When Chris Canty looked back at his inaugural season with the Ravens, the defensive end saw a clear area where he wants more production from himself.
Pass rushing.
Canty's impact as a pass rusher was limited, and he's spent the last four months of the offseason looking for ways to make strides in that area.
"I'm just looking for more opportunities where I can be more disruptive in the passing game in our base defense," Canty said during a recent phone interview. "I'm just looking at ways I can improve in that fashion. That's been one of my focal points in what I've been studying and how I've been training."
Canty finished last season with 30 tackles and two sacks. The 6-foot-7 defender also had four pass deflections and two forced fumbles. Baltimore had 40 sacks last season, which tied for 16th in the NFL.
Last season was a change for Canty and much of the Ravens defense after he came to Baltimore as a free-agent signing from the New York Giants. He was one of seven new starters on the defense, and the rebuilt unit ranked 12th in the NFL allowing 335.5 yards per game.
"We were decent. We were good last year. We weren't great," Canty said. "I think everybody in that group recognizes that we have the opportunity to be great. But there is a lot of work to be put in between now and then, and then we have to go out and prove it on the field."
After all of last year's changes, there hasn't been the same amount of turnover for the Ravens this offseason. The biggest losses in free agency were defensive tackle Arthur Jones, cornerback Corey Graham and safety James Ihedigbo, but the Ravens still retained eight starters.
"I think the more continuity you have, the better opportunities you give yourself to be on the same page with people. That typically bodes well for success," Canty said. "There are going to be some new pieces. That's just the nature of the salary cap era in the NFL. We've got to get them ready with what we're doing and integrated into our program."
Canty has spent the last few months training and working on multiple community projects in the New York area. He plans to wrap up those offseason projects in the next couple of weeks and then return to Baltimore to participate in the team's voluntary program.
"I think that I'll feel a lot more comfortable this year in the sense that I understand what's going on, who I'm working with, what the expectations are, where the bar is set," Canty said. "I think that's really important."
