Earlier today the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens, agreed to terms with former Houston Texan head coach Gary Kubiak to become the Ravens next offensive coordinator.
Kubiak will be filling the spot vacated by Jim Caldwell, who was hired as head coach of the Detroit Lions earlier this offseason.
Along with Kubiak comes Rick Dennison, who served as the offensive coordinator under Kubiak and was considered for other offensive coordinator positions. Dennison will serve as the quarterbacks coach, which bodes well for Joe Flacco because when Flacco has had a quarterbacks coach his numbers have been significantly better versus when he hasn't.
Dennison does not have any previous experience as a quarterback coach, however he did install the zone blocking scheme that the Texans successfully ran for many years.
There will be plenty of experience on the Ravens coaching staff come the start of the season as Kubiak has been the head coach for the Texans since 2006.
Before his time in Houston, Kubiak worked under Mike Shanahan in Denver as the offensive coordinator. During the ten year span that Kubiak was the offensive coordinator, the Broncos led the league in both touchdowns and yards gained. Kubiak brought a similar system to Houston, which became very successful and no one would be surprised if he brings it to Baltimore as well.
It is hard not to love this hiring if you are a Baltimore Ravens fan, but the bigger issue at hand is supplying Kubiak and Flacco the tools they need in order to succeed, most importantly the offensive line. The Texans were one of the most successful teams when it came to running the ball under Kubiak's tenure and one of the reasons for that was there zone blocking scheme and the fact that they had very talented and athletic linemen.
Three out of the five starting positions along the offensive line all have major questions surrounding them. Both starting tackles from last year, Eugene Monroe and Michael Oher, are unrestricted free agents, and first time starting center, Gino Gradkowski, was less then stellar to say the least.
The lack of a viable running game for the Ravens killed their offense and led to a very porous overall ranking. In order for the Ravens to get back to the effective balanced offense that led them to a Super Bowl, they are going to have to solidify the offensive line.
This will allow for weapons like Torrey Smith and Dennis Pitta to flourish and showcase their talents even more, something I am sure Gary Kubiak and all Ravens fans want to see.
No comments:
Post a Comment