Marc Trestman “the Quarterback Whisperer” was expected to build upon the offensive production of previous Ravens coordinator Gary Kubiak in 2015. It didn’t happen like that. In fact, while Kubiak was busy winning a Super Bowl for Denver, the Ravens offense regressed for a number of reasons under Trestman’s direction—although many of the reasons were beyond his control (injuries, lack of personnel depth, etc.).
Such is life in the NFL. One year you’re on a roll with an offensive juggernaut, the next year the numbers collapse and you’re left wearing the ass-hat.
In a sense Trestman’s hands were tied from the get-go. The Ravens wanted Trestman to build off the system Gary Kubiak had installed the previous year. I would find it hard to take the job as coordinator under those circumstances. I guess Trestman swallowed his pride.
He obviously wanted the job, though. John Harbaugh loves the guy and Trestman wanted a chance to work with Harbaugh.
Actually, when you look harder at the numbers, the Ravens offense last season finished 14th overall among 32 teams. It could have been worse—but it should have been so much better. But factor in by the time the season ended, the Ravens were down to their third starting quarterback and third-string running back, and had also lost their starting left tackle, center, tight end and five receivers to season-ending injuries.
The real problem on offense was turnovers—28 of them, to be exact.
“I think No. 1 is we have to take care of the football better,” Trestman said. “We’ve certainly got to do that. That starts with everything that we do as coaches. It starts there, and we’ve got to be better – the pure fundamentals and techniques.”
Would now be the time to also give Trestman the freedom to design his own new wrinkles in the West Coast-hybrid offense Harbaugh wants to run?
“We’re going to be in much better shape, in terms of building the system from that standpoint than we were the first year,” Harbaugh said. “Now the system is more [Trestman’s] than it was last year. I think it’s more ours than it was last year.”
“We have a lot of confidence in what we’re doing,” Harbaugh said. “We’re excited about what we built into it, and Marc Trestman is the main architect of that because he’s the offensive coordinator, and he’s really very well equipped to do that.”
Nice words of support from Harbaugh, for now at least—but he once said similar nice things about Cam Cameron, who wound up getting the axe in midseason in the Ravens’ most recent Super Bowl winning season.
“It’s a little unnatural when you [first] come in, and there is Kubiak’s pre-existing offense in place,” Trestman said at last week’s minicamp. “It was a very good offense, as we all know. But I spent three months on it, trying to make sure that I simulated the things that were necessary for me to do my job.”
“Coming into it a day after the season is over, you feel you are in a lot better position, because you aren’t using those 90 days out of 120 to learn another offense,” Trestman said. “It’s the offense you know now.”
“I’m excited about where we’re going offensively,” Harbaugh said. “I think we’re going to be really well-coached. We just have to build execution out here. We just have to come out here, get good, take care of our business and get good at what we’re doing.”
Garrett Downing of the Ravens website put the mission ahead of Trestman and the offense in an even sharper perspective:
“Expectations are high for Trestman and the offense going into the 2016 season. Flacco is expected to return at the start of training camp after recovering from last year’s torn ACL, and the Ravens have invested significant resources to add players at left tackle, wide receiver and tight end. General Manager Ozzie Newsome said during an offseason press conference that this might be the most talent the Ravens have ever put around Flacco. With a quarterback in his prime surrounded by playmaking threats, the Ravens hope to take a major leap in Trestman’s second season.”
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