NFL team reports:
Team has slid in years since Super Bowl win
In-depth offseason looks at the Ravens, Vikings and Cardinals.
Five things to know about the Ravens heading toward the season.
Pressure:
This isn’t to say coach John Harbaugh is in any kind of trouble, and news media reports at the end of last season indicated he is signed beyond 2017, but since winning the Super Bowl after the 2012 season the Ravens have compiled a 31-33 record and missed the playoffs in three of the last four years. This comes after they made the playoffs in each of Harbaugh’s first five seasons and advanced to two AFC Championship Games before winning a title.
Mornhinweg’s plays:
Since the start of 2011 when Cam Cameron was directing Joe Flacco as Ravens offensive coordinator, the team has cycled through five play-callers. This year, it’s Marty Mornhinweg’s turn, as he took over for fired Marc Trestman last season. The Ravens have had a top-10 offense in three of those years and were at least in the top half in another two, but they have had trouble scoring points in the recent stretch of seasons without a playoff berth. The Ravens averaged 22.6 points per game after Mornhinweg took over playcalling after the fifth game last season.
Catch the ball:
With the retirement of Steve Smith Sr. and the departure of Kamar Aiken to the Indianapolis Colts, the Ravens had two wide receivers who caught double-figure passes in 2016: Mike Wallace (72) and Breshad Perriman (33). Then they signed Jeremy Maclin, who had a career-low 44 catches for 536 yards and two touchdowns while playing 12 games in an injuryfilled 2016 season. But Maclin also rejoins Mornhinweg, who was offensive coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles when Maclin was with the team for his first four seasons (2009-12) in the NFL. Maclin had 26 touchdown receptions and 3,453 receiving yards over those seasons, averaging 13.4 yards per reception. Defense gets a face lift: The Ravens not only drafted five defensive players this year, they also traded starting defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan to the Philadelphia Eagles, released longtime pass-rushing stalwart Elvis Dumervil and saw emerging linebacker Zachary Orr retire. They also spent $36 million on safety Tony Jefferson and $23.5 million on corner Brandon Carr. All this for a unit that was No. 7 overall in the NFL last year.
Flacco enters 10th season:
Since being selected No. 18 overall out of Delaware in 2008, the 6-6 passer has been under center for the Ravens. Only eight other starting quarterbacks in the league are older than Flacco, 32. While he has never made the Pro Bowl, Flacco has won a lot of games (83-55 regular season, 10-5 playoffs). And despite the revolving door at offensive coordinator the last few seasons, Flacco has seen his completion percentage rise every year since 2013, and he set career highs in completions (436) and yards (4,317) in 2016.