The Baltimore Ravens' Offensive Prowess
Last season, the Baltimore Ravens showcased one of the NFL's most formidable offenses. The team racked up the sixth-most yards and the fourth-most points in the league, emphasizing their offensive might. The Ravens' efficiency was further highlighted by their fourth-place ranking in FTN's DVOA metric and their tie for eighth in Tru Media's version of EPA per play.
Lamar Jackson's Standout Season
Lamar Jackson had a standout season last year, earning the second MVP award of his career. In his 16 starts, Jackson led the Ravens to an impressive 13-3 record. His passing stats were nothing short of stellar: Jackson completed 67.2% of his passes, averaged 8.0 yards per attempt, and threw for 24 touchdowns against just 7 interceptions. On the ground, Jackson was equally formidable, rushing 148 times for 821 yards and 5 touchdowns. Clearly, Jackson's dual-threat capability was a significant contributor to the Ravens' success.
Increased Responsibility for Jackson
The Ravens are poised to place even more responsibility on Jackson’s shoulders this season. Jackson himself is eager to take on more duties, particularly in audibling at the line of scrimmage. Quarterbacks coach Tee Martin sees this expansion of Jackson's role as a natural progression.
"From us watching film and getting into games, teams changing things up on us, we just want to add extra layers to all of our calls," Jackson said via ESPN.
Martin is confident that giving Jackson more autonomy will enhance the Ravens' offensive dynamism. "It's like that smart kid in the classroom, you can't allow them to get bored, right?" Martin explained. "You have to constantly add things, tweaks and things of that nature and responsibilities."
Drawing Offsides Penalties
One area where the Ravens see room for improvement is in drawing offsides penalties from opponents. Last season, the Ravens' offense managed to induce an opponent offsides just once. Martin aims to change that by having Jackson vary his cadence more often. This tactic is expected to keep defenses on their toes and potentially draw more offsides penalties.
"It has been a tool in the past, and we're just going to continue to take it to the next level," Martin said. "Lamar is outstanding at it, whether we're going non-verbal on the road or whether we're going verbal at home."
Martin elaborated on the potential advantages: "We have a lot of different [cadences] that give us an advantage so that people don't know when we're snapping the ball and slowing them down a little bit."
AFC Contenders: Aiming for the Super Bowl
The Ravens hope to make the leap to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. Their success hinges on Lamar Jackson’s ability to adapt and thrive with his expanded role. The combination of Jackson's individual talent and increased responsibility could make the Ravens an even more formidable team in the coming seasons.
By tweaking their approach and giving Jackson more control, the Ravens position themselves as strong AFC contenders. With a refined offensive strategy and a quarterback at the peak of his powers, they hope to finally break through and reach the Super Bowl.