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Baltimore Ravens

Will Greg Roman ignite the running game?

Here's an interesting statistic even die-hard NFL fans likely don't know: The Ravens led the league in passing attempts in each of the last two seasons. Meanwhile, their run game sputtered. Hence, the team's hire of Roman as senior offensive assistant and tight ends coach might have been its biggest offseason move.

Roman is arguably the game's best play-caller when it comes to devising run schemes. His brilliance led to Colin Kaepernick's breakout campaign and the Buffalo Bills' back-to-back top-ranked rushing attacks.

"I think we wanted to just really refocus, retool and come up with a plan that we felt suited us best moving forward for the organization, and I think a lot of staffs do it every year," Roman said, per ESPN.com's Jamison Hensley. "But this kind of gave us an opportunity to really start at ground zero and see what we wanted to do."

Roman and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg must develop a running back stable that's filled with more potential than production. Terrance West and Kenneth Dixon have been joined by veteran Danny Woodhead, and the trio needs to provide more of a presence for Baltimore to have a balanced offense.

Cincinnati Bengals

How will the new offensive tackles look?



Left tackle Andrew Whitworth and right guard Kevin Zeitler ranked among the league's elite at their respective positions. Both left the Bengals in free agency and created massive holes along Cincinnati's offensive front. The Bengals had a plan to address those departures—sort of.

During the 2015 draft, Cincinnati prepared for life without Whitworth by selecting offensive tackles Cedric Ogbuehi and Jake Fisher in the first and second rounds. Right tackle also became an issue after Andre Smith signed with the Minnesota Vikings. But he's back after one year away and is expected to replace Zeitler at right guard, a position he's never played.

Meanwhile, Ogbuehi and Fisher will take over at left and right tackle, respectively. Neither performed well last season, but the Bengals staff seems content moving forward with both in its starting lineup.

The offense is talented, but quarterback Andy Dalton won't be able to distribute the ball if the line can't adequately protect him.

Cleveland Browns

Who will start at quarterback?



Other problem areas exist on the Browns roster, but none of them will be important if the team can't find a consistent presence behind center. Cody Kessler, Brock Osweiler and rookie second-round pick DeShone Kizer will compete to be named Cleveland's starting quarterback for Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Head coach Hue Jackson rotated the trio during minicamp, but Kessler received the majority of first-team reps. A third-round selection last year, Kessler showed signs of promise with his ball placement and accuracy. But many, including Jackson, weren't thrilled with his ability to push the ball downfield.

A bigger concern exists, though. Kessler must process the game quicker. By holding the ball too long behind an inconsistent offensive line, the 6'1", 215-pound signal-caller took a beating last season and suffered a pair of concussions.

Kessler still remains the safe play because of his familiarity with the offense. Osweiler is an afterthought, while Kizer provides the allure of untapped potential. The Browns staff will likely be willing to push Kizer along faster than expected if he displays an accelerated learning curve during training camp.

Pittsburgh Steelers

How will Keith Butler adjust the defensive scheme?



The Steelers are legitimate Super Bowl contenders...if they can find a way to get past the New England Patriots. The Pittsburgh secondary wasn't up to the task when those teams met in January's AFC Championship Game. Tom Brady picked apart the Steelers' zone coverage schemes on his way to 384 passing yards.

In response, Pittsburgh's defensive backs feel the need to be more aggressive this fall.

"Every team that's won Super Bowls the last couple of years has been able to play man," cornerback Artie Burns said, per ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler. "We want to be a team to play man, get the pressure on the quarterback and attack coverage downfield."

Butler has been tasked with transitioning the defense from Dick LeBeau's zone blitz-heavy scheme into head coach Mike Tomlin's vision, which isn't nearly as good at disguising coverages.



If the staff is comfortable leaving some of its defensive backs on an island, Butler can get even more aggressive with his blitz packages. But he must strike a balance between where the defense is now and where it should be trending.