Since becoming the Ravens' first-round pick in 2009, tackle Michael Oher had been a reliable, versatile and athletic every-day starter.
Offensive Coordinator Cam Cameron sees him growing into something more so far this offseason.
"I think he is really starting to mature into a great player," Cameron said after Wednesday's OTA practice. "He has always been really, really good, but I have seen another level out of Mike this offseason, which has been fun to watch."
Oher is heading into his second straight year projected at right tackle since Bryant McKinnie is returning and looks to be in better shape as the result of being in the team's voluntary offseason program.
While Oher has previously said he expects to be on the right as long as McKinnie is around, Oher has also been working at left tackle, as he could still someday return to the blindside he played at in 2010.
Given more time at the same position, Cameron says Oher looks more at ease.
"He looks comfortable on the right side, he looks comfortable on the left side," Cameron said, adding that Oher's communication is the best it's ever been. "You can tell the game is really slowing down for him."
Oher was dominant at times last year. According to StatsPass, he cut down on sacks allowed from eight in 2009 to seven in 2010, then 5.75 in 2011.
ProFootballFocus studied every play from last season and determined that Oher had the top performance of any right tackle in a single game. It came in Week 8 against Arizona, when Oher neutralized former Pro Bowl defensive lineman Darnell Dockett and didn't give up a single pressure.
"As you get older, you understand the game more," Oher said. "You focus more on technique and understand what's going to happen. You adjust to a lot of things."
Could 2012 be the year that Oher breaks out?
"I'm just trying get better every day," he said. "If you work hard on the little things every day, the big things will happen."
