With More Talent, Marc Trestman Must Get Better Results…
The 2015 Baltimore Ravens offense ranked in the middle of the pack. Considering the Ravens were devastated by injuries, this can be seen as an accomplishment. Marc Trestman’s play-calling may have been frustrating, but he had plenty of excuses. Unless the Ravens are struck by the injury bug again in 2016, Trestman will be out of excuses.
Related Story: An Honest Evaluation of Marc Trestman
My complaint with Trestman’s play-calling has been the rhyme and reason of it. First we have to remember he was hired to keep a good thing going. That good thing was based on the running game. The Ravens offensive line is going to be good at run blocking. They have to get back to generating big plays on the ground. They have to get back to building their passing concepts off of their zone runs. Why did this successful concept disappear in the Ravens offense?
What is the purpose of a predictable and repetitive, first down throw to the fullback, in the flat? What is the point of throwing it short on third and long? Why does Trestman force Flacco to dink-and-dunk without setting up a deep shot down the field?
The common sense argument is that Trestman did not have the weapons to stretch the field vertically. In 2016 he will have a healthy Steve Smith Sr., Mike Wallace and presumably Breshad Perriman. That excuse is gone. Flacco is best when he is in attack mode, rather than being a game manager. Trestman has to bring the big plays back to the Baltimore offense.
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I will never understand the concept of throwing it behind the yard to gain on third down. It’s one thing to do a screen, where you set a playmaker up with leading blockers. It’s another thing to leave a receiver on his own to make an incredible play just to move the chains.
The Ravens signed Ben Watson because he is a big bodied tight end, that can help them on third downs. Watson is just one of the Ravens potential go-to-guys. You know that Smith Sr. is a player that Flacco trusts. Crockett Gillmore, Maxx Williams and potentially Dennis Pitta give the Ravens plenty of big bodied tight ends. Trestman has plenty of toys to play with. He has to let them make plays.
On paper Trestman did a solid job in a tough spot. In actuality there were some mind-boggling decisions he made that acted as another hindrance to the Ravens success. Trestman is out of excuses. If a horrible 5-11 team can rank in the middle of the pack, the 2016 Ravens better take off to a whole new level.
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The Ravens have the talent. They need to get back to dominating on the ground. They need build their passing schemes off their successful running game. They need to be more aggressive, less predictable and frankly more exciting. Barring another injury fest, there is no reason the Ravens cannot be great offensively.