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Joe Flacco earned every bit of the nickname "Joe Cool" after these remarks

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"I want us to be better," Flacco said. "I think we’re going to be better. I definitely think we have the ability to. That’s what’s exciting about it."

These were Joe Flacco’s remarks in regard to the Baltimore Ravensnew offense going into a new season. What an interesting statement coming from a quarterback who contributed to the best Ravens offense in their 19-year franchise history.

According to Ravens staff writer Garrett Downing, Baltimore’s offense set team records in points and yards last season, not to mention the fact that Flacco had his best statistical season of his career.

That was then, but this is now. Baltimore’s offense looks a lot different than it did last season on paper and on the field. They lost key pieces to their offense in the offseason; speedy receiver Torrey Smith to the San Francisco 49ers, receiver and return specialist Jacoby Jones to the San Diego Chargers, tight end Owen Daniels and former Ravens offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak to the Denver Broncos.

With that being said, how ironic is it that Flacco chooses now of all times to set the bar even higher for he and his guys?

This will be one of Baltimore’s biggest tests since the season that followed their 2012 Super Bowl title — a season that brought its share of adversities after many moves were made in the offseason prior.

The Ravens acquired a new offensive coordinator in Marc Trestman this offseason and drafted the likes of Breshad Perriman and Maxx Williams with hopes of filling the voids left by Smith and Daniels. The good thing is Baltimore’s offensive line is set to be strong again this season, returning all of their starters.

"I think our offensive line is going to be as solid as it’s ever been because it’s basically the same with another year under their belt," Flacco said.

I’m not surprised that Flacco feels some comfort in terms of the running game as the Ravens were able to re-sign running back Justin Forsett to a three-year deal, which takes care of the running department. My shock comes in Flacco’s confidence in his receiving core, which lacks a tremendous amount of experience. Veteran Steve Smith Sr. is the only receiver with more than two years of experience, but that doesn’t seem to startle the former Super Bowl MVP quarterback at all.

"Our receivers — I think we have a lot of good guys that got experience last year, and are going to do good things for us," Flacco said. "We have some guys that got experience last year that are really good players, and they’re just going to be better for us."

The good news for Ravens fans is that their veteran quarterback plans to backup his bold statements, which is evident in his involvement thus far. He’s taken it upon himself to reach out to Trestman since the hire and is getting to know his new guys on the offense by participating in the voluntary offseason workouts. That’s a great sign of humility for the star quarterback out of Delaware.

"You can’t replace getting out there on the field and doing the field drills with everybody, calling the plays out, throwing the football around, getting a feel for your coaches, getting a feel for the new guys, and kind of just getting excited again," Flacco said.

To read more from Karl Nelson II, visit his sports column at http://cover32.com/ravens/author/knelson/.

The opinions posted here are those of the writer of this article. They are in no way official comments from the team, the editors of this site or SB Nation as a whole, and should not be misconstrued as such.