Will the offense be better or worse this year?

[tctony]

You can't deny that losing Q will have an impact on the offense.

 

However, Torrey Smith has another year of experience and he really showed flashes this past year. Pitta is also another year wiser. Jacoby is a burner, and the coaches have high hopes for Streeter and Doss.

 

RR is RR and Bernard Pierce looks beastly.

 

Joe looks confident under Jim Caldwell and the offensive line should continue to gel.

 

Do you think the offense will perform better or worse this season? What are your expectations for them, scoring or yardage per game wise?

[SecretAgentMan]

Caldwell alone makes the offense better. 

 

Boldin's production may be hard to replace, but Doss and Deonte look good so far. I'm not that worried.

[flynismo]

Caldwell alone makes the offense better.

That's what I think too

Boldin's production may be hard to replace, but Doss and Deonte look good so far. I'm not that worried.

We should easily be able to replace Boldin's annual 900 yards / 4 TDs. Maybe even improve on it

[The Raven]

Like Irrelevant said, Caldwell alone will improve the offense. 900 yards and four touchdowns won't be exceedingly difficult to replicate. 

 

All we really have to do, statistically, is find a player or two that can catch 65 balls. That's it.

[BALTIMOREFLACCO]

Caldwell alone makes the offense better. 

 

Boldin's production may be hard to replace, but Doss and Deonte look good so far. I'm not that worried.

 

Agreed.

 

Ever since Jim took over the offense has been incredibly sharp. As far as Boldin goes, next man up.

[tctony]

Playoff Boldin is what we could've been getting the last however many years. His regular season numbers have been subpar, but I don't think it's easy to replace a player of his caliber. I have never seen somebody make so many contested catches before. Don't discount Boldin because Cam was a doofus. 

 

I agree with the general consensus that Caldwell alone makes the offense better. I am excited to get a full offseason with this guy, along with Juan Castillo coaching the OL.

[beanfigger]

Caldwell and Castillo will be awesome for us.  I think a bigger bonus for us than finding a solid Q replacement is if Gradkowski can lead the line with as much confidence and smarts as Birk did.  If he is an above average center, and the whole line stays healthy, this offense could be remarkably efficient.

[mgridda]

Better than we were last year in the regular season, sure. Definitely. Caldwell, with Joe running a no-huddle he's always wanted to run (and always did run in college) and controlling the tempo and play selection should make our execution similar to that if the 2012 playoffs, but not better. 

 

I'm hoping we don't see too many regular season injuries, but above all that if we do everyone comes back healthy for the playoffs. By that time, Flacco should be really ready to go. 

[usmccharles]

The one issue i have with Boldin being gone, is that Joe no longer has that go to guy where he can just throw the ball up there and have complete confidence that his wr will come down with it.  The play that really sticks out to me is the one in the SB, Joe scrambles to his right and looks like hes throwing it away and just launches it to Boldin and of course he catches it.  Honestly, his numbers wont be that hard to replace, its his ability in the clutch situations that i feel we are going to miss.  Thats my only concern, i think we will see a far more aggressive offense than we are used to.  Just remember, Joe's and Bree's stats were identical for the first couple years under the Cameron, once bree's got some freedom look what happened.  Im expecting 4200 yards and around 36 TDs with 16 ints. 

[3-4ravdef509]

The only way we will miss Boldin is his blocking. With Caldwell, hopefully we will run more routes that help receivers get open with more separation than Boldin ever got. Also the offensive line should be improved

[3-4ravdef509]

To me, I'm more worried about replacing Birk than Boldin.

[RobFuseRaven]

I just have this really good feeling about the offense. We've got that elite line-up on the O-Line if B-Mac stays healthy and no one gets injured. I believe this year we will see the emergence of a complete receiver in Torrey Smith. I think a couple of the guys will break out like Deonte Thompson, Tommy Streeter and Tandon Doss. If Touchdown Tommy and Deonte breakout, you have them along with Torrey and Jacoby completely blowing the top off a defense. Not only that, but there are a lot of good slot weapons. Pitta, Rice, Juice and don't forget Leach. I can honestly see Juice being in the same role as Q being a smashmouth blocker and a guy with good hands. Ed Dickson has been impressing lately. I know it's early, but one can still be excited. We also have Furstenburg. We also can't forget about Pierce. He's turning into a total stud. And last, but not least, Jim Caldwell. In my opinion, he will be the catalyst in a couple of our home grown receivers emerging as superstars. The team in general has a huge ceiling. I get amped every time I think about it.

