3. All Sights Set Ahead:
With week one approaching the Ravens have been in regular-season practice mode for almost a week now. Coach Harbaugh and his staff have been preparing the team for the season and are ready to try and manage a preseason-less season. They know the challenges ahead and are relying on a veteran core and a lot of recent draft picks to merge together to make a run at a championship. With roster cut-downs finished, the players can now focus solely on the Cleveland Browns on September 13th.
Coming out of training camp, John Harbaugh is confident the team is fairly healthy. Although he didn’t want to jinx it, the team seems to be in good shape heading into week one besides Chris Moore‘s broken finger and a couple of other minor injuries. In recent days many recently banged-up players have returned to practice. With good health, the Ravens may enter the season with this roster or one similar to what they have coming out of cut-downs.
The familiarity in the locker room is essential to this season coming off of last seasons’ 14-2 record. That team bonded very closely together after back to back losses early in the season and won 12 games in a row. Although asking for that to repeat is a lot, the hope is that a strong leader entering the team in Calais Campbell and a step forward from last years core, as well as a handful of veteran additions; and this team should squarely be in the Super Bowl Contender picture from start to finish.
This season the connection between Lamar Jackson and his receivers, specifically Mark Andrews and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown will be tested, but after a strong offseason for many, the team has many reasons for optimism. With many skilled players in the backfield, the team may find new ways to be creative or expand on concepts like the Heisman package. Jackson has been adamant since the day he was drafted he wants a Super Bowl, more than the individual accolades. I believe the team is unified in this sense and wants to make up for last season’s shortcomings. Coach Harbaugh has the team united and ready to play, and on September 13th, we will all be able to see what this year’s team has in store.