Baltimore Ravens: A Q/A for Ravens Flock from Ebony Bird
Questions about the offense:
With the amount of success our rookie TE's are having w/ limited touches, will the Ravens look to make them more of a focal point in the offense going forward?
— Oracularly Enigmatic (@DJSmooth245) October 29, 2018
The success at the tight end position as a whole has been a huge benefactor for Baltimore’s offense. The wide receivers, particularly the three new guys from this off-season, have stolen the show, but the tight ends (especially the rookies) look great.
Mark Andrews has been a godsend for the position, as he’s been the most productive of the bunch. But it goes beyond that stat sheet, as he’s also been the most impressive guy in the group. With guys like Nick Boyle and Maxx Williams also finding ways to incorporate themselves into the offense, Andrews still has overshadowed them big-time.
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Meanwhile, we’re all waiting for 2019 first round pick Hayden Hurst to make his stunning debut. While Hurst did catch his first career touchdown last week versus the Carolina Panthers, it came well after the game was decided. Baltimore has to be happy with their tight end play, but they certainly can’t wait for Hurst to breakout. Hopefully their collective performances are a sign of things to come and we see a larger role for the position.
Why is brown the man receiver why arent we taking slant routes why dont we do hurry up football why is Alex Collins lead runner the list could go on.
— Kracker Dan (@CuppDan) October 29, 2018
A loaded question, but I’ll do my best to answer everything.
- John Brown has excelled in 2018 because of his chemistry with Joe Flacco. The two built up a strong rapport this off-season and Brown plays exceptionally well to all of Flacco’s strengths. While we expected Michael Crabtree to be the go-to guy, there’s nothing wrong with Brown being the main-man in Baltimore.
- The Ravens, at least in recent years, have used short-to-intermediate passing plays to run the offense. Fans cry that there have been far too many check-downs in previous seasons, but that’s partially because of the lack of talent catching the ball. With a better cast of pass catchers all around, Marty Mornhinweg has opened up the offense more and the results have been satisfying.
- To put it simply, the hurry-up offense isn’t Mornhinweg’s style of offensive play-calling.
- The Ravens running back depth chart has been far from inspiring. Alex Collins was supposed to build on a successful 2017 campaign, but instead looks like a change-of-pace guy at best. Unfortunately, Collins remains Baltimore’s top dog, and he will continue to see the ball a heck of a lot for the remainder of the season.