Trestman Takeover: Will the Ravens Pass or Run More?

The answer: probably not. The high-flying passing/read-option attack that Trestman instituted in the Windy City likely won't be finding it's way to Charm City. Expect a more traditional approach this year.

Why will this year's offense not be much different than last year's?

Trestman himself has alluded to following Kubiak's system, in an interview with Ravens writer Ryan Mink, Trestman said,  "I don’t think [putting on] my spin would be a good way of approaching it, "We’ve gone into it collectively. We’ve spent a lot of time watching tape, getting an understanding of the terminology and how Gary went about doing things."

The Ravens set franchise highs in points (25.6) and yards (364.9) per game in 2014. So the Ravens and Trestman obviously want to keep the momentum they had last year in Kubiak's prolific West Coast and Zone Block scheme. Trestman also has roots in the West Coast scheme, so the transition should be relatively smooth. With the scheme staying in place, returning players don't have to relearn a new offense as well, so that's an added bonus.

In 2013, Trestman's Bears passed the ball 58.90% of the time, while pounding the rock 41.10% of the time. The Bears definitely favored passing, but it wasn't too significant. However, the following season the Bears were the second most pass-happy team in the league by throwing the rock 63.17% of the time, second to only the Raiders. These stats might show why the 2014 Bears collapsed as compared to the 2013 Bears, and perhaps Trestman learned that too much passing can be a bad thing.

Last year, the Ravens passed the ball 55.33% of the time, and ran 44.67% of the time. This should be a good indicator of what to expect this year if the Ravens stay on course. Both facets of the offense, pass and rush, look very good this year. So it's hard to pick one over the other. Balance is a good thing to have.

What else to expect from Trestman?

Trestman will be a great communicator, and build strong relationships with the players by his 'hands off' approach. He expects the players to lead, and also expects consistency from them. This is part of the reason why his tenure as Bears Head Coach didn't turn out so well. Marc simply didn't have the right personnel to work with. Expect him to get along very well with Joe Flacco. It's probably accurate to say that Joe is by far the best QB Marc has worked with in recent memory, so I imagine Marc will enjoy his shiny new toy that is Joe. After all, he is the 'Quarterback Whisperer'.

Per Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune, who covered Trestman for two years, Trestman's greatest strength is his reliability'. That's a good thing for the team, as Trestman is their fourth OC in just eight years. Campbell also says that Trestman is a 'very open-minded person' who isn't 'driven by ego' and someone who is willing to do what is the best for his team.

Hopefully Trestman will also play to Flacco's strengths by opening up the play-action game. Campbell also said that "Trestman talks about how you need balance and you need to run play-action to open up passing lanes and things like that." I can definitely vouch for more play-action plays, since in my opinion there's nothing more satisfying than seeing Joe launch a deep-bomb after the defense bites on a fake. But just because it works for me in Madden, doesn't mean it always works in real life.

The good news is the Ravens seem to have found stability at the OC position, which is a great thing. Not only do they seem to have stability in the position, but in the offensive scheme itself. So here's to many good years in Baltimore, Marc.