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Baltimore Ravens: An Evaluation Of Marc Trestman

By Chris Schisler

Oct 11, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Marc Trestman during the game against the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 11, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Marc Trestman during the game against the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports /
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Marc Trestman entered the 2015 season as the Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator. He was brought in to continue what Gary Kubiak started before becoming the head coach of the Denver Broncos. The Baltimore Ravens are coming off what is arguably the worst season in team history and therefore everything is under scrutiny. How does Trestman hold up under said scrutiny?

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It really depends on how you evaluate Trestman, who had every built in excuse imaginable handed to him. The former Bears head coach had to work without the Ravens first round draft pick in Breshad Perriman. Perriman was expected to fill the void left by Torrey Smith, who went on to join Anquan Boldin in San Francisco. This was the first excuse that Trestman fell into.

May 28, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh (right) talks with offensive coordinator Marc Trestman (left) during training camp at the Under Armour Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports
May 28, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh (right) talks with offensive coordinator Marc Trestman (left) during training camp at the Under Armour Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports /

Secondly the Ravens had to go through much of the season without Steve Smith Sr, who was the clear go to weapon at Joe Flacco’s disposal. Playing on a painful back injury, Smith Sr. tore his ACL against the San Diego Chargers in early November. This was excuse number two for the Ravens offensive coordinator. Excuse three was injuries on the offensive line that caused some shuffling up front for the Ravens.

Excuse number four was the fact that the Ravens were quarterbacked by four different quarterbacks this season. In week 11 Joe Flacco tore his ACL. The Ravens would have something they haven’t had since 2008, a new quarterback under center. Matt Schaub was a pick six inducing disaster. Jimmy Clausen was as embarrassing as possible, while Ryan Mallet managed to show some flashes of brilliance in a average overall performance.

So this season was not going to be one to remember (at least for the right reasons) for the Baltimore offense. Everything that could go wrong went worse than you could possibly have imagined. Injuries crippled any offensive continuity that the team managed to build. The evaluation of Trestman is obviously skewed at least a little bit by the dyer situations he was in as a coach.

The surprising thing is that the Ravens weren’t one of the league’s worst offensive units. The Ravens ranked 14th in yards per game. That fact has to be at least a little surprising when you consider how badly things went in the 2015 season. It is quite easy to argue that Trestman did an admirable job, playing with a bad hand and the deck stacked against him. It is also easy to have a different perspective.

The eye test wasn’t very easy on Trestman’s offense. The play-calling seemed weak, with no rhyme, reason or plan behind it. Was it an unwritten rule that there must be a pass to Kyle Juszczyk in the flat on 6 out of 10 first down plays? Why did the Ravens run so many third down plays where no receiver passed the line to gain in his route? And why on earth was his offense so predictable that I could practically sing along the play calls from my living room?

I get that the Ravens didn’t have the receivers to stretch the field but they still had to try. If the deep pass is rarely a concern for the defensive backs, they are going to jump on the short routes like a lion pounces on a gazelle. The Ravens couldn’t run the ball the same way they did in 2014 either. In 2014 nobody in the NFL ripped out rushes over 20 yards more than the Ravens. In 2015 the big plays were few and far between. The Bears couldn’t run the football either (and they had Matt Forte).

The worst part is that Trestman and Flacco come across as incompatible opposites. Flacco wants to attack with the intermediate and deep passing game. His coordinator wants him to dink and dunk relentlessly. It just isn’t what Flacco is comfortable doing. Kubiak and Trestman both have principals of the west coast offense as their bread and butter, yet Kubiak molded these principals to Flacco’s strengths. He allowed Joe to be Joe.

It is also worth noting that the Ravens ranked 25th in the NFL in scoring. It is also worth noting that the Ravens were -14 in the turnover ratio. While the offense was ranked in the top half overall in the NFL in terms of yards gained, the offense wasn’t good enough. That is one of the most leading statistics I have ever heard.

Next: Baltimore Ravens: Rebuilding Or Rebounding?

Trestman will be back as the Ravens offensive coordinator in 2016. He will hopefully get a fresh start without the world tumbling around him. With key players back in the fold and an improved offensive roster we will get a better look at who Trestman is as a coordinator. For now I remain skeptical of the Ravens offensive coordinator while I hope I am wrong for the Ravens sake.

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