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Today is another open media day at Ravens minicamp, so I'll be spending the morning and afternoon out in Owings Mills soaking in this lovely weather.
We're in the middle of a passing camp, but that doesn't mean that just quarterbacks and wide receivers will be participating in practices this week; the running backs and offensive linemen will also be on hand, and a good number of defensive players generally show up to these sessions as well.
Because it's a passing camp, however, I thought I would focus this entry on the guy doing most of the passing.
In Joe Flacco's first two NFL seasons, he threw for 6,584 yards, which is the fifth-highest total ever by a QB in his first two years in the league.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Flacco ranks behind only Peyton Manning, Dan Marino, Drew Beldsoe and Jeff Garcia in passing production in his first two years in the NFL.
Despite some impressive statistics, however, Flacco still has plenty of room for improvement.
Jim Zorn, the Ravens' new quarterbacks coach, will be given the responsibility of helping Flacco make said improvement.
Zorn says he's watched every game that Flacco has played since joining the Ravens and has broken things down in detail. He says that when it comes to working with the Delaware product this season, he has two specific goals: improve the mental part of Flacco's game when he's got the ball in his hands, and get him moving a little smoother.
"I think the things that I can help him [with] is, especially on that field during the game, is to help him to have poise," Zorn said recently. "I think he's a pretty even-keeled sort of guy, but there's an intensity that has to come in a game, as well. I think I can help him to stay steady.
"I know I'm going to help him in some of the areas of mobility, of changing directions, of being sudden, I guess, playing sudden in some of these situations because these defensive teams, the ones that we face in this division, are very fast and you have to make not only quick decisions, but you have to make quick movements as well. So, there's just a lot of things that we'll be working on as we go along here."
Today, with the passing game the focus of the Ravens' practice, it will be interesting to get a close look at how Zorn and Flacco interact and what the QB guru has his top pupil run through.
I'll have plenty on that, as well as other topics, throughout the day. Stay dry, folks.