[display name]

It's clear to me that we spent the offseason trying to get our D back to 2011 form. The offense is pretty much the same, minus Q. The loss of Boldin hurts, but he can be replaced. I also like Ed Dickson. He is strong and a great blocker, similar to Boldin. If he can actually hold on to the ball, we could have a very nice pass catcher. The 2 TE sets may also confuse the opposing team.The thing is, Joe Flacco has never made a Pro Bowl. I think this could be the year that he proves once and for all, without any doubt, that he is elite.

The offense last year was very good, but not great. Assuming nothing major happens between now and week 1, I expect it to be just a little bit better.

Playoff Boldin is what we could've been getting the last however many years. His regular season numbers have been subpar, but I don't think it's easy to replace a player of his caliber. I have never seen somebody make so many contested catches before. Don't discount Boldin because Cam was a doofus.

 

I agree with the general consensus that Caldwell alone makes the offense better. I am excited to get a full offseason with this guy, along with Juan Castillo coaching the OL.

921 yards and 4 touchdowns may not be Jerry Rice material, but it's solid enough. He owes many of his 1,000 yard+ seasons in Arizona to Fitzgerald.

[GrimCoconut]

Yes, the offense will be better and here's why I believe it to be: 

 

1. OL: we have the same Super Bowl line-up with great depth except for the loss of Matt Birk. Outside of that, we have everyone back with a young center who looked great against Atkins & another center who looked fantastic as well last year. 

2. We have Jim Caldwell calling the plays. 

3. While we lost Boldin, we have other young WRs who seem to be ready. 

4. We have Dennis Pitta & Ed Dickson, of whom I believe will benefit most from Boldin's departure. 

5. Defense looks to be improved, which should be able to force more turnovers & make field position easier on the offense. 

[display name]

Yes, the offense will be better and here's why I believe it to be: 

 

1. OL: we have the same Super Bowl line-up with great depth except for the loss of Matt Birk. Outside of that, we have everyone back with a young center who looked great against Atkins & another center who looked fantastic as well last year. 

2. We have Jim Caldwell calling the plays. 

3. While we lost Boldin, we have other young WRs who seem to be ready. 

4. We have Dennis Pitta & Ed Dickson, of whom I believe will benefit most from Boldin's departure. 

5. Defense looks to be improved, which should be able to force more turnovers & make field position easier on the offense. 

All together we have the better team, yes I agree. But it puzzles me how the 1 and 2 seeds often go one and done.

[GrimCoconut]

All together we have the better team, yes I agree. But it puzzles me how the 1 and 2 seeds often go one and done.

It happens a lot, but there have been a lot of 1 & 2s who have won it as well. New Orleans, for example. 

[Ravensfan23]

All together we have the better team, yes I agree. But it puzzles me how the 1 and 2 seeds often go one and done.

 

My opinion on that is because most times 1 and 2 seeds aren't battle tested throughout the regular season. That reason alone is why I was so confidence about Facing the Broncos last season. I'm sure none of you guys remember but even before it was revealed who the second round matchup would be, I was hopeing for Denver.

 

Most #1 seeds come as a result of a really weak divison and I don't think that perpares them for the playoffs well. jmo

[Ravensfan23]

The only concern I have in replacing Q is what Flacco said about Q knowing he's the man. I'm not sure any of our WRs have that swag right now, even Torrey and Jacoby. There were times when Q just seemed to punk dudes on the field and that sparked the offense at times. It's like you could see the DB losing confidence with every catch Boldin would make. It was great.

 

Now on the other side of the coin, I don't worry about replacing Boldin's ability to make contested catches because I feel a large portion of his catches that were contested weren't designed to be. Where our WRs might now lack that ability to just outmuscle DBs for the ball, they make us for with seperation.

 

I think we'll see a passing game that resembles what the Packers do with ARod, it'll just be a better run game with the Ravens. I see Caldwell moving Flacco around in the pocket, asking him to get rid of the ball quick, spreading his weapons out in space, still pushing the ball down field when the opportunity is there, but when need be, they'll ground and pound. Honestly I'm really looking at this offense and asking....How do you stop it?

 

I think Caldwell is gonna have so much fun scheming this offense up week to week. Are you a team like the Jets who basically rely on blitzing and having strong Secondary play? Well the Ravens can use 2TE sets and Rice out of the backfield to attack your LBs and Safeties until we find the opportunity to strike deep.

 

Are you a heavy zone team like the Bengals and Bears? Well the Ravens will force your Safeties to play so deep because of the speed that Smith, Jones and Thompson bring. Playing your safeties deep opens up the middle, underneath and run game.

 

Are you a heavy Man team like the Seahawks with big physical DBs. Well the Ravens can come with bunch formation, playaction, double moves and Pitta and Dickson on the inside.

