Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco feels badly for Dennis Pitta, at a personal level.
At a professional level, Flacco knows there’s nothing he can do about the loss of his favorite tight end target, so he has to move on.
Flacco said the loss of his best friend to a season-ending hip injury doesn’t put more pressure on him as a quarterback, just makes him do things differently.
“It doesn’t do anything really to me,” Flacco said, via Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. “You love those guys when they are here. It’s pretty easy to realize the fact that they’re not here, so what are you going to do about it? You have to move on.
“We have a lot of talented players out there, and we feel good about what we have the ability to do. We’re just excited to go do it.”
If it were only Pitta, it would be one thing.
They’re also trying to figure out who’s replacing veteran wideout Anquan Boldin, who was traded to the 49ers in a cap cutting move. And backup tight end Ed Dickson could miss most of the preseason with a slight hamstring tear.
So while Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones have shown the ability to make plays outside, the middle of the field is unexplored territory for the guys on hand. Flacco mentioned Deonte Thompson and Tandon Doss as possibilities, but that’s a big step down, experience-wise.
“I think the one thing that Deonte gives you that you normally don’t have in the middle is that speed,” Flacco said. “Normally, those guys are on the outside. He gives you that speed in there. Tandon is that real strong-handed guy that can go up and make some catches for you. He’s got a good feel for how to run the routes in there.”
Now all they have to do is adjust, which could be the buzzword for the Ravens all season.