Baltimore Ravens must build upon their strengths this offseason
By Darin McCann
The run game and man coverage are keys to Baltimore Ravens success
In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Polonius gave an epic speech to his son regarding how to comport himself while away at university.
In it included the famous expression, “Neither a borrower nor a lender be,” and other time-tested nuggets that continue to dot some of the most valued advice extended to this day. The one-piece that stuck with me the most personally, and I believe should extend to the Ravens’ off-season philosophy this year, is, “To thine own self be true.”
Let’s take a look at the Ravens, and what has contributed to their success over these past few seasons, and how that information can lead to greater success going forward. In short, let’s make the Ravens better at being the Ravens.
Who they are on offense
Look, in today’s NFL, you need a good-to-great quarterback to win consistently. The Ravens have that in Lamar Jackson, even if, by many pundits’ standards, he does this a bit unorthodox.
I’m an optimist in general, so I subscribe to the mantra of, “Don’t tell me what someone can’t do. Tell me what they can do.” Jackson’s strengths lie in his legs, his leadership skills, and his ability to generate big plays. He is also adroit at hitting throws in the middle of the field, and he seems to relish in the success of his teammates. That means he is fine letting other people shine if it helps the team — and that is important in any kind of team-building — be it sports, business, or family life.
The Ravens also have an offensive coordinator in Greg Roman, who is arguably one of the best minds in football history in terms of running the ball and does a nice job in utilizing the respective strengths presented by different tight ends. Again, we’re focusing on strengths in this exercise, and the strengths offered by their quarterback and offensive coordinator — the two most important elements in a team’s offense — are evident and clear.
They are not necessarily the same strengths of offenses that reside in Kansas City or Green Bay or your local high school team, but they are, in fact, the strengths offered by the chief architects of the Ravens offense.
The Ravens are built philosophically to run the ball, utilize tight ends, and hit big plays.