The Ravens today officially introduced Greg Roman as offensive coordinator and gave reporters a chance to ask him questions.
Though Roman has previously talked a bit about his philosophies and ideas for Baltimore’s offense, this was a more in-depth discussion about where the Ravens offense is headed. We learned a few major things from Roman’s press conference to help us better see how the offense will shape up in 2019.
Roman is about results:
When looking over what Roman has done as an offensive coordinator, you might not be too excited with the bare results. With the San Francisco 49ers, Roman’s offenses topped out at 11th in points scored and yards but were near the bottom of the pack often enough. With the Buffalo Bills, Roman’s offenses weren’t much better.
During the press conference, Roman pointed out how those results don’t necessarily show the full story. Instead, Roman pointed to the win-loss record as the most important factor.
Under Roman, the 49ers and Bills had a combined record of 59-36-1 and found themselves in the postseason three of six seasons. While it would be nice to have a prolific offense putting up yards like crazy, Baltimore really needs an offense to complement their defense. That might not be the biggest splash fans would want to see, but if Roman can achieve similar heights, I doubt you’d see many complaints.
Lamar Jackson has what you can’t teach:
Roman has already spoken highly of Jackson’s “intrinsic abilities” and continued on the theme today. Roman once again pointed to Jackson’s ability to see the field as something you can’t really teach a quarterback to do. Roman even went as far as to compare Jackson to Steve McNair in their field vision.
While there was an admission he needs to improve upon the fundamentals of playing quarterback, it seemed like Roman was pretty excited about the prospect of Jackson continuing his development next season.
Offensive line first:
Roman made a specific point to talk about how important the offensive line was to not only his scheme but offenses everywhere. We’ve previously pointed out how the most successful teams in the NFL often have better offensive lines and it seems Roman feels the same way. While most of the questions from reporters revolved around Jackson, Roman made sure to point that everything on offense begins with the offensive line.
I’d expect Baltimore to really hone in on how to assemble the best group of guys and maximize their strengths in 2019. With some questions at left guard and center, it wouldn’t be too shocking to see the Ravens really attack those positions in free agency and the draft to give Roman what he’s looking for.
Creative tight end usage:
Tight ends have been a favorite position for Baltimore’s offenses, and that likely won’t change in 2019 under Roman. During the press conference, Roman pointed to both Mark Andrews and Hayden Hurst as guys he was excited to keep working with and developing.
Roman said he wanted to be creative in how he used both players. While both will likely see time blocking and running routes, Roman went on to say both Hurst and Andrews could be put in various different positions on the field to maximize their potential.
More college concepts:
Roman didn’t get too far into specifics here, but he made mention of incorporating more things from college schemes. In Roman’s reimagined offense, Baltimore will tailor things to helping the transition for young players. Ranging from how players learn the system to huddles and even calling plays themselves could be changing if everything Roman said is to be believed.
It’s an interesting concept when you consider much of the Ravens offense is young players. Not only do they have a young quarterback in Jackson but they recently drafted both their offensive tackles, both tight ends and two wide receivers, and are likely looking at adding even more offensive talent through the 2019 draft.
By incorporating a little of what those prospects are used to from college into Baltimore’s offense, it could get players acclimated faster and provide better results. It could even be a part of the answer for the Ravens’ wide receiver woes.
Roman is building things from the ground up:
While it’s safe to assume much of what we saw from Baltimore’s offense with Jackson as a starter last season will make a return in 2019, it’s not going to be the same offense. Roman made it clear he’s completely rebuilding the entire offense from scratch instead of simply retooling what already existed.
Roman likened it to building Ikea furniture and kneading dough at various points of the press conference. But the general idea remained the same: The board has been wiped clean and things are going to be worked in to create something bigger and better.
It’s something the Ravens haven’t really done before. Under quarterback Joe Flacco, each offensive coordinator finetuned the offense to their specifics but largely, things remained the same. The end result was a scheme that never really had an identity and was more of a garbled mess that likely didn’t help anyone trying to perform in it. The hope is Roman can end that cycle and build something around his young quarterback that the team can expand upon over time.
