Possible new route: starting 3 receivers

Things are looking up fellow Ravens fans. We are going to have a potent offense.

I don't know about a potent offense, but you do have the best offensive coordinator in the NFL. If there is any talent there he will find it and develope it. I can't believe y'all had Matt Cavanaugh as your O coordinator, what was Billick thinking ? If Billick could have brought in a Cam Cameron early, the Ravens would have beat out the Pats on Super Bowl wins...man what a defense..

I have a good feeling going into the 08 season. The Ravens typically have a top 3 defense when healthy and they proved that with a top 17 offense we can go 13-3. I think the Ravens O will be top 15 at the very least and possibly top 10. If this happens with our top ranked D I can easily see us making the playoffs but this is only May and September is a long way's off.

Jeffro, I understand what you're saying, but , I disagree. If Billick HAD the greatest Offensive Coordinator in the history of Football, he (Billick) would not utilize him. Billick is a stubborn, bull-headed, know-it-all, kind of a guy who ALWAYS had to do it HIS WAY. His being in-charge, being the boss, egotistical nature would not allow him to fully turn over the reins to an Offensive Coordinator, especially, since, after-all, Billick hailed himself as an Offensive Genius. Of course, Ravens fans know different ! As an example, look how long he kept nervous Nellie Boller as the starting QB last year, and would not even give Troy a chance when we had nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

FINALLY, i'm sick of all the lame BILLICK excuses when it wasnt' his guy or somehow every WR was in his doghouse because boller couldn't get them the dam ball.

i'm so glad that scumbag jerk is gone!

I believe that if our line can play and mesh we can definitely make a strong playoff push. We have talent on the offensive side and I believe that Ray R. is going to add "Jones Drew " type of element to our "O" . We have been the most predictable offense in the league for years and 85% of the time if we can just get 21 on the board we can win . I believe we are as deep as we have ever been in the secondary I love the addition of ( Walker, Washington , Zbikowski, Nakamura ) and Cory Ivy is pretty descent at nickel as well . We should finish at around 10-6 , 11-5 IF we protect the QB .

I agree that the Ravens have some very good talent in their receiver corps and I also agree that Cameron is a great offensive coordinator, but if the Ravens don't improve their overall blocking skills it won't matter because whoever you put in there to throw the ball is going to get creamed. I am not a huge Kyle Boller fan but I really have to feel for the guy, he has gotten hit hard enough by unblocked rushers that it's a wonder he doesn't take backwards instead of just fast.

I think it comes down to utilizing all of the players on the roster and maximizing each player's talents something that Billick was never good at. When Billick was here it always baffled me how he didn't get the younger players more reps (specifically Smith last year, especially after it was clear our season was over) and how he didn't come up with more creative ways to utilize each players talents.

I was disappointed that the Ravens did not try to go after a bigger WR who is more of a vertical threat via either free agency, trade, or an earlier pick in the draft. Today in the NFL if you want to stretch the field consistently you need at least 2 vertical threats (i.e. Colts - Harrison/Wayne, Pats - Moss/Stallworth, Dallas - T.O./Glenn/Crayton, Browns - Edwards/Winslow, etc.). Williams is the only vertical threat we have and he hasn't had a breakout season yet. Hopefully, they give some of these big rookie WRs a good look.

Cameron is the master of the 15 / 20 yard pass route , can't wait to see if we can protect Boller/Smith/Flacco so they can pull it off..........

Everything on the offense starts with the O-line. Then, it's the talent. Then it's the play design/play calling. The Ravens are playing musical chairs with the O-line, trying Yanda and Brown at center. They have major question marks at LT and RT because of Gaither's inconsistency. (I'm not even going to get into the whole J.O. mess.) They really don't even have one healthy tight end. So heading into the 2008 season, there seem to be a lot more questions than answers. The one bright spot is having Cam Cameron as the OC. He has a reputation for developing talent, designing creative schemes, and playing the best 11 guys. But he can't do it by himself, obviously. It's time for the Ravens offense to step up. Whether this is the year or not remains to be seen.

