The 2014 Baltimore Ravens finished with a 10-6 regular season record en route to earning their sixth playoff berth in the past seven seasons.
Under Gary Kubiak, the offense set single-season franchise records by scoring 409 points and producing 5,838 yards. They averaged the NFL’s eighth-most points per game (25.6) and 12th-most yards per game (364.9). In Kubiak’s zone-blocking system, the Ravens run game flourished racking up 126.2 rushing yards per contest finishing eighth in the league.
Quarterback Joe Flacco set career highs in yards (3,986) and TD passes (27) while his 91.0 rating was the second best of his career (2010 – 93.6).
Flacco has floated on the wings of change year in and year out since he was drafted by the Ravens in 2008. As he enters the 2015 season, the former Super Bowl MVP will do so under his 4th offensive coordinator, Marc Trestman.
Continuity often breeds success. For Flacco, he doesn’t feel as if he is starting over again in a new offense.
“No, it doesn’t feel like a year one,” remarked Flacco following practice on Thursday. “I feel really comfortable with some things, but it’s still nice to get out here in these practices and run through some things that you’re getting for the first time and seeing how everybody reacts to it.”
“I think we’re doing a really good job of breaking the huddle, getting out, getting lined up,” he added. “All the mistakes we’re having are kind of little things that are very easily corrected, and I think we’re going to get better and better through the next eight of these [OTAs].”
There will be small changes to the offense this upcoming season under Trestman. The Ravens will keep Kubiak’s system in place, however they have to install some new pieces.
Over the next eight OTAs, Trestman will continue to throw the kitchen sink at the offense to see how Flacco and company respond.
“He wants to run a lot of the stuff right now that we’re going to be running during the year, so rather than going through and base-install, base-install, base-install and gradually building up, we’re kind of getting a lot of stuff,” said Flacco about how Trestman and Kubiak differ. “We’re already running red zone, we’re already running two-point conversion, we’re doing fourth-down conversions – all kinds of things. And in order to do those things at practice, you have to install more of your offense than you may traditionally do.
“So, I think that’s one thing where it probably varies a little bit. He’s trying to throw a lot at us and just see how we react.”
Trestman has been the offensive coordinator for four NFL teams,including the Cleveland Browns when Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome was a player. Flacco knows there will be wrinkles in the offense he and the rest of the offense have to learn but together he and Trestman are off to a nice start.
“It’s been great to work with him so far,” Flacco stated. “He’s very detailed in what he wants and how he puts things in and making sure that he teaches it in a way that everybody understands it and gets it pretty quickly.”
“It’s only been a couple of times out on the field with him, but I think he’s doing a great job of motivating and getting everybody going, so it’s been good.”
Trestman along with Joe will work hard over the next few weeks before the team breaks until training camp begins in July. Once camp starts, we will see exactly just how different or like Trestman’s offense will be from Kubiak’s.
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