OWINGS MILLS – Unlike many NFL play-callers, Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron prefers to do his work from the sidelines.
He believes the vantage point helps him get a better feel for the game and allows him to interact directly with the players.
According to Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome, Cameron has no plans to change his approach next season.
"No, I think Cam is going to continue to be down on the field," Newsome said during a conference call with season ticket holders. "He likes to be down there with the action. Some people like to call it from up in the box, but he likes to be down there. He gets a chance to look the players in the eyes when they come off the field."
Newsome expressed confidence that the offense will improve because of the increased involvement of coach John Harbaugh and the time the offensive staff has put in since the end of the season.
The offense faltered during a playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers as turnovers, penalties and dropped passes were among the self-inflicted wounds.
"The reason why I say we’re going to be better from an offensive standpoint is that I’ve seen all the work they’ve done this offseason refining the offense," Newsome said. "One of the things we have in our head coach is .. he grew up in the game, coaching special teams and coaching on the defensive side. And you can see over the course of the three years he’s been here, the progress that both of those elements of our game has gotten better.
"Now that he has that the way he wants it, now he can come over to the offensive side. What happens when you give a guy that understands defense coming over as a head coach to the offensive coaches, he can sit there and he can talk with them and say, ‘No, no, no. If I’m the defensive coordinator, I can defeat this.’ So now they get another set of eyes."
NEWSOME A BELICHICK PROTÉGÉ? Baltimore Ravens veteran general manager Ozzie Newsome has always been a fixture at every practice, attending each session and keeping a watchful eye.
He wants to know his football team better than any other.
The Hall of Fame tight end learned the value of self-scouting from New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick when the Super Bowl winning coach was running the original Cleveland Browns.
Newsome rose in the organizational ranks after working for Belichick in coaching and scouting.
"I think everybody has to find their niche where they’re very much at ease in their position," Newsome said during a conference call with season ticket holders. "I know Ted Thompson from Green Bay, he came up as a scout, so he likes to be on the road. And I know Phil Savage, when he went to Cleveland, he came through as a scout, so he liked to be on the road. But, I came through as a player. I spent time on the road, but for the most part, I’ve been in locker rooms and I’ve been at practice.
"I was taught, by Bill Belichick, at a very early age that scouting begins on Sunday. You need to know your football team. The only way you get to know your football team is you’ve got to be able to watch them at practice, I watch the practice tape, so that’s why I do that. That’s my niche. But the only way I can do it, I have to trust [director of player personnel] Eric [DeCosta] and [director of college scouting] Joe [Hortiz] and the scouts and their ability to go out and do their job."