Dude wrote:

I think it comes down to utilizing all of the players on the roster and maximizing each player's talents something that Billick was never good at. When Billick was here it always baffled me how he didn't get the younger players more reps (specifically Smith last year, especially after it was clear our season was over) and how he didn't come up with more creative ways to utilize each players talents.
I was disappointed that the Ravens did not try to go after a bigger WR who is more of a vertical threat via either free agency, trade, or an earlier pick in the draft. Today in the NFL if you want to stretch the field consistently you need at least 2 vertical threats (i.e. Colts - Harrison/Wayne, Pats - Moss/Stallworth, Dallas - T.O./Glenn/Crayton, Browns - Edwards/Winslow, etc.). Williams is the only vertical threat we have and he hasn't had a breakout season yet. Hopefully, they give some of these big rookie WRs a good look.

I finally agree with someone...

This is just the tip of the iceberg. The future is bright because of the excellant coach's on board. That said, the receivers who are the regular starters should start to look over there shoulders as there is now compatition. Get off the line at the snap of the ball! Run the route as if the ball is being thrown to you on every play! Block on running plays and after a receiver has caught the ball! A word to the wise should be sufficient.

Innovation is the linchpin of success. New cannot hurt, old can kill.

all of you are right the oline needs to be living togehter right now.it all starts with them.

Realistically if you rank the top 6 teams in the AFC, its NE, Colts, Jags, Chargers, Pitts and Browns. Tenn went 10-6 last yr. Only the top 6 teams make the playoffs.
If you rank their Qbs Brady, Manning, Garrad, Rivers, Ben R and Anderson and Young. I would say that they all are better than any QB the Ravens have, and on and on you go position by position. The Ravens have a talent gap and its a tall order for a first time ever HC to come in and expect his team which finished last last yr to be contending for a playoff spot. Like it or not the Ravens sch if very difficult this yr and this will be a rebuilding yr and expectations need to get aligned with that fact. Hopefully the offense will be more exciting to watch but, basically this season will be played for Flacco to get some experience in the second half of the season.

Without protection, nothing will work. Do we have a left tackle?

Harry wrote:

Realistically if you rank the top 6 teams in the AFC, its NE, Colts, Jags, Chargers, Pitts and Browns. Tenn went 10-6 last yr. Only the top 6 teams make the playoffs.
If you rank their Qbs Brady, Manning, Garrad, Rivers, Ben R and Anderson and Young. I would say that they all are better than any QB the Ravens have, and on and on you go position by position. The Ravens have a talent gap and its a tall order for a first time ever HC to come in and expect his team which finished last last yr to be contending for a playoff spot. Like it or not the Ravens sch if very difficult this yr and this will be a rebuilding yr and expectations need to get aligned with that fact. Hopefully the offense will be more exciting to watch but, basically this season will be played for Flacco to get some experience in the second half of the season.

I love when people say the Raven lack talent compared to the rest of the elite teams. The fact of the matter is the Ravens have the talent I point to the Ravens vs NE game last year. The problem has been production on a constant level and motivation not to mention injuries. Properly motivated they beat the unbeatable don't be surprised if they come out swinging.

Don't be surprised that the Ravens take the first half of the year to get it together. It may even be a 1-7 start and everyone ready to throw the new coaches under the bus.

The offense has never been asked to produce points. This will be one confused bunch come training camp. A six year old could have mastered Billicks playbook, but this will be different. Also the liklihood of a rookie QB behind center is good.

As much as I love our defense they do tend to lay down if the offense has collapsed.

Harbaugh is the man for this transition, but the path to team ball and high points on the board is a big time gut check and many of these players are in for a change and some will get thrown under a bus.

I will believe it when I see it. I hope they use more 3 WR sets because it would help spread out their offense. I am excited to see what Cam Cameron has in store for our offense this year because he has proven over the years that he is a quality offensive coordinator.

I hope billick is taking notes for his next HC gig