Could Ravens Turn Into a Pass-First Offense This Season?
The Ravens often get labeled as a "run-first team," which is understandable considering they set the NFL's single-season rushing record in 2019 and led the league in rushing again last season while finishing last in passing yards.
However, as Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman pointed out last month, the Ravens actually called more passing plays than running plays last season.
"They finished last season with an NFL-high 555 carries and NFL-low 406 pass attempts. In theory, though, the numbers told a different story," The Baltimore Sun's Jonas Shaffer wrote. "According to Sports Info Solutions data, if you were to move the Ravens' 49 scrambles over to their passing column, remove their 13 kneel-downs from their running column and imagine all 32 sacks as pass attempts, the margin narrows considerably.
"Add the 23 pass attempts and scrambles nullified by penalties, compared to the nine designed runs taken off the books, and unofficially, 510 Ravens plays had started off as passes — and just 502 as runs."
While the Ravens' offense was more balanced in 2020 than it appears at first glance, could it become a true pass-first offense this season given the additions of Sammy Watkins, Rashod Bateman and Tylan Wallace?
Lamar Jackson, the only quarterback in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in multiple seasons, has said he prefers throwing the ball to running it.
"Now their attack has three first-round picks and developing depth at wide receiver, a Pro Bowl-level tight end in Mark Andrews, a more experienced and likely more secure offensive line, and a quarterback with something else to prove," Shaffer wrote. "The Ravens had the NFL's top offense two years ago, when they set the league's single-season rushing record. Their path to the top this season could look very different."
General Manager Eric DeCosta said "we're a running team" during the Ravens' season-ending press conference in January, but he also acknowledged that the passing attack has room for improvement.
The Ravens have won a lot of games with the league's best rushing attack, so it wouldn't make sense to suddenly become pass-happy, but an improved passing game figures to make the running game that much better.
"In leading the NFL in scoring over the past two seasons, the Ravens have largely defied modern conventions," Shaffer wrote. "Now their revamped offense could defy easy categorization: a constantly evolving force that embodies DeCosta's run-based philosophy one week, Jackson's pass-heavy preference the next week and Roman's good-at-everything ideals every game."
May 28, 2021 at 08:47PM
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Late for Work 5/28: Could Ravens Turn Into a Pass-First Offense This Season? - BaltimoreRavens.com
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