Baltimore Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome has admitted that the club must improve defensively in 2014, having missed out on a playoff spot this season.

Newsome believes that the Ravens, who won the Super Bowl in 2012, must get their defensive confidence back which could make the difference in narrow games.

"I think we've got to build a confidence amongst our defensive players that, in those situations, they can make a play and win the game," he told the club's official website.

"They don't have to go out there and play tentatively or scared. Go make the play; the other 10 guys have got your back. I think we'll be able to get to that because it was a new mixture of guys.

"It was seven new guys on defense, so they had to get the cohesiveness going. You have to get to the point where you feel like you can make that play and get the defense off the field."

The Ravens finished the season with an 8-8 record having lost their final two regular season games.