The hiring of Gary Kubiak this offseason brought along considerable changes to a Ravens offense — one that despite its struggles fell just one victory short of making the playoffs.
When Kubiak was hired it all but confirmed that the Ravens would switch to a heavy dose of his traditional zone blocking system, something that Jim Caldwell, Juan Castillo and player personnel all appeared to struggle with in 2013.
With the moves made by the Ravens during this offseason via free agency or trade, Kubiak and his staff have opened the box and have begun to put the pieces of the puzzle together as they prepare for training camp.
As the team worked it’s way through OTA’s and minicamp the changes (albeit it in non-contact practices) are certainly noticeable to observers including defensive coordinator Dean Pees.
“He’s giving us a lot now. We’ve got a really good offense, and it’s really got a lot of stuff and it really challenges us.”
Ravens defensive end Chris Canty is just one of many defensive players who’ve made similar comments regarding the difference on offense from last year to this year.
“From the personnel groups that they come out in, you can see some of the vertical, explosive plays in the passing game,”
“The commitment to the run game – it’s different. It’s something that we didn’t see last year. It presents new challenges for us defensively and [with] preparation coming out here each and every day. That’s a good thing. We’re challenging each other [and] competing at a high level. That’s only going to make this football team better.”
The real test will be once the pads are strapped on when the team regathers for training camp in late July. There will surely be bumps in the road and mistakes made and learning curves to adjust to, but for now the team is where they need to be.
John Harbaugh concurs.
“The offseason program has been good; we’re done. I feel like we made the most we could have out of it – the nine-week program – but then again, in the 10 OTAs and the minicamp period, I thought our guys maxed everything out.
“We’re as far along as we could be at this point in time, and now [we’re in] the next phase, which is rest, recovery and preparation for training camp. This was the preparation time for training camp, so we’ll build from that.”
So sit back and relax and enjoy the summer knowing the Ravens are prepared to take the next step.
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