Saturday Practice Notes

[vmax]

It still hurts to post this stuff after being able to report on this live.

I was always there on Saturdays...and many other days.

Oh well...the Ravens website will have to do.

 

 

 

Here are some notes from the padded practice:
•Rookie first-round pick C.J. Mosley was looking forward to putting on pads and he showed why. He was still very fast moving around the field and looked physical inside. He ripped a pass out of Owen Daniels’ hands during 7-on-7 drills, drawing big praise from the defensive coaches.
•Cornerback Chykie Brown continues to get beat by too many big plays in training camp. Jacoby Jones got him on a double move for a 65-yard score and gave up another 35-yarder to Steve Smith along the sideline when Smith fought back for the ball and went high to catch it over Brown’s head.
•Free safety Darian Stewart is occasionally moving over to play some cornerback when the Ravens want to give Jeromy Miles, who is also pushing for the starting gig, more snaps. Baltimore could use three safeties at one time.
•Right guard Rick Wagner was one of the key players to watch and see how he responded to practice in pads. He held up very well, even against physical pass rusher Elvis Dumervil. Wagner is strong and can fight off Dumervil’s strong bull rush. Wagner also blocked down well once, springing Ray Rice for what would have been a long gallop.
•Left guard Kelechi Osemele ran over Stewart on one screen pass that Rice took a long ways. Osemele got a number of head slaps for that one.
•Outside linebacker Pernell McPhee looks really good. He was dominating in one-on-one blocking drills versus tight ends and easily cruised past rookie tackle James Hurst for what would have been a sack on Tyrod Taylor.
•Rookie wide receiver Michael Campanaro is starting to show himself more. He had done well catching short passes over the middle and occasionally flashed open along the sidelines due to good route running.
•The offense in general had a good day, especially on third down in 11-on-11 practices. The offense moved the chains three times in a row when faced with a third-and-8 situation. Kubiak’s scheme really seemed to shine as receivers were found wide open.
•Kicker Justin Tucker hit a 55-yard field goal with ease, then missed wide left on a 50-yarder.
•Wide receiver Deonte Thompson isn’t being talked about much but shouldn’t be forgotten. He had a pair of long catches, including a diving snag on an absolute bomb by Taylor.
•Head Coach John Harbaugh got on his offense after the second-team offensive linemen were giving up too many sacks. The offensive was complaining that the plays were being ruled sacks (there’s no hitting quarterbacks, so it’s a judgment call on whether they would have actually been brought down). Harbaugh yelled back, “It’s a blatant sack! … Block somebody! That works a lot better than begging!”
•The offense responded after Harbaugh’s chiding, as Taylor hit Thompson to convert a long first down and then rookie wide receiver Jeromy Butler for another first down on the next play, bringing a lot of hollers from the offense.
•Safety Will Hill, who was signed Friday, picked off his first pass while working with the third-team defense. He stepped in front of a pass from rookie quarterback Keith Wenning.
•The running game looked better as practice went along. It consistently got around 3-yard gains with the first offense; occasional plays could have broken for a lot more. There weren’t many negative plays.
•Quote of the day goes to outside linebacker Terrell Suggs after he pulled up short when he could have sacked quarterback Joe Flacco: “He makes a lot of money. I’m not trying to get my coach fired!”http://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/article-1/Practice-Highlights-726-Pads-Popping-In-First-Contact-Practice/781f50e3-e45c-4d87-8cff-6c891a38a7eb

 

Not liking all the reports I hear on Chykie Brown. From what I hear he can't find the ball.

[vmax]

Why not post the whole thing.... ...I'm just borrowing it for a minute.

Seriously...I appreciate the good reporting these guys do.

 

 

 

Setting the scene: The first full-pads practice began at 1 p.m. under clear skies on the hottest day of camp so far. The team broke for stretching around 3:45 p.m. and went inside at 4 p.m. Only the last 15 minutes of practice was full-contact.

Nice to Rice: On one of the first plays from scrimmage Saturday, Ray Rice exploded into the second level and probably would have scored if the defense would have needed to tackle him instead of touch him down. The crowd didn’t roar the way it did on big pass plays, but there was a polite, collective applause for the running back, whose two-game suspension was announced Thursday.

