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The Baltimore Ravens have made the playoffs in four of the past five years following a three-year hiatus from 2015-2017. However, it has been over a decade since they last made an appearance in a conference title game.
Their last time advancing past the divisional round came on their last Super Bowl run to cap off the 2012 season. After an offseason in which they made significant and much-needed upgrades at wide receiver and hired a new offensive coordinator, the Ravens could be poised to do so again according to ESPN analyst Sal Paolantonio who thinks they can unseat the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs.
“I think Baltimore has a shot to dethrone Kansas City as the AFC Super Bowl contender,” he said in an appearance on the ‘Get Up’ sports talk show on July 18, 2023.
Paolantonio’s bold statement was prompted by the topic of what the Ravens’ ceiling could be as a team overall.
He believes that the pairing of Jackson and Monken could mirror the immediate success in terms of explosive offensive output that former NFL head coach Chip Kelly and retired four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Michael Vick had in the 2013 season with the Philadelphia Eagles before he went down with an injury.
“Todd Monken runs basically the same kind of pacing and spacing on offense as Chip Kelly did and it’s going to be a shock to the system to the rest of the AFC North,” Paolantonio said.
The Eagles had one of the fastest-paced offensive units in the league that year and averaged over 450 yards of total offense and 27 points per game through the first five weeks when Vick was healthy per Pro Football Reference. Kelly’s scheme that he brought with him from the college where he made the University of Oregon into a perennial powerhouse program took the league by storm.
It saw running back LeSean McCoy and wide receiver DeSean Jackson record the best season of their respective careers. McCoy led the league in rushing attempts (314), rushing yards (1,607), total touches (366), and scrimmage yards (2,146) in his second career First Team All-Pro season. Jackson posted a career-highs in receptions (82) and receiving yards (1,332) and earned his third and final career Pro Bowl nod.
While Monken has previous experience in the NFL, his recent success with the University of Georgia is what the Ravens and pundits alike are so excited about the impact he can have in his return to the pros. He helped lead the Bulldogs to back-to-back national titles the past two years with an explosive offense that utilized and created space for its playmakers to thrive and that is the hope and expectation for him in Baltimore is to have a similar impact.
Zay Flowers is the Key to Reaching the Ceiling
The Ravens’ first-round rookie wide receiver who they selected at No. 22 overall out of Boston College has been garnering plenty of hype from local and national media leading up to his first training camp. Paolantonio added his name to the growing list of those who are excited about the impact Flowers can have both on his own and in terms of helping his veteran teammates excel as well.
“He ‘s got speed, he’s got toughness, he’s got great hands, he’s a great route runner,” Paolantonio said. “I want to see how he opens things up for Odell Beckham Jr.”
In an earlier segment, his fellow panelist and retired NFL quarterback turned analyst, Dan Orlovsky, boldly predicted that Beckham Jr. would have a huge bounce-back season in 2023 in which he would record 1,300 receiving yards.
“I agree with Dan and I think OBJ could have a massive year because Zay Flowers will run those nine routes, will open up the safeties, open up the middle of the field, and Mark Andrews,” he said.
In addition to having the game-breaking speed to stretch the field vertically, Flowers also possesses “elite change of direction” skills according to Real Analytics which is in the 96th percentile. That ability to stop on a dime, shift gears, get back up to full speed and sometimes barely break stride help him create separation at a high rate and will make him a dangerous weapon after the catch in Monken’s offense.
Ravens Place Rookie Lineman on Injured List
The team made an expected roster transaction on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, when they placed rookie interior offensive line Andrew Vorhees on the non-football injury list. They traded back into the 2023 NFL Draft to select him in the seventh round with the No. 229 overall pick despite the fact that he will likely miss his entire rookie season as he recovers from a torn ACL he suffered at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine.
The former USC standout was projected to be a Day 2 pick prior to his injury and has experience playing both left and right guard. The Ravens expect him to make a full recovery and be in contention for a starting job next year and beyond.
“We have every expectation that he will be playing winning football for us in 2024,” general manager Eric DeCosta said. “This is a move that really solidified our line for years to come.”
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