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Faster pace coming to Baltimore?

By Jared Smola | Updated on Sun, Jul 9 2023 7:12 PM UTC
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ESPN analyst Matt Bowen expects the Ravens to play at a faster pace this season. That wasn’t the case last year; Baltimore ranked bottom-5 in plays per minute (1.63) and no-huddle rate (4.4%). “They decided last year under [OC Greg] Roman they were going to control tempo by slowing it down,” Bowen said. “[It was] a lot more condensed formations; they had much different personnel than you’ll see this year. [Fullback] Patrick Ricard last year played a critical role in that offense; I don’t know that he has a pivotal role this year with what I expect to see out of Monken." Bowen, a former NFL safety, shared more on his forecast for the 2023 Ravens. “This year, and I have old playbooks of Todd Monken, is a lot more spread, a lot more trips, a lot more empty," he continued. "What they’re trying to do with pace of play is to be more aggressive and control tempo in terms of creating more tempo.” We detailed more of Monken’s impact in a new article on NFL Coaching Changes. Overall, we’re bullish on this offense making considerable improvements.

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Jared Smola, Lead Analyst
Jared has been with Draft Sharks since 2007. He’s now Lead Analyst, heading up the preseason and weekly projections that fuel your Draft War Room and My Team tools. He currently ranks 1st among 133 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.
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