Declan Doyle will get his first chance to call an offense in a game setting when the Baltimore Ravens host the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the preseason opener at M&T Bank Stadium.
Doyle has already been calling plays in practice, but this is different. The Ravens are using the opener as a live test for their new offensive coordinator, who said he is really excited for the chance to see how it works when the action starts for real.
"I'm excited to watch our guys play, that's the No. 1 thing," Doyle said. "But it's going to be the first time being able to sit there and call our offense. There's nothing that (can) simulate a Saturday or Sunday and your guys going out there and playing ball."
Why this preseason opener matters
This game will not feature Lamar Jackson or most of the Ravens' starters, so the focus is less on the final score and more on execution. For Doyle, that means evaluating how the offense functions with a limited lineup and learning what game-day workflow fits best before the regular season begins.
That includes something as simple, and as important, as where he wants to be on game day. During the preseason, Doyle will try calling plays from both the sideline and the coach's box before deciding where he belongs once the games count.
"The No. 1 thing on game day is that the play caller gets the play into the quarterback as fast he can with confidence in that play call, and make sure that the operation can operate," Doyle said.
He said he will use this preseason to judge the communication from both spots. "If I'm up in the box and I feel really good about the communication, that's one thing. If I'm like, 'I really want to be down(stairs), I really want to talk to the QB' … I won't really know without being able to experience it," he said.
Experience, sequencing and the game-day adjustment
Doyle also pointed to lessons from around the league, including a book he read by Bill Walsh, which emphasized making decisions before the game starts. The idea, Doyle said, is to rely on data and facts instead of being pulled in a direction by how the game feels in the moment.
"You watch the sequencing," he said.
That kind of preparation will matter even more because the Ravens are opening the preseason with a new in-game setup on both sides of the ball. Over the previous two seasons, Anthony Weaver served as the Miami Dolphins' defensive coordinator, but his preseason role is unsettled because Jesse Minter will handle defensive play calling.
Weaver said he is still figuring out how he can be most helpful to the team and to Minter on game day. "I am still going to try to figure out exactly what that is and where I can be most helpful to help the team, and what I can do for Jesse to help him on game day, too," Weaver said. He added, "That is a work in progress and just another thing I"
For Baltimore, Saturday's opener is really a first look at how the new coaching structure handles live game communication. For Doyle, it is the first real answer to a simple question: how does the offense look when he is the one making the calls under game conditions?
It is only preseason, but for a new offensive coordinator, it is also a meaningful first step.
