David Ojabo is sick of speaking about final yr. The Ravens exterior linebacker fell to the second spherical of the draft after tearing his Achilles tendon throughout his professional day at Michigan, didn’t make his debut till Week 14 and performed simply three video games.
Odafe Oweh — Ojabo’s buddy and former highschool teammate from New Jersey — seems to be ultimately season in another way, although.
“I never forget,” he mentioned in the course of the Ravens’ voluntary “football school” on Wednesday. “I take advantage of it as motivation.
“As a competitor, you remember things that you’ve gotta work on, that you missed on so you can bounce back the next year.”
The Ravens might use the bounce again.
Despite a dominant coaching camp final summer season, the 6-foot-5, 251-pound exterior linebacker who the Ravens spent a first-round draft decide on in 2021 noticed his manufacturing drop from 5 sacks as a rookie to 3 in 2022.
It wasn’t simply attending to the quarterback the place he struggled, both. Oweh’s mechanics wanted work, main to bother shedding blocks.
He additionally noticed his enjoying time minimize because the yr went on. Over the primary eight weeks final season, Oweh averaged simply over 50 defensive snaps a sport. In the ultimate 9 video games, that quantity fell to 25.
Some of that decline may very well be defined by Tyus Bowser’s midseason return from a torn Achilles tendon together with the signing of veteran Jason Pierre-Paul. Oweh was additionally coming off shoulder surgical procedure, which he mentioned examined his endurance and resolve as he handled an harm for the primary time in his profession.
Still, it was a dramatic dip, with Oweh enjoying simply 17 snaps in a Week 13 win over the Denver Broncos and 19 the next week in a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The message from coach John Harbaugh this previous March was clear: “For those two young outside backers to step up and be part of the mix is critically important,” he mentioned of Ojabo and Oweh, by way of the crew’s web site.
That significance was reiterated Wednesday.
“The things we encouraged him to do are the things he’s doing every day,” second-year defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald mentioned of Oweh. “He’s here, he’s working hard and that’s all we’re asking him to do right now is just focus on the process and let the results happen with the work [he’s] putting in.”
That work, Oweh mentioned, has included enhancing his rip transfer and having a plan of assault reasonably than making an attempt to easily react. He additionally acknowledged his focus must be higher.
There’s no less than precedent he can draw from — inside linebacker Patrick Queen broke out in his third season final yr with a team-high 117 tackles.
“It was a learning season, a year to develop,” Oweh mentioned of final yr. “I obtained higher not simply on the sphere however mentally as a participant, as an expert studying from issues you may work on and construct on. It was an excellent season for me from that facet.
“There were times when I was there, but my concentration maybe wasn’t there, and I could have gotten [the sack]. And there are guys that were in the situation that still made those plays. So, it’s not an excuse, but I know where I’m at now, and I know what I can do now.”
Macdonald additionally mentioned that whereas Oweh’s statistical manufacturing tailed off, that doesn’t essentially inform the entire story.
“I look back at last year, we’re putting together teach dates and stuff [outside linebackers coach Chuck Smith’s] watching, we were saying this guy’s doing a lot of good stuff for us,” he mentioned. “Does that show up on the stat sheet? Maybe not. But the guy rushed outside, rushed inside and I thought he really caught his stride at the at the end of the year. The sacks I really believe they’ll come. I’m not worried about what sack number he’s at.”
Last season, solely 4 groups had extra sacks than the Ravens’ 48. But matching that whole may very well be tough this yr.
Justin Houston, who led Baltimore with 9 1/2 sacks final season, is a 34-year-old free agent. Calais Campbell, who had 5 1/2 sacks, now performs for the Atlanta Falcons.
Ojabo and Oweh will probably be anticipated to assist make up for the distinction.
Between them, they’ve simply 9 sacks in 34 regular-season video games. The Ravens will want higher manufacturing out of each in the event that they’re once more to be one of many NFL’s finest defenses, notably in a division with Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and a schedule that features the Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert, Detroit Lions’ Jared Goff, Seattle Seahawks’ Geno Smith, Jacksonville Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence and Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa.
“We know that there’s a real opportunity right here — a real great story, coming from where we both come from, being together, starting football late, soaring and having trials, tribulations, being that,” Oweh mentioned of his and Ojabo’s journey from Nigeria, to the identical highschool and ultimately the NFL as teammates. “We know the opportunity that we have. We want to be those guys for Baltimore.”
He additionally has objectives that can assist him write that story, although he isn’t sharing them simply but.
“I’ve got those in my head,” he mentioned. “But it’s definitely to be dominate and just help our defense to be the best that we can be this year.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com