The most significant offensive additions the
On paper -- and we know the dangers of evaluating football teams on that alone -- it doesn't appear the Ravens have done much to improve an offense that ranked 12th in points scored and 15th in total yards a season ago. But there is reason to believe that the offense will be better in 2012: They will finally have a little continuity.
In 2008, the Ravens began a four-year personnel shuffle when they drafted quarterback
And last offseason, they released wide receiver
That's a lot of turnover, especially for an offense that was being piloted by a growing quarterback in Flacco.
But the Ravens will return 10 starters on offense this season, with Grubbs, who signed with the
"It's good to get out here and be with a lot of these young guys, a couple new faces, and get a lot of work in," Flacco told reporters Wednesday after the team's voluntary organized team activity (OTA) workout. "It's still a long way from the season and a long way away from training camp, where we'll get most of our work done. It is always good to come out here, run around and kind of really get a feel for what we're getting ready to do."
Last season, the Ravens improved their rankings in both points scored and total yards from 2010, when they ranked 16th and 22nd, respectively. In 2009, the Ravens ranked ninth in points scored and 13th in total offense. And in 2008,
After the 2011 season ended with a tough loss in the
"Without a doubt we'll get where we want to be," Dickson said Wednesday when asked about the familiarity. "Just this offseason, gelling together, working together. It's going to help a lot. Joe is going to be able to -- I don't want him to do this -- drop back with his eyes closed, so to say, and know where we will be at all times. He'll have Anquan, myself, Dennis Pitta, Torrey on the outside. And he'll gel with those young guys, too."
The Ravens are still relatively inexperienced at wide receiver, but Smith,
But now that the Ravens are all back together this spring -- Rice and Birk were the only two offensive players who skipped this week's voluntary workouts -- and have time to develop a rapport with Flacco, Smith feels the offense can take a big leap forward this season, even if they didn't make any splashy offseason additions.
"We have all the tools to do it. It's on us to go out there and use this time now to just work, to try to become the best offense that we can," he said. "We know what the defense is going to bring, and obviously, we want to match that and go above and beyond, become one of the best offenses in the league. And that's the goal."