2. Is the Todd Monken offense that big of a difference?
The biggest change in the offseason may be in the coaching staff. Greg Roman did a good job getting Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offense to where it was. Jackson won an MVP, and the team had plenty of success. However, the offense never took a step. It never branched off or out of anything, and teams started to catch up.
Now, Todd Monken has a chance to crank up the dials and add some changes to this unit. There is a lot of talk about the changes coming out of training camp. The Ravens had consistently been one of the slowest teams in the NFL, but with Monken, all of the talk is about speed and tempo.
Greg Roman packed things in tight, while Monken has talked about spreading teams out wide. Roman relied on the ground game, and now that Jackson is being paid like an elite quarterback, Monken has said that he plans for Jackson to throw much more.
All of this sounds good, or at least intriguing on paper. However, we have to see how it develops and if it gels together on the field when it matters. If the Ravens are a faster, more explosive offense that can attack you from all angles, it will certainly increase the ceiling and put the team in the Super Bowl hunt. That starts right now.