Plauderecke » Ravens’ Sam Koch discusses consistency

Cheap Lamar Jackson Jersey , Justin Tucker and the punt return battle Sam Koch is one of the more unheralded players for the Ravens. Being a punter, fans and coaches alike are usually displeased when he trots out onto the field in the event of a stalled drive. When he does boot ball, Koch often makes the most of a negative situation.Koch has played in 12 NFL seasons for the Ravens, averaging 45.2 yards per punt. The consistent veteran punter hasn’t missed a game during that span and is part of one of the most prolific special teams staffs headed by coordinator Jerry Rosburg and it’s main attraction, kicker Justin Tucker. The trio of Koch, Tucker and long snapper Morgan Cox have continued to work on being a cohesive unit to begin the 2018 campaign.“Me and [Justin] Tucker — each year we come out here, it’s like starting over,” Koch said. “We go out there and try to focus on the fundamentals that we had from last year and build upon those. And from punting, to the timing of the snap, to the timing of the whole operation with the punt team and the rest of the guys — it takes a lot of time to build that up and with these preseason games, it’s been very helpful.“It’s one of those things with Tucker and Morgan [Cox] on field goal snaps, it’s all that timing and building up that foundation.”The 36-year old punter has had a lot of experience with witnessing battles for the kick return and punt return jobs with the Ravens over the course of his career. This preseason, Tim White and Janarion Grant have been the focus of the battle with Willie Snead IV and Chris Moore respectively taking in punt and kick return duties. “We’ve got a lot of athletes out there and a lot of guys that have a lot of potential to be a great punt returner or kick returner for us,” Koch said of Baltimore’s return men. “We have a lot of guys with a lot of skill and it’s just one of those things that we keep on practicing. I show them various balls Eric Weddle Jersey , so when they go out there on game day, they’re not surprised by certain ones and keep focusing on the fundamental aspects of that.”Koch was one of the most prolific punters inside the 20-yard line last season, averaging 47.6% of his kicks there. He trailed only Johnny Hekker (50.0%) and Chris Jones (51.5%) in that stat in 2017. To continue his dominance in the punt game, Koch has continued to practice different types of kicks and added more to his arsenal as time has gone on.“I think it’s more so just kind of refining what I have and making little tweaks from there and stuff that we can get better at in certain situations,” said Koch on practicing different kicks. “Whether it’d be with the win variables or grass versus sod, versus turf type of stuff. “One of those things with the new grass out here [Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills], things are playing a little different with it being so new. It’s one of those things where we’ve kind of adjust to and kind of make it somewhat like a game. Miami has new turf this week that they just put down — it’ll be very similar to this. It’ll be nice to practice on something like that and learn that before we go down.”Kaare Vedvik has been the latest specialist that Baltimore has brought into camp. The Norway native has impressed, showing off the leg strength and accuracy to be a good punter or kicker in the NFL. Vedvik could follow the likes of Will Lutz and Graham Gano who have gone on to have successful careers after departing from the Ravens after the preseason. Koch has been delighted with Vedvik through camp. “Kaare Vedvik is probably by far one of the most impressive guys that I’ve seen come through here,” Koch gushed about his fellow punter. “Whether it be through his punting or kicking, he’s done a great job. His ability to go out there and perform the way that he has, has been truly phenomenal. “He has a great leg — which you have to have a great leg in this league to begin with, but his ability to pay attention to the details as a rookie, has been one of those things that you don’t see from a lot of people. He truly wants to get better and he’s taking all of the information that whether me or Jerry [Rosburg] or Randy [Brown] or Tucker is giving him and he’s taking it and using it. It’s been a delight to see him grow in just these very few weeks that we’ve had him and the way he continues to grow each day.”Ravens get creative with run-pass option on offense The run-pass option has taken the NFL by storm. When the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots played in Super Bowl earlier in 2018, the Eagles were able to take advantage of the run-pass option and win the title. Now the Baltimore Ravens will utilize more run-pass option concepts in their offense.So what exactly is the run-pass option?The run-pass option is usually a run play with the option of a pass. It begins with a read from the quarterback Authentic Brandon Williams Jersey , which can be a pre-snap or post-snap read and depends on where a linebacker, defensive end or a specific alignment from the defense as a whole. A quarterback can hand the ball off, pass it or keep it to himself. The offensive line will block as if it is a run and fire off at the point of attack. Usually, these type of plays are ran with a mobile quarterback. With Lamar Jackson being drafted in the first round in 2018, it was expected that he would be the one using the offense the most. However, Joe Flacco has been spotted using the run-pass option during practice. “I think that’s honestly all good stuff,” Flacco said on Friday of the run-pass option . “It puts stress on defense. I think it opens up lanes for the running backs, so I think those are definitely good things when you pick to do them in the right spots.”Flacco hasn’t been known as the most mobile of quarterbacks, especially in recent years dealing with a torn ACL (suffered during the 2015 regular season) and a back injury (suffered during the 2017 offseason). Even before the injury, Flacco hasn’t had than 100 rushing yards since the 2013 season, where he rushed for 131 yards and one touchdown.He is now fully healthy for the first time since the 2014 season and could provide more of a threat with his feet. In the last few games of the 2017 season, Flacco ran the run-pass option and excelled. After throwing for 200+ yards in just four out of the first 11 games, Flacco was able to pass for 200+ yards in five consecutive games and completed nine touchdowns during that span.Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg has began to install the concept more heavily into Baltimore’s offense over the past year. During the first few days of training camp, all quarterbacks including Robert Griffin III and Josh Woodrum have learned how to run the offense.“We did a little bit of it last year Youth Alex Lewis Jersey , and we’ve done it over the years,” Mornhinweg said on Sunday. “You’ve got good eyes, because we did install it a little bit earlier this year. It’s a little bit more part of the offense. You know, our base is this and we do these things and it makes the base very good. If you don’t do these things, you get slapped in the face when you [don’t do them well]. It’s part of this now instead of that.”As for the offensive line play in the run-pass option, it has kept Baltimore’s defense off balance in practice. Blitzes will not be able to attack the same way because of the hard blocks downfield. “I think that it takes the sting away from the whole defense,” left tackle Ronnie Stanley said of the RPO on Tuesday. “It gives them another thing to think about, to worry about all week, and I think it’s a great dynamic that we have in our offense.”On a few particular plays, Flacco, Jackson and Griffin III have all decided to take off running. There have also been an inclusion of two quarterbacks on the field at the same. A few plays have included Flacco and Jackson, with the latter lined up in the slot. Griffin III and Jackson have swapped places at quarterback and slot receiver to give the defense different looks. The run-pass option also been added in with the triple option, which gives the Ravens offense four different opportunities to attack opposing defenses.