Ozzie Newsome used to making changes in camp

[papasmurfbell]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/07/29/ozzie-newsome-used-to-making-changes-in-camp/

 

The Ravens’ offense took a huge hit with the loss of tight end Dennis Pitta to a season-ending hip dislocation.

Coupled with trading away wide receiver Anquan Boldin in a cap-driven move, it changes the face of their offense this year, particularly on third downs.

But if you’re looking for panic in the face of a reasonably dire situation, you’re looking in the wrong place.

Ravens General Manager Ozzie Newsome told Don Banks of SI.com that past experiences with late-camp changes have at least prepared them for such an event.

“We have a history of making moves just a week or two before the season starts, to be able to put the final pieces together,” Newsome said. “We did that with [offensive tackle] Bryant McKinnie [in 2011]. He came in just before the last preseason game. We did that with [offensive tackle] Willie Anderson, I think in John Harbaugh’s first year [2008], and with [cornerback] Josh Wilson on defense [in 2010]. It’s awfully early. We don’t play Denver tomorrow, and the season is 16 games long. What you worry about is needing to play real good football going into November and December.”

The Ravens will continue to make moves, beyond the expected one of bringing fullback Vonta Leach back.

But it’s also worth noting they have the foundation for a good offense already, with quarterback Joe Flacco and running back Ray Rice and deep threat wide receiver Torrey Smith. Filling in the blanks with tight ends and second receivers is easier when you have those parts in place, especially with time to adapt.

“We don’t know yet what our identity is going to be on offense yet, because it hasn’t been established yet,” Newsome said. “It’s not there yet, but it wasn’t there yet when Dennis was out there working. It’s going to be developed through training camp and in the preseason games. Now if Dennis is not going to be a part of the offense all year, the offense has to figure out what it is and what it can do best.

“Are we capable of running the football? Are we capable of getting the ball out faster? It could be an offensive identity where we’re running, going play action, and having speed at receiver. Because we’ve got three guys who are going to get behind people now. And people are more afraid of that than the 10-12-yard completion. They don’t want anybody to get behind them, so they’re going to have to defend the full field because of Torrey, Jacoby [Jones] and Deonte [Thompson].”

It will be a change, and it will take time. But because of Newsome and Harbaugh and their ability to adjust on the fly, their chances are much better than most.

 

 

[vmax]

 

 

Because we’ve got three guys who are going to get behind people now. And people are more afraid of that than the 10-12-yard completion. They don’t want anybody to get behind them, so they’re going to have to defend the full field because of Torrey, Jacoby [Jones] and Deonte [Thompson].”

 

I love it. Ozzie is one fierce competitor.

[cravnravn]

 

OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- The news of Baltimore tight end Dennis Pitta's likely season-ending hip injury on Saturday was the kind of solar plexus blow that can knock a football team back on its heels, especially one that's riding high as it opens the defense of its Super Bowl campaign.

But you're not going to get longtime Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome to panic or give in to any woe-is-me sentiment. Not in late July. Not on the first weekend of training camp, when there's still a whole season to contend with and so many different approaches he could take to help fill the gaping void created by Pitta's fractured and dislocated hip.

Newsome has a lengthy track record of keeping a stiff upper lip when it comes to situations like this, a fact I should have remembered from that day early in Baltimore's 2001 training camp, when I arrived just in time to see lead running back Jamal Lewis lost for the season with a torn ACL.

The Ravens were the defending Super Bowl champions that year, too. They didn't replace Lewis seamlessly, of course, but they did lure veteran rusher Terry Allen out of retirement, get decent production (658 yards rushing) from him at age 33, and went on to record a 10-6 season, returning to the playoffs and even winning a first-round game.

So Newsome has at least been there, and done that, and by the time we chatted in his office Sunday morning, he seemed to have fully digested the shock of Pitta's cruelly abbreviated 2013 season.

 

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl/news/20130728/baltimore-ravens-replacing-dennis-pitta-anquan-boldin/#ixzz2aWVFFhUr

 

[cravnravn]

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"Are we capable of running the football? Are we capable of getting the ball out faster? It could be an offensive identity where we're running, going play action, and having speed at receiver. Because we've got three guys who are going to get behind people now. And people are more afraid of that than the 10-12-yard completion. They don't want anybody to get behind them, so they're going to have to defend the full field because of Torrey [smith], Jacoby [Jones] and Deonte [Thompson].''

 

Love it, thats why Im not so "the sky is falling" when Pitta went down. I feel more sorry for him and the rehab, then I do about his loss to the team means.

[Geronimo]

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Love it, thats why Im not so "the sky is falling" when Pitta went down. I feel more sorry for him and the rehab, then I do about his loss to the team means.

100% agree with you Crave.

[cravnravn]

Not only did we do well after Jamal went down, but we also played that 2002 season with a new QB, a QB that not only the fans didnt want, but teammates were mystified with how thw FO could just release a SB winning QB and bring in an outcast and think we can just repeat.