Cam Cameron's Offense Set to Pick Up Slack from Ryan's Release

It wasn't very long ago the day Cam Cameron's-'07 Dolphins defeated the Ravens in a game that would keep them from being remembered forever in eternal infamy.

That win would eventually lead the 'Fins to a 1-15 record, just barely squeaking out the bottom spot, something the '08 Detroit Lions managed to do. In a game filled with rules and a draft that is supposed to give the worst teams the best chances of getting the best players, it is hard to imagine a team managing to lose 15 or 16 games.

How does that even feel? I certainly cannot answer that, as my personal high school football team's won two state and three county titles in four years. The train-wreck of an ending to a season that started with such high hopes led to Cameron being fired from his first head-coaching position.

What a blessed day that was for Baltimore. The Ravens hadn't done well that season either, ending with a 5-11 record and head coach Brian Billick being fired as well. With the eventual hire of ex-Eagles special-teams coach Jon Harbaugh as his replacement, the rest is basically recent history.

An 11-5 record, a reversal of fortunes for the Raven's team, two playoff wins for a rookie QB and a rookie head-coach led to our first AFC championship shot since the 2000 Super Bowl run. For the first time in the team's entire thirteen-year history, Cam Cameron brought the Raven's offense to life.

Last season, Joe Flacco matured much sooner then anyone in Baltimore, including me, could have possibly believed. In his last 8 games, not including the postseason, he threw for only five interceptions. Our rushing attack, led by former fullback in LeRon McClain, ended the season ranked 4th in the NFL.

What was going on? What had changed in one off-season besides going with a QB with zero NFL experience? The receiving options had actually gotten worse with Derrick Mason being our only consistent threat. Todd Heap, a Pro-bowl caliber TE, was too busy dealing with blocking assignments and injuries to help out much.

Cameron's playbook is immense. Just as Rex Ryan is known for his creative defensive blitzing, Cameron's understanding and creation of offensive fireworks was what helped Drew Brees and Ladanian Tomlinson lead the Chargers to a No. 1 ranking in the league. It was also what had made the Dolphin's choose him for that ill-fated head-coaching position in '06.

The confusing and often successful plays he called last season were just a small taste of what Cameron has in store for the Raven's offense this season. The stage is set and the players are ready to take on a much larger portion of the playbook.

Our rushing attack, so dominant last season, will force teams to stack the line if scrimmage, giving our inconsistent receivers a chance for winnable single match-ups. That in turn will give Flacco more time to pass, which will allow him to go deep more often, something we've been waiting for since the day we drafted him.

So what does all of this have to do with our personnel changes?

It's very simple, really. With Rex Ryan choosing to take a head-coaching job with the New York Jets, things are certain to be different this season. A lot of people I have talked to around the Baltimore-area have said the defense is still going to be dominant but I personally think there is going to be some adjustments made.

Jim Leonhard, Corey Ivy and Bart Scott both went to New York with Ryan in the off-season. The loss of one of our star-LBs and a young, instinctive safety would be bad enough without losing CBs Chris McAllister and Ivy as well.

We added CB Domonique Foxworth from the Falcons but as for the other positions we are relying heavily on our depth and rookies to step up and ease the transition. I don't believe it will be the same or as good as the defense we saw last season.

The biggest loss of the season is obviously Rex Ryan. His dad, Buddy Ryan, was the father of the '85 Chicago Bears. His brother, Rob Ryan, is the defensive coordinator in Oakland.

Obviously he didn't just inherit a great defense and earn credentials from his players, even though his predecessors in Baltimore, Mike Nolan and Marvin Lewis, were also very good defensive coaches.

The Baltimore media and management have kept their hopes up. They keep saying that by hiring up from within they'll help establish defensive continuity by going with ex-assistant coach Greg Mattison.

I think the offense is just going to have to pick up the slack while the defense is on its heels. Cam Cameron has just about all the necessary components, except the receivers, to put up just enough points to keep the defense rested and strong.

Perhaps I am wrong and either Demetrius Williams, Mark Clayton, Todd Heap, L.J. Smith, Quinn Sypniewski, or even recent addition Kelley Washington will be that guy who helps Mason, Flacco and the trio of RBs. But I have seen them play over for many seasons.

Williams, Heap, Smith and Sypniewski are on the injured list almost as often as they start games. Washington didn't really provide a lot of offense in Cincinnati, and L.J. Smith was a semi-bust in L.J. Smith.

I guess what it comes down to is this. I would feel a lot better about our entire team's chances of grabbing the division crown from those pesky Steelers if we had another solid receiver like Boldin or even Harrison.

Even so, I like our chances this year. We will we tested early and often and will have to stand tall through the storm like we did last season to help out the new members of the defense.

Hopefully we can do just that.

-Michael

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