Are the Ravens ready to regularly use formations that will get Dennis Pitta and Owen Daniels on the field at the same time?
According to Dan Pompei of Bleacher Report, Ravens offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak has pondered the prospect of “relying heavily” on formations using two tight ends because of Daniels’ encouraging offseason after missing most of 2013 with a broken fibula.
Pitta missed most of 2013 due to a hip injury and he was sorely missed in the Ravens’ passing game. Upon his return, he saw 33 targets in four games, putting him on pace to finish with the 3rd-most targets in the league. It’s not a solid sample size, but it’s still an indicator of what may come. (He finished with the 12th-most targets in 2012.) The big plus for Pitta heading into 2014 is the arrival of new OC Gary Kubiak who has been very TE-friendly throughout his career, specifically with the development of both Shannon Sharpe in Denver and Owen Daniels in Houston. There are those that are worried about Daniels' arrival stunting Pitta's upside, but if Baltimore plays a lot of 12 (two-TE) formation, it shouldn't impact Pitta negatively. If there are two tight ends on the field, there won't be a lot of snaps for a third WR, so Marlon Brown stock continues to sink. He'll fight with Jacoby Jones for limited snaps as the Ravens' WR3.
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