a better idea of what to expect from the Lamar Jackson lead, Todd Monken offense and how the defense will grow in year 2 of the Mike Macdonald era. Needless to say, it’s relief to turn the focus away from the negotiating table, draft pick compensation and salary cap implications and return focus to the football field.
Jamie has been a Baltimore sports fan since he can remember. He grew up in Gwynn Oak and currently resides in Hampstead with his wife and 2 kids. He graduated from UMBC with a Bachelor of Arts in History. He’s currently employed at Verizon Communications in Hunt Valley.