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Ravens Preseason: 3 things we got wrong a year ago

By Chris Schisler

BALTIMORE, MD - DECEMBER 4: Running back Terrance West #28 of the Baltimore Ravens scores a first quarter touchdown against the Miami Dolphins at M&T Bank Stadium on December 4, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - DECEMBER 4: Running back Terrance West #28 of the Baltimore Ravens scores a first quarter touchdown against the Miami Dolphins at M&T Bank Stadium on December 4, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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BALTIMORE, MD – DECEMBER 4: Running back Terrance West #28 of the Baltimore Ravens scores a first quarter touchdown against the Miami Dolphins at M&T Bank Stadium on December 4, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD – DECEMBER 4: Running back Terrance West #28 of the Baltimore Ravens scores a first quarter touchdown against the Miami Dolphins at M&T Bank Stadium on December 4, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

Today is the Ravens first game day of the season. It’s important not to overreact to preseason football, as it can be misleading:

Last year the Baltimore Ravens went into the season with a new energy. It was supposed to be the year the Ravens got back into the playoffs. With a 5-11 season looking them square in the rear view mirror, the 2016 Ravens were a breath of fresh air.

When the team took the field for preseason action against the Carolina Panthers, Ravens fans were hungry for winning football. Analysts (ourselves included) went out of their way to nitpick every little thing about the new version of your Baltimore Ravens,. Here is what we got wrong:

1. The running game will be the central point of the offense:

The 2016 Baltimore Ravens had Joe Flacco throw the football 672 times, so obviously they weren’t overly committed to running the football. In the preseason, the running backs stood out the most. Justin Forsett didn’t get much work in the preseason but he was the presumptive starter. Forsett was let go early into the 2016 season.

Terrance West showed some real star potential. Javorius Allen looked like he would build off his strong rookie season. Kenneth Dixon showed huge sparks in the preseason before getting injured for the first handful of regular season games.

There was a lot of hope that a run based offense would re-create the success the team had in 2014. Marc Trestman ignored the ground attack and got fired after a week 5 game against Washington. The Ravens had the least balanced offense in the league and it was horribly inefficient as well. John Harbaugh never likes to tip his hand in the preseason, but the strong preseason ground attack fooled a lot of people. Who could have predicted that Marty Mornhinweg would take over and the Ravens would have no commitment to the running game?

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