Jobes seeks to soar with The Dirty Birds as AFC elite
By "Tom Sulluck"

Pre-Season 2090 (Baltimore) - Last year, Jeff Jobes was brought in as head coach of the Baltimore Ravens to a great deal of fanfare. Attendance and revenues went up, and the team's popularity surged to new heights.

Now, it's time to put up or shut up.

Jobes has quite the arsenal in coordinators Donny Crock and Ahdel Ali, as well as a general manager that stands firmly behind him and a talented team that is making strides every year.

'We ended last year with a bang, racking up three straight,' said Jobes of the season-ending three victories the Ravens tallied against Houston, Miami and Oakland. 'Courtney [Jones] threw for over 3,400 yards and Calvin [Jobson] rushed for over 1,000. We were very competitive in all of our games.'

Offensive coordinator Donny Crock echoed Jobes' sentiments. 'Last year, we played very conservatively behind that monster offensive line. This year we want to open up the offense a bit, and with the additions and changes we've made, we think we bring some excitement to the Sunday Night Lights.'

The biggest addition, of course, is seven-year veteran Klaus Jenkins, a wide receiver who comes to the team after sitting low on the Cincinatti Bengal's depth chart for years.

'Klaus is a phenomenal talent -- he's immediately satisfying a need at wide receiver that our younger talent isn't quite ready to fill,' said Crock. 'He might be the the most fleet-footed receiver in the league and will almost always demand double coverage. For a third round pick, we got incredible value.'

Another player drumming up quite a great deal of talk was Kenn Kowalkowski, the massive guard from Southern Methodist University who was taken second-overall in the draft.

'Kenn could start, right now, at left guard for nearly all the teams in this league,' said Jobes of Kowalkowski. 'We've talked with him, and what we want to do is groom him for the left tackle position. He has a great tutor in Mike Gammon, and some practice at right tackle should do him just fine.'

Notes:

- Marcus Oliver, the former Auburn running back who many insiders feel was a steal for the Ravens in the second round, has been showing superstar qualities in camp. The Ravens undoubtedly have the most depth of any team in the league when it comes to their backfield, so he will have excellent teachers in the years to come.

- Speaking of their backfield, the Ravens are incredibly excited about utilizing Calvin Jobson in the West Coast offense. Jobson has shown incredible dedication in the off-season and should pose quite the threat downfield, in addition to his rushing prowess.

- Bill Poindexter has been moved from middle linebacker to inside linebacker. Poindexter was unhappy with playing over the middle last season, but still flourished at the position. He could become a sleeper for the sack title in 2090.