Joe Flacco's improvement has been noticeable during the Ravens' full-team minicamp this weekend.
The second-year quarterback is hitting receivers deep on a more consistent basis, and he's more accurate in throwing the intermediate routes.
Still, according to linebacker Ray Lewis, people are looking in the wrong place to find where Flacco has made the biggest jump from his rookie season. It's not on the field. It's on the sideline.
"He understands that he is the quarterback of our team," Lewis said. "Just seeing the communication that he has with the guys ... he's always trying to fix something, tweak something that the guy should be working on. That's the biggest thing."
It was one year ago - May 9, 2008, to be exact - that Flacco took his first snaps for the Ravens.
He didn't know the plays. He didn't know the players.
Now, when Troy Smith and John Beck are taking their turns at quarterback, Flacco is still the quarterback, talking to his wide receivers and tight ends off to the side about how they can make that last play better.
"I'm a guy who likes to come in here and mind my own business, let everybody do their own thing and not really step on anybody's toes," Flacco said of his mind-set last year. "And now I know who everybody is, I know everybody better, so I feel more capable of having a real relationship with a lot of the guys. So, therefore, that helps me grow as a leader."
Flacco felt pressure as soon as he stepped into Ravens headquarters last season.
He wanted to validate his first-round selection. He wanted to win the quarterback competition.
Flacco even acknowledged that his focus was to complete every pass in the offseason camps, and he felt bad when he didn't.
With Flacco's role now solidified, his offseason philosophy has been tweaked.
"I'm not really worried about what I look like right now," said Flacco, who didn't start throwing passes again until March 16. "I'm worried about going out there and trying to get better. I'm able to come out here and practice, and have a good time doing it."
One problem for the Ravens' offense over the years was a lack of leadership at quarterback.
From Elvis Grbac to Jeff Blake to Anthony Wright to Kyle Boller, there was an issue with either personality or performance that hurt their ability to rally teammates around them.
Flacco, though, is considered the complete package.
