Wide Receiver
The position receiving the most amount of questions these days is closer to getting some answers. Torrey Smith is without question the #1 receiver and looks to be ready to take another step up while enjoying a stellar training camp. Jacoby Jones has shown his ability mainly as a vertical threat and clear out guy. He’s probably not going to pick up the slack intermediately and frankly his role last year, a threat in the return game, is likely the most beneficial role he could play for the Ravens in 2013. We are aware of what these two bring but we aren’t so sure what Tandon Doss and Deonte Thompson bring just yet.
It may make the most sense to have a quick hook for Torrey and Jacoby in an attempt to get Thompson and Doss as many first team game reps with Joe Flacco as they can. How those snaps are distributed and personnel groupings that the Ravens employ could provide clues to the committee approach rumblings we’ve been hearing about.
Can Juice get loose?
The loss of Pitta and the trade of Anquan Boldin have put the Ravens in a potentially precarious spot. While they seem to have enough “good” but not “great” targets, do they have enough middle of the field threats to keep safeties from sitting on the deep ball? The 4th round pick from Harvard certainly has the skill set to remedy some of that. He has very soft hands, a compact frame and a feel for finding open areas in the defense. It will be interesting to see where he is in his development and in the Ravens plans for this season.
Sub-package watch
The Ravens lost of ton of experience on defense with the losses of Ed Reed, Ray Lewis and Bernard Pollard. Despite that experience, they left a lot to be desired in passing situations at times, but then again, who is going to ask Ray Lewis to come off the field on 3rd down?
The Ravens will enjoy the luxury of having more talent in those positions this year without being saddled by the rank that comes with suiting up future Hall-of-Famers. Instead they will field the eleven best players based upon down and distance.
For instance at ILB, if 2nd round pick Arthur Brown isn’t quite ready to be the starting will linebacker he certainly fits on obvious passing situations because of his comfort in space.
You also could see the team use more dime personnel as well. They’ve had some success with it prior to last season put didn’t go to it as often as they may have liked given the team’s pecking order. With Omar Brown and Chykie Brown improving and the versatility of new additions Michael Huff and Matt Elam the team has some intriguing options at their disposal. We’ll get our first glimpse on Thursday.
Dumervil vs. Upshaw
I’m not sure if Elvis would admit this but having Courtney Upshaw on the roster had to be a big selling point. Upshaw’s strength’s takes some “dirty work” off of Dumervil’s plate. Upshaw sets the edge and competes in the run game extremely well. This allows Dumervil to rest at times and remain fresh to get after the QB. The two are listed as co-starters on the depth chart right now and I would imagine that will lead to plenty of early down work for Upshaw and a more spry Dumervil off the edge in the 4th quarter. Thursday night may provide some clues.