 

I strongly feel the Ravens offense will be able to get whatever they want against defenses, they'll just have to stay patient and be creative, which both Flacco and Caldwell have shown together.

[gabefergy]

Offense should be better, probably a top 10 unit.

[display name]

Offense should be better, probably a top 10 unit.

It should be at least that with what we're paying Flacco.

[gabefergy]

It should be at least that with what we're paying Flacco.

He didn't get paid because he is leading an elite offensive unit, and I dont think anyone should expect him to become Drew Brees all of a sudden. That said, the offense should be good and hopefully very efficient. I think we will see more high percentage throws and hopefully more no-huddle. I do expect Flacco to have his best statistical season as the offense is completely his now, no more of this "offense runs through Ray Rice" nonsense. Maybe 3 years ago that was the case, but not anymore.

[display name]

He didn't get paid because he is leading an elite offensive unit, and I dont think anyone should expect him to become Drew Brees all of a sudden. That said, the offense should be good and hopefully very efficient. I think we will see more high percentage throws and hopefully more no-huddle. I do expect Flacco to have his best statistical season as the offense is completely his now, no more of this "offense runs through Ray Rice" nonsense. Maybe 3 years ago that was the case, but not anymore.

If he gets paid more than Drew Brees, I expect him to be better than Drew Brees. I'm not saying we should pass as much as the Saints, but when we do pass, Joe Flacco should be the best player in the league.

Why not? He gets paid like it.

[Bravens292]

I think this is the most loaded we've been in our franchise. Normally i would be worried about how this team's chemistry will be considering there are so many new faces but all i'm hearing is positive things from Raven camp so we should be fine. You won't believe how good Joe can be with an offseason with Caldwell. we will definitely be better. Can't wait.

[AsianRice]

I was sad when Boldin left but in reality, great QB and OC will make any WR looked good.  Our offense will rise this year with a different identity.......

[CapoRocky]

All of the arguments why we are better far exceed the loss of Boldin.

[gabefergy]

If he gets paid more than Drew Brees, I expect him to be better than Drew Brees. I'm not saying we should pass as much as the Saints, but when we do pass, Joe Flacco should be the best player in the league.

Why not? He gets paid like it.

Why not? Because, at least in the past, our offense wasnt designed to make Flacco look like the best plaeyr in the league. He does what he does in the framework of the offense, to expect anything more than that is silly. I dont think he will be playoffs Joe Flacco, but I do expect a better more consistent regular season. I think Caldwell will give Flacco much more control of the offense than Cam ever did, so I expect good things, but I care more about wins and making another postseason appearance than stats.

[T3hRaven]

I don't think there's any question that the offense will be better this year.  Even if we had board members at wide receiver, Cam Cameron is no longer in charge.  That giant, simple-minded weight bringing the offense down has finally been lifted.

[Grendelwulf21]

A full offseason with Caldwell ... oh my goodness, this will be exciting

[JoeyFlex5]

better than the playoffs offense? no way. boldin can be replaced, but you're fooling yourself if you think his PLAYOFF performance can be replaced, he caught fire for the super bowl and blew his regular season stats out of the water, but we dont and we wont have a receiver that can play quite like he did in the playoffs, but we can surpass his regular season production. so i would say it will be better, at least compared to regular saeason, i think it will be much better because of o-line continuity, probably a better defense which means we have the ball more, and we will have a workhorse destroying front sevens in bernard pierce, and we have a versatile new tool in juice, and pitta and doss will work as a team to make up for boldins loss, and also dickson will probably be used a little more, and in a contract year, and with a SB ring, i think his nerves might be gone and the dropsies will go with them. and ray rice will probably be used a bit less, keeping his legs fresh so he can burst out with big plays more often, sort of like when he split carries with mcgahee in 09 and he broke out

[K-Dog]

better than the playoffs offense? no way. boldin can be replaced, but you're fooling yourself if you think his PLAYOFF performance can be replaced, he caught fire for the super bowl and blew his regular season stats out of the water, but we dont and we wont have a receiver that can play quite like he did in the playoffs, but we can surpass his regular season production. so i would say it will be better, at least compared to regular saeason, i think it will be much better because of o-line continuity, probably a better defense which means we have the ball more, and we will have a workhorse destroying front sevens in bernard pierce, and we have a versatile new tool in juice, and pitta and doss will work as a team to make up for boldins loss, and also dickson will probably be used a little more, and in a contract year, and with a SB ring, i think his nerves might be gone and the dropsies will go with them. and ray rice will probably be used a bit less, keeping his legs fresh so he can burst out with big plays more often, sort of like when he split carries with mcgahee in 09 and he broke out

 

We had Caldwell at the helm for the play offs, so in that regard it would be about the same.

Just a little more finely tuned.