News & Notes: Declan Doyle Explains Why He…

Offensive Coordinator Declan Doyle has decided to call plays from the coaches’ booth during the regular season.

Originally, Doyle planned to call at least one game from both the booth and sideline during the preseason before deciding which vantage point he preferred. But Doyle liked calling plays from upstairs against the Philadelphia Eagles, and he returned to the booth last weekend against the Minnesota Vikings.

What was supposed to be a preseason experiment became a final decision. Doyle feels completely comfortable upstairs and sees no reason to try the sideline for the preseason finale against the Washington Commanders. The first-time play-caller saw more value getting as many reps from the booth as he could before the regular season opener in Indianapolis on Sept. 13.

Doyle said his comfort level calling plays from the booth has been helped by the presence of Quarterbacks Coach Israel Woolfork on the sideline.

“What I was looking for was the communication between myself and the coaching staff, the communication with the quarterback especially,” Doyle said. “Do I feel comfortable with that part?

“What I found was that it was pretty simple to communicate to him (Woolfork), to the quarterback, what the quarterback was feeling back to me. I thought our staff did a great job down on the field. My gut was basically, ‘Hey, stay up here and let’s roll.'”

Doyle said he consulted coaches including Buffalo Bills Head Coach Joe Brady, who was their offensive coordinator the past three seasons, when making his decision. Like Doyle, Brady also got his start in the NFL as a coaching assistant with the New Orleans Saints.

“The advice that they gave basically was, ‘Go where you feel comfortable being able to communicate to the staff [and] being able to solve problems in a clean and efficient manner,'” Doyle said. “So, that is really what I wanted.”

Anthony Weaver and Jesse Minter Have Found a Sideline Rhythm

The preseason has also benefitted Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver, who spent the past two seasons as the Miami Dolphins’ defensive coordinator and play-caller.

Head Coach Jesse Minter will call the Ravens’ defense this season, leaving Weaver with a different role during games.

As a former defensive lineman with the Ravens and a former defensive line coach, including three years in Baltimore (2021-2023), it’s natural for Weaver to focus on the defensive front. He has done that during the preseason, while also offering insight into the overall defense.

“It’s been pretty smooth,” Weaver said. “Jess and I, there’s a beautiful yin yang of football knowledge. He’s been a back-seven guy by trade. I’ve been a front-end guy by trade, and we’ve both called it, so we have big picture views.

“On game day, I primarily focus on the front end first. He primarily focuses on the back end first, and we come together and see what we think. It’s been pretty awesome. I love the working relationship every day.”

Why Trenton Simpson Has Had an ‘Unbelievable’ Camp

For the past couple seasons, the story has been the same for inside linebacker Trenton Simpson: He’s an athletic marvel who is ready for a breakout campaign.

Now entering a critical fourth year, which is also a contract year, Simpson feels poised to deliver. Fellow inside linebacker Teddye Buchanan is still working his way back from last year’s knee injury, which has put Simpson back with the starters this summer. Once Buchanan is ready to go, it appears Simpson will still have a prominent role on defense.

“Trenton Simpson has had an unbelievable camp,” Head Coach Jesse Minter said last week. “I feel really good about him. He is an extremely versatile, athletic linebacker that’s got a lot of great traits. He can do a lot for us. He can line up in a lot of different places.”

Inside Linebackers Coach Tyler Santucci said Simpson has made a “tremendous jump” this offseason, in part, because the Ravens have found a more tailored offseason schedule to his skillset.

“I think Trent is playing the best ball of his career right now,” inside linebacker Roquan Smith said. “I leave that up to the coaches, but I am comfortable with both of them out there, whoever that may be, and I am sure both of them will do a great job.”

Despite starting seven fewer games last season, Simpson’s 66 tackles nearly matched his 2024 total. He also set a career-high with 2.5 sacks last season. He believes his biggest strides have come off the field.

“This offseason, I focused on film study,” he said. “I want to be able to be confident, be me and be prepared.”

‘Sky Is the Limit’ for Rookie Chandler Rivers

One of the Ravens’ top players of the preseason has been rookie fifth-round pick Chandler Rivers.

The nickel cornerback notched five tackles, a half sack, and a pass breakup in Saturday’s preseason win in Minnesota. He ran stride for stride with speedy Vikings receiver Myles Price – one of their stars of training camp – to knock away a deep pass.

Rivers had the Ravens’ third-highest defensive grade (79.9) from Pro Football Focus in the preseason opener versus the Eagles and the second-highest grade (84.6) in Minnesota.

Rivers was drafted to primarily play nickel cornerback, but Weaver said he can line up inside, where he could share reps with Keyon Martin, or outside.

“The thing I love most about Chan is he’s come out here and gotten better every single day, which is all you want to see from a young player,” Weaver said. “He learns from his mistakes. The repeatable errors just don’t really occur. When you mix that work ethic with obviously his talent, the results are what you saw in the last game and what we’ve seen out here on the practice field. The sky’s the limit for that kid.”

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