Confidence before the storm

Coach Jesse Minter sat in on an offensive meeting Saturday night and felt the team's confidence. The players believed in each other and in new coordinator Declan Doyle.

“You just feel a confidence. They were going through the openers and talking through it.”

A dominant debut performance

The Ravens demolished the Colts 41-23 at Lucas Oil Stadium. Their 506 total yards were the second most in a Week 1 head coaching debut since 1970.

Outside zone becomes the foundation

New offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford brought his outside zone expertise from Atlanta. The Ravens ran 13 carries for 89 yards and three touchdowns on outside zone concepts.

“He is the definition of outside zone.”

Derrick Henry thrives in the scheme

Henry had three outside zone runs go for at least 10 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown and a 22-yard gain. He first emerged as a star in Tennessee's outside zone system.

Speed off the ball wins

Left guard John Simpson credited Ledford's philosophy of speed off the ball. Getting to landmarks and sticking points made blocking easier, especially with Henry running behind them.

“[Ledford's] whole philosophy is just speed off the ball.”

Bootlegs to Jackson's left side

Doyle called two under-center play-action bootlegs to Jackson's nondominant left side. Jackson had just three such plays in his first eight seasons combined.

Under center becomes the norm

Jackson lined up under center on over half of Baltimore's offensive plays. He went 5-for-6 for 110 yards on play-action drop-backs, though he was sacked twice.

“Best player in the league. He's been one of the best players in the league for a long time.”

Zay Flowers' career first half

Flowers caught five passes for a career-high 150 yards and one touchdown in the first half. He averaged 13.6 yards per route run before a hamstring injury.

Flowers lines up in the backfield

For the first time in his career, Flowers started a route from the backfield. He looped outside, cut back over the middle, and caught a 54-yard touchdown.

Creating versatility and confidence

Minter praised Doyle's scheme for moving weapons around and creating different ways to get them the ball. The versatility builds confidence in the players.

“I just really love the scheme and the versatility that it creates and the confidence that it builds into the players.”

Heavy use of 11 personnel

The Ravens used 11 personnel on 58.3% of first-half snaps despite losing Flowers and rookie Ja'Kobi Lane. Under Todd Monken, they rarely exceeded 40% for a season.

Exotic looks and heavy packages

Doyle used 13 personnel on 15.6% of snaps and six offensive linemen on 10.9%. On the opening touchdown, Ronnie Stanley lined up next to Roger Rosengarten in an exotic formation.