Ravens offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg caught a lot of heat when the team struggled to effectively move the ball early last season.
As quarterback Joe Flacco recovered from a back injury, the offense managed to play much better.
The Ravens averaged 29.8 points per game over the final nine weeks, which ranked second in the league. Still, there were questions about Mornhinweg’s job security when the Ravens finished the year ranked 27th in total offense and had the league’s 29th-ranked passing game.
Flacco, 32, threw for 3,141 yards with 18 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
However, owner Steve Bisciotti defended Mornhinweg in his annual “State of the Ravens” press conference. He said Mornhinweg earned the right to return mainly because of the Ravens’ performance over the second half of the season.
Bisciotti also said Mornhinweg has developed a solid rapport with Flacco and that relationship will be beneficial to the overall production moving forward.
The Ravens prioritized boosting the offense in the offseason, adding veteran wide receivers John Brown, Michael Crabtree and Willie Snead. The team selected the dynamic Lamar Jackson with the 32nd overall pick of the NFL Draft as the possible heir to Flacco.
The Ravens also added pair of rookie tight ends — Hayden Hurst and Mark Andrews — in the first three rounds of the draft to replace Benjamin Watson, who led the team in receptions, but left as a free agent.
As a result, expectations are high entering the regular season opener Sept. 9 against Buffalo. The Ravens are looking to end a three-year playoff drought.
The offense has showed some explosiveness throughout this year’s training camp, a component that has been missing over the past several years.
While there is still plenty of work to do, Mornhinweg likes what he sees, so far.
“Right now, we’re going details, details, details,” he said at training camp Monday. “And then, we have to get our hard work in. We have to get our preparation in. From that point on, we sure have installed a lot of things. In fact, last night, we put an awful lot of new formations, personnel groups and plays in, so there were too many mistakes today.
“We have to get that thing squared away. It seems like we’ve had a full preseason already, for some reason, and in reality, we have three [games] left. So, what a great opportunity for some of our young players. We have some really good young players that all they need is an opportunity, and then we’ll get a great evaluation on them.”
The Ravens will look to take further strides in their next preseason game Monday night against the Colts. The coaches, players and members of the front office understand this is one of the most critical seasons in franchise history.
Many jobs will be at stake and if the offense struggles, Mornhinweg will likely face the most criticism, just ahead of Flacco.
Nonetheless, Mornhinweg does not appear to be feeling any pressure. He keeps a light-hearted relationship with the media and is constantly engaging with the players on the practice field.
At the end, he will simply be judged by the final results.
“You have to do the right thing all the time to win ball games.” said.
