The Baltimore Ravens' most significant offensive upgrade so far this offseason was the addition of former 49ers and Bills offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who will be serving as the team's assistant head coach and tight ends coach.
And in an effort to explain his new team's offensive philosophy and his role inside it, he might have also thrown some shade at one of his previous bosses.
"I wouldn't try to pigeonhole us just yet that we're going to try to be ground and pound," Roman said, via the team's official site. "Who really wins big doing that? I think you have to have balance. But that doesn't mean we're not going to make people respect us in that phase of the game."
Perhaps it was entirely on accident. Roman was described by the interviewer as a "ground and pound" coordinator earlier in the conversation but that also happened to be the mantra of former Bills head coach Rex Ryan, who always leaned toward a hard-nosed rushing attack. Roman was let go by the Bills early in the 2016 season and replaced by now-Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn, who was Ryan's long-time assistant head coach and running backs coach.
The Bills finished second in rushing attempts and first in rushing yards each of the last two seasons.
In Baltimore, Roman will have a chance to shed the Bills' one-dimensional offense and create something far more balanced. Though that won't be easy, either. Last year the Ravens threw the football more than any other team in the NFL (five more attempts than the second place Saints) and were 30th in rushing attempts. While game situations reflect those numbers, achieving perfect balance requires some hard work.
