Baltimore Ravens: Coordinators Have Plenty to Prove

The Baltimore Ravens will have the same offensive and defensive coordinators this season. That is not necessarily a good thing.

There has been a lot of praise coming out about the Ravens lately. After a disappointing 2015 season, everyone is hopeful that they get back to their winning ways.

The optimism might be a bit too much.

BaltimoreRavens.com has an article titled “Offense in “Much Better Shape” in Year 2 Under Marc Trestman.” The Baltimore Sun wrote a story about the Ravens’ defensive scheme being the same. Our friends over at Ebony Bird have a piece about the Ravens having an experienced coaching staff.

We cannot deny that the Ravens were ravished by injuries that took some of their best players off the field. Terrell Suggs was gone in the first game. Wide receivers Breshad Perriman and Michael Campanaro did not play a single snap this season. Matt Elam was injured in training camp.

Add in the injuries to Joe Flacco, Steve Smith, Justin Forsett, Jeremy Zuttah on offense. Will Davis and Chris Canty also were added to injured reserve. In all, almost an entire depth chart could have been filled out with the amount of injuries this team dealt with last season.

If you blame the entire season on injuries, you are making excuses for how poorly this team was constructed and coached.

The biggest knock on the Ravens before the start of last season was the lack of playmakers. We knew that if injuries became a factor, this team would be in trouble. Sure enough, that’s exactly what happened. That is also why Baltimore was so aggressive in free agency this offseason.

The offense was not exactly a juggernaut prior to all the injuries either. Flacco threw 12 interceptions in 10 games last season. That would be tied for second most of his career. Let me repeat one thing here: 12 INTERCEPTIONS IN 10 GAMES. He was not having a good season. Some of that is on Trestman.

The same could be said for Forsett. He looked nothing like the running back we saw from the year before. In his 10 starts, he totaled 794 total yards. In the first 10 games of the 2014 season, Forsett amassed 923 yards on offense. He was not the same player either.

Now, let’s take away the numbers and think back to the season. Can you remember how just about every game or half started? Kyle Juszczyk in the flat off the play action. It was laughable how predictable they got on offense.

The defense was a disaster all season long despite finishing in the top 10 in yards allowed – which I still do not understand how that happened. Suggs was the only major piece lost, yet they could not get pressure on the quarterback. The secondary was a dumpster fire no matter who played back there.

All this happened with Trestman and Dean Pees directing each side of the ball. And for some reason, we are expecting things to change this year.

For everyone calling Trestman an offensive genius, his team has failed to have a winning season since his return to the NFL. The Ravens quarterbacks threw as many touchdowns as interceptions last season. His offense has ranked 23rd and 25th in points the last two seasons. It should come as no surprise that his team finished with five wins in each season.

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Pees keeps getting the benefit of doubt because he coordinated a championship defense. While we should be thankful for the Lombardi Trophy, let’s not forget that Ray Lewis and Ed Reed were still on the team in those years.

Too many teams were able to make comebacks or have incredible games against this defense.Two games stick out the most to me from last season: Josh McCown‘s career day and Russell Wilson scorching the secondary for five touchdowns. The defense was terrible in both contests. The offense was anything but stellar.

The offense needs to be better this season and Pees has no excuses. Ozzie Newsome gave each of them new pieces to use. It’s the coordinators job to make it all work.

Things could be better with a healthy – knock on wood – and more talented roster. We are expecting all the new pieces to come in and make big changes. None of that means anything if everything stays the same with the philosophies on each side of the ball. Something has to be different about this team.

Next: Will Dennis Pitta Be A Factor This Season?

My hope is that I am wrong about everything above and the Baltimore Ravens are back to their winning ways. There is no denying that the Ravens do have an experienced coaching staff. But if things do not get better in 2016, those high profile names could be looking for new work next offseason.

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