The Baltimore Ravens officially kicked off their 2014 training camp with the first day of practice on Thursday. They come into camp with a new offensive coordinator in former Houston Texans head coach, Gary Kubiak. Kubiak has always been known as a player’s coach. He has wasted zero time making that impression on the Ravens. That feeling was one of the key points in Torrey Smith’s presser after the first practice. Smith was sure to mention how everybody is “all in.”
When asked what he thought of Kubiak so far, Smith gave a glowing endorsement. “I love him, you know, he’s great. He’s the perfect guy for what we need. The way he is out there, he’s a perfect leader. It’s easy to buy in, as far as what he’s preaching. He’s a great communicator. He’s a guy that you really want to play for.”
This is a crucial year for Smith as he is heading into the final year of his rookie contract. He has already established himself as one of the premier vertical threats in the game. That is not enough to satisfy the hungry, young, budding star receiver. He wants to prove that he can do more.
“I know what to expect. I’m heading into my fourth year so I know what my expectations are here and how to meet them. We work as hard in camp as anyone in the league. I’ve improved in every area, that’s the goal. You can’t feel like you can stay the same. That’s how you prove that you belong in this league.”
The pressure of playing for a new contract is not something that Smith will let be any factor in his performance this season. He has taken a very mature approach to it and intends to let it all work itself out. One thing that he is confident about is that he will be where he wants to be.
“I am here to win. I am a Raven, always want to be a Raven. I am sure at some time today or next year or whenever something will happen. The business side of things, I try to stay away from. Don’t worry about things that you can’t control. I go out, try to have fun, make plays and help us win. I work to prove that I belong every day.”
Smith has had the opportunity to become familiar with running an assortment of routes and their concepts since this is his fourth year in the league. His experience has helped him make the transition into a new offense. Smith says that at the end of the day, “we just run routes.” He acknowledges that there are some things that have to be tweaked on certain routes but he says that “the concepts are the same, it’s just a different way of reading it.”
The thing that stood out when he was speaking was the confidence that he has in the new offense and how they have made huge strides towards becoming comfortable executing their assignments. Granted, they haven’t had to do so in full gear when practice is live, but to Smith, it’s just a matter of continuing to progress.
“It’s just fine tuning things. We had a great off season. That’s a credit to how everyone has worked. The coaching staff works as hard as anyone. We are all committed to trying to change, try to get better and be the best that we can be. Everyone is all in. We aren’t thinking too much. It’s all like I said, just fine tuning little things, making sure you’re lined up here versus two yards over there. It’s all little things. That’s what camp is for. We covered so much ground in the off season and we come out here today it’s just getting our camp legs under us and getting ready to go.”
This season will be one in which Smith gets to once again benefit from having a receiver that will garner a lot of attention and allow him to see more single coverage. The Ravens brought in Steve Smith Sr. and he is already fitting in well. Smith’s defensive mindset will remind many of Anquan Boldin, a player that added toughness to the offensive side of the ball during their Super Bowl run in 2012. Torrey Smith acknowledged the fact that having Steve Smith Sr. will be great for the Ravens.
“Steve and I can be as good as anyone out there. That’s our receiving core in general. We can all learn from Steve. He’s a firecracker. Plays with attitude. He knows how to channel it the right way. I love getting to play with him. I’ve known him for a while but on the field he’s another animal.”
Another addition that will help is the addition of wide receivers coach Bobby Engram and interim receivers coach Donte Stallworth. Both were former receivers in the NFL. Having the two coaches will only make the receiver unit better. Torrey Smith trained for the combine with Donte Stallworth so the familiarity is already there. Engram had a very productive career in the NFL as a slot receiver. The pieces are in place for Torrey Smith to really take that next step towards becoming a top tier receiver.
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Email: turron@proplayerinsiders.com
