Zay Flowers worked hard in the offseason ahead of Baltimore Ravens training camp. And he’s doing so in a manner befitting Jerry Rice or Walter Payton, by running uphill. In Arlington Heights, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago, there is a plaque reading “Payton’s Hill” with an image of Sweetness, and a list of many of his accomplishments.
Perhaps one day, if Flowers can some day be to the wide receiver position what Payton was for running backs, we’ll see a similar monument on the hill that Flowers trained on this summer.
Flowers admitted this summer that he’s still haunted by his critical goal line fumble in the AFC Championship game loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Thus he has much to prove this upcoming season, and he’s worked out like a man on a mission all offseason long. If the Ravens can somehow get past the Chiefs this upcoming postseason, who, as the NFC champion, would await hem in the postseason?
Maybe the Philadelphia Eagles, according to one of their just retired players, stellar defensive tackle Fletcher Cox. “I think they’ll be a really good team,” Cox said in an exclusive with RG.org. “They have a lot of good guys, some key pieces. And I think the sky’s gonna be the limit.
“The key is going to be about staying healthy. The team is bonding together as one.”
The Eagles were NFC champs just two seasons ago, in 2022. Last year’s NFC champions, the San Francisco 49ers, are considered the favorites, by most, to win the conference.
However, you can’t count out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Detroit Lions. Both will have a major say so in who represents the NFC in the Super Bowl.
If the Ravens get there, then Zay Flowers will have had a lot to do with it. As you can see from the video, Flowers isn’t just running up that hill, he’s actually catching passes on the incline too.
It’s clear that Flowers is taking his new job as the Ravens WR1 very seriously.
#RAVENS 2ND YEAR WR ZAY FLOWERS IS TRAINING BY RUNNING UP STEEP HILLS AT FULL SPEED SNAGGING BALLS
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Massive 2nd year: INCOMING pic.twitter.com/5PyTr4dECX
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) July 2, 2024
Flowers may be the most critical player on this Ravens team. You know they’ll play heavy defense. It’s already assured that they will run the ball effectively. With QB Lamar Jackson, they’ll have an efficient passing game.
But will they go downfield? Can they take the top of the defense?
It’s really up to the Ravens wide receiving corps, led by Zay Flowers.
And it won’t be long until we find out, as the Ravens have a rematch with the Chiefs in just 15 days from now.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.