Purple Friday Mailbag: Baltimore Ravens Q/A Week 2

After a great week 1 of our Purple Friday Mailbag, we are back again for Week 2.

Happy purple Friday Baltimore Ravens fans. We are back again with another mailbag, answering your questions about the Ravens this season. Because we are in a dry period of football, I want to keep doing these every week. It allows us to have something to talk about when there isn’t a ton of breaking news.

We don’t have as many questions as last week, but there are still some good ones that have come in. For the second week in a row we get a question on why we haven’t signed Anquan Boldin. If you want to know why you can look back at week 1’s mailbag.

Here we go:

Why haven’t we improved the offensive line?

Offensive line is the weak point for the team right now, no question about it. However, the Ravens have three positions they have figured out: Left tackle and left/right guard. I am confident with Stanley, Yanda and Lewis at those positions.

The concern comes at center and right tackle. The Ravens haven’t improve the offensive line right now because there aren’t a ton of options out there.

Like I said last week, I still wouldn’t count out the Ravens adding in another offensive lineman in free agency. When that will happen I’m not sure. Between center and right tackle, I would think they would target tackle. There are better in-house options at center and more free agent options at right tackle. It just depends on the cap space and who the Ravens can get.

Will the Ravens be a run-first team who controls possession and minimizes turnovers OR will they be a 3WR set, pass-oriented offense?

I think you’ll definitely see both this season but the Ravens will be a run-first team. Even though it isn’t Marty Morhinweg’s style, it’s what works best with this offense.

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We saw last season what happens when the Ravens rely heavily on the pass. Joe Flacco set a career high in passing attempts and passing yards, but the offense struggled. A lot of these were check down and dink/dunk passes. The Ravens struggled to finish drives and were one of the most inefficient offenses in the league.

The Ravens have two young backs in West and Dixon and can’t afford to not put them to work. Both have proven that they can carry a workload and produce on the field. The addition of Danny Woodhead also provides another threat in the backfield. The Ravens run game was 28th in the league last season and that can’t happen again. With Greg Roman back as an offensive assistant he will work to re-tune the run game.

What is great about the run-first offense is it sets up the pass game for the Ravens. That is when Joe Flacco is at his best. He can run play action passes and unleash his cannon of an arm. It also bodes will with speedy receivers of Wallace, Perriman and Maclin.

So I think we’ll see both, but the run game must be the main commitment.

In your opinion, what is the most anticipated game for the Ravens this season?

This is a great question. I really have two: Oakland and Green Bay.

The Ravens had the lead against the Raiders in the 4th quarter last season, but the defense let Derrick Carr and the offense drive down the field for the game winning touchdown. It was not the only time that Dean Pees defense did that last season. The week 5 match-up will be an early test for the Ravens. We will see their true colors, especially since they will be coming off of a game against the Steelers.

The Green Bay game should be interesting. Aaron Rodgers is one of the best quarterbacks in the game and it will be a great test for the Ravens defense. The Packers are virtually impossible to beat at home and the Ravens have proven they can win in tough road situations. It should be a chilly November game in Lambeau Field and everything about it screams a great football game. Hopefully both teams will be going into the match-up with decent records.

When do the Ravens start training camp?

The Ravens will begin training camp late July. Veterans will report on July 26th and the 27th will be the first full day of practice. For more info about that, check it out here.

Next: Baltimore Ravens: 5 Bold predictions for the 2017 season

That’s all we have for this week’s mailbag. Remember, if you would like to be featured next week be sure to reply to us on our Facebook or Twitter accounts. See you next week.

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