Baltimore Ravens: Creating the Blueprint for Optimal Offense in 2015

The Baltimore Ravens have the potential to feature one of the most balanced and complete offenses in the NFL this year.

They're expected to return nine of 11 starters from last year's 10-6 squad that made it to the divisional round of the playoffs. More importantly, Baltimore returns its entire offensive line from last year, which could become the best in the NFL.

The line is the key to Baltimore having its most optimal offense in 2015. According to Football Outsiders, the Ravens had the No. 3 run-blocking offensive line in 2014 in addition to ranking No. 4 in pass-blocking. 

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

Pro Football Focus also liked Baltimore's offensive line, ranking them No. 4 in pass-blocking efficiency. They were especially enamored with Ravens lineman Marshall Yanda, who's quietly become one of the best—if not the best—guards in football. 

In fact, PFF tabbed Yanda as their fifth-best player in the NFL last season. 

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Where he really dominated, however, was as a run blocker. When all was said and done nobody came close to him in 2014, with Yanda’s +34.2 run-blocking grade far ahead of Mike Iupati’s +18.5 in second place.

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It's not just Yanda's run-blocking ability that makes him one of the NFL's best linemen, though. He's a rock in pass protection that helps ensure his quarterback rarely feels pressure in the pocket. 

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A safe pass blocker throughout his career, he allowed just six knockdowns (sacks and hits), and 10 hurries for 16 total pressures overall.

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Yanda anchors an offensive line that's the key reason why Baltimore's offense is so good, especially on the ground. When Baltimore's rushing offense was clicking last year, they rarely lost.

In 10 wins, the Ravens averaged 150.7 rushing yards per game, according to ESPN. However, in six losses, Baltimore gained just 85.3 yards per game.

The Ravens broke 100 yards rushing in just two of their losses, against San Diego and Cincinnati. 

It's worth noting that in both of those games, Baltimore held a lead with just under five minutes left in the fourth quarter. That only reinforces the belief that the Ravens put themselves in the best position to win when they're effectively running the ball.

Part of that involves staying committed to the run, though. Most NFL offenses use a 55-45 split between passing and running the ball.

Baltimore was no different in 2014, running the ball 44.71 percent of the time, according to Sporting Charts. However, in games when Baltimore favored the pass more, it typically led to a defeat. 

In the Ravens' six losses, they averaged just 21.6 rushes per game. In the 10 wins, they averaged 32.1 rushes per game. 

That's a difference of nearly 10 attempts per game. While one would think the Ravens should opt to run more in 2015, that might not be the case based on who's calling the offense.

Gary Kubiak left this offseason to become the head coach in Denver after serving as the Ravens offensive coordinator in 2014. 

Replacing him will be former Chicago Bears head coach Marc Trestman, who has a history of favoring the pass more than the run, as Ryan Mink of BaltimoreRavens.com wrote: 

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Baltimore ran the ball 448 times last year (11th-most in the league), while the Bears ran 355 times (30th) under Trestman’s watch. In his 10 seasons as an NFL play caller, Trestman's offenses have finished in the top 10 in rushing yards per game once.

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The good news is head coach John Harbaugh didn't bring Trestman in to make Baltimore a pass-happy offense. Harbaugh knows how he wants his offense run, and he believes Trestman can successfully run it that way: 

“I don’t know what [Trestman is] known as or who knows him as what,” Harbaugh said, via BaltimoreRavens.com. “We have a way we want to play and a system in place. We’ve been running the ball here for a long time. That’s been our philosophy and our belief. Marc understands that. Marc has run the ball in [add] different places and had a ton of success, [comma] too.”

The Ravens must stay committed to running the ball in 2015 in order for their offense to succeed. A big reason why is when the ground game wasn't clicking last year, it affected everyone, even the quarterback.

While Joe Flacco is a great quarterback, he's never been consistently good when he doesn't have the support of a good running game. 

In 10 wins in 2014, Flacco completed 68.5 percent of his passes and threw 20 touchdowns versus just four interceptions. In the six losses, Flacco completed just 55 percent of his throws with seven touchdowns versus eight interceptions. 

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Again, Flacco is good, but he's not going to consistently win games on his own. He needs a run game to take some of the pressure off him and open up the passing game more. 

After all, when the offense is consistently getting 4-5-plus yards on each carry, it forces the defensive backs to play closer to the line of scrimmage.

This makes it easier for receivers to get open deep, allowing Flacco to show off his cannon arm and make the defense pay with big pass plays. 

This is where Baltimore's newest pass-catching threat comes into play. Breshad Perriman was drafted in the first round of this year's NFL draft out of UCF. 

Baltimore took him with the 26th-overall pick to come in and be the go-to option when the Ravens want to go deep. The 6'2", 212-pound Perriman caught 115 passes for 2,243 yards (19.5 avg) and 16 touchdowns over his three years in college.

He's a deep-ball specialist with the kind of speed that puts fear into any defensive back. At Perriman's pro day, he registered a 4.25 40-yard dash, per Ryan Gillespie of Central Florida Future. Had he ran that time at the scouting combine, it would have been the fastest of any receiver there.

If Perriman had recorded that time at the NFL scouting combine, it would have been the fastest of any wide receiver.

Perriman will be counted on heavily as a rookie after Baltimore lost Torrey Smith this offseason. After catching a franchise-record 30 touchdowns over four years in Baltimore, Smith left to sign with the San Francisco 49ers in free agency.

This is a big reason why the Ravens will count on Perriman's ability to stretch a defense in his rookie year, making him a focal point of the offense. Flacco loves to showcase his deep-passing ability, and Perriman makes his money down the field.

In fact, Perriman is already catching the eye of Flacco in OTAs. 

"I'm happy with Breshad," Flacco said, via Garrett Downing of BaltimoreRavens.com. "He looks really good. He looks big, powerful, runs well. His hands look like they're really good. He looks like he has big, strong hands. He snatches the ball out of the air."

Again, this is dependent on the success of the ground game, which goes back to having Baltimore's dominant offensive line. 

The Ravens have one of the bests lines in football, and utilizing it to the maximum will be key to having an optimal offense in 2015.