According to multiple accounts, Ravens QB Joe Flacco looked much more comfortable in last week's OTAs than in the previous two, and there were fewer balls hitting the ground or winding up in the hands of a defender.

Losing Anquan Boldin to free agency and Dennis Pitta to injury certainly hurt Flacco, who finished #19 after three straight top 14 finishes. Pitta is back, but Boldin is still gone, though the team acquired Steve L Smith to replace him. Expect more low-end QB2 numbers given all the depth at QB.

Offensive Coordinator Gary Kubiak said it’s evident that Joe Flacco put in the work with the playbook before Ravens organized team activities (OTAs) began. Kubiak’s said his signal caller is “ahead of the curve.”

“I think he worked his tail off when he was away from me,” Kubiak said after Tuesday’s practice.

“When it was time to go to work, when we could get our hands on him and do those type of things, it was obvious when he came in how hard he had worked and he knew what he was doing. He’s way ahead of the guys from that standpoint.”

The most important first step for Ravens QB Joe Flacco in this new offense actually involves his feet.

"The West Coast offense – more than any offense I’m that familiar with – ties the footwork reads into the reads more than any other one, and it’s very straightforward," coach John Harbaugh said. "It’s very black and white for the quarterback, and that’s what Joe is learning right now."

Flacco shrugged off any concern with the alteration to his footwork.

“It’s all the same footwork,” he said. “It’s just making sure that you tie it into your reads and that you can do it spot on in practice [and] in routes versus the air, so that when things break down a little bit, you’re ready to go, you’re still set and you’re ready to throw.”

Ravens beat writer Mike Preston on QB Joe Flacco's demeanor at OTAs: "Just a hunch here, but it seems as though quarterback Joe Flacco is not having fun, not like a year ago. Maybe it's because he has to learn a new offense and has new assistant coaches around him again... I also think Jersey Joe is struggling a little bit with the foot work in dropping back because his passes have been off. In these OTAs, the foot work is stressed more than just about anything else."

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/ravens-insider/bal-ravens-ota-...

The Ravens aren't coming off of a Super Bowl win, either, and that will certainly put a damper on the mood at offseason activities. Still, Flacco's progress under new OC Gary Kubiak will determine whether he's a QBBC/streaming candidate early in the season.

Among new Lions head coach Jim Caldwell's most pressing tasks will be fixing QB Matthew Stafford, the promising quarterback who has tumbled into mediocrity the past two years.

At the center of many of his problems is a decline in accuracy, which sank all the way to 58.5 percent last year. That was 30th in the NFL.

"Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, without question," Caldwell said, when asked if accuracy could be taught. As the story points out, Caldwell has a pretty good resume with QBs: He worked with Peyton Manning for nearly a decade in Indianapolis, and took him to a Super Bowl in 2009, and later rode Baltimore's Joe Flacco to a Super Bowl in 2012. He has a reputation around the league for knowing the fundamentals of the position, and just how to impart them.

Ray Rice is using last season’s adversity as fuel for a redemption campaign in 2014.

The Ravens’ running back battled a hip injury, which limited his ability to make cuts and accelerate. The injury persisted all season and hindered Rice’s ability to explode for big gains.

“I played through an injury and I probably should have thought twice about it, but I’m glad I was able to push through the season and not have any surgical procedures,” said Rice, who was speaking at an event promoting BODYARMOR Superdrink. “One thing I know my body needed was rest, and we had a tough turnaround, and we didn’t do what we wanted to this year, but I’m positive that things are looking better for next year already. We’ll get this thing rolling again."

For an offense that is built around the run, the Ravens were never able to adapt to Juan Castillo’s zone-based schemes. The Ravens’ rushing offense finished last in the NFL in yards per carry. Castillo, who was hired to be the team’s run game coordinator, has been tabbed as the offensive line coach for next season. The Ravens’ running game should be buoyed by the hiring of offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak.

Kubiak’s stretch-zone scheme suits the Ravens’ personnel more naturally. Opposed to relying on the passing game of Joe Flacco, Kubiak prefers balance and using the run to set up the pass. The offensive linemen will be called upon to move laterally, and the running backs must thrive in a one-cut system.

Rice is only 27 years old, so he shouldn't be hitting the wall age-wise. It sounds as if he never fully recovered from the hip injury, so a bounce back season is entirely possible if he can stay healthy in 2014. Kubiak's arrival should help as well.

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco reiterated after Sunday's regular-season finale that his sprained left knee won't need surgery this offseason.

"I’m not going to have to get anything done," Flacco said. "It was just my MCL and it will heal on its own."

It will be much-deserved rest, considering the amount of hits that Flacco has taken this season. Flacco was sacked 48 times in 2013, and only Miami's Ryan Tannehill (58) was sacked more.

This was the most sacks any Ravens quarterback has taken in team history. The previous high was 40 sacks, which Flacco set in 2010.

In Sunday's regular-season finale at Cincinnati, Flacco was sacked two times and hit seven times. He came off the field limping when he was hit in the end zone with about nine minutes left in the second quarter.

Ravens QB Joe Flacco on his knee: "It feels better. It felt really good on gameday. A little sore yesterday and today, but it feels a lot better."

Joe Flacco is good to go for a nice matchup with the Patriots. He'll wear a brace so his mobility may be further limited.

Despite being listed as questionable — technically, 50-50 — to play on Sunday against the Patriots, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco remains expected to play despite a knee injury suffered Monday night in Detroit.

Per a league source, Flacco “feels strongly” about playing, and he won’t play only if “something happens” to the knee on Saturday.

It’s possible, but not likely, that Flacco could twist or wrench or bang the knee in a way that exacerbates the mild MCL sprain, but assuming nothing freaky happens Flacco will suit up and play vs. New England. Despite the good matchup, Flacco is only 19th on our list of QBs this week making him a low-end QB2 option.