K.O.’d: Guard Kelechi Osemele, who missed time last year with a back injury, laid out safety Darian Stewart while blocking in the open field on a screen pass to Rice. It showed his back is no longer an issue, and Osemele’s strong performance in other areas was an all-around promising sign he is fully healthy after surgery in November.

 

 

 

For the second day in a row, the defense prevailed in all of the situational scrimmages, including fourth-and-shorts with the first, second and third teams, and a two-minute drill. Safety Will Hill made an early impression with an interception of Keith Wenning to end the third-team two-minute drill.

Picked off: Wenning has been picked off a few times, but the same can’t be said for Joe Flacco or Tyrod Taylor. The defense has gotten its hands on a few passes from each, but neither has been picked off during 11-on-11 action through three days. I bet the defense is hearing about that.

Picked on: Veteran tight end Owen Daniels was seemingly targeted by the defense Saturday, getting knocked to the ground several times in light contact drills, including once by cornerback Asa Jackson on the sidelines. Daniels also fumbled twice, including an early strip by relentless rookie linebacker C.J. Mosley, and a second on the opening play of the two-minute drill that ended the starters’ drive before it began.

Going after Hurst: Rookie left tackle James Hurst has a tough test every day, lining up against the Ravens’ veteran pass rushers, and didn’t do terribly well during the first full-pads day. On one particular series, Hurst was no match for fourth-year linebacker Pernell McPhee, who got around Hurst for a pair of hurries within three plays.

More Mosley love: Mosley ran with the second-team linebackers, and everything he does is met with approval from the starters watching on the sidelines. Mosley earned cheers from his teammates Saturday for keeping contain on a scrambling Taylor and staying in front of him as Taylor tried to find the edge.

Campanaro getting involved: Rookie receiver Michael Campanaro had his most productive day of the young camp so far. He and Taylor connected on a deep out for big yardage, and he helped move the chains during a situational scrimmage with a catch over the middle. He’s getting open plenty but isn’t always getting the looks yet. That should change.

Injury report: Running back Bernard Pierce went inside with a member of the team’s medical staff around 30 minutes before practice ended, though team officials didn’t specify whether he was injured. Cornerback Lardarius Webb was absent after leaving practice yesterday with back spasms, and defensive lineman Terrence Cody, rookie tackle Parker Graham and guard Will Rackley were also absent. Cornerback Dominique Franks was missing again, the third straight practice he has sat out while trying to complete the team’s conditioning test.

Quotable: “I thought they said 82 [degrees] and cloudy today. That was a lie.” -- Jacoby Jones after the first positional drill of the practice. Jones was particularly energetic Saturday, telling jokes with the crowd and crooning the “I want Jesus” line from Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks” between plays.

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/ravens-insider/bal-ravens-training-camp-highlights-for-saturday-july-27-20140726,0,630614.story#ixzz38cfJtdPz

[cravnravn]

3 yards a pop on offense, decent but not great, but great to hear Osi is having a great camp so far...

 

I miss those days of being out there, if it was camp at McDaniel I'd fly up

[vmax]

Here's some more from Pressbox...

 

 

 

A few practice highlights:

• During live hitting, safety Jeromy Miles -- a special teamer who appears to be a darkhorse to win a spot on regular defense -- put a hard hit on running back Fitzgerald Touissant. But it didn't spark a fight; the two got up from the ground and patted each other on the back in acknowledgement.

• Linebacker Nicholas DeMarco made a fine shoestring tackle on running back Cierre Wood on a play that looked certain to go for a touchdown.

• Backup inside linebacker Albert McClellan popped tight end Crockett Gillmore so hard, it looked as if the latter's back was broken. But Gillmore did not appear to be hurt.

• At one point, head coach John Harbaugh was so upset with his offensive line's pass blocking, he bellowed, "Block somebody! That works a lot better than begging for [bad things to happen]!" Right after that, quarterback Tyrod Taylor got more time and completed two long downfield passes.

• A broadly-smiling running back Ray Rice remarked to a sideline observer, "Football is more fun than it's ever been. … God, family and football." He continues to receive loud cheers whenever he touches the ball.

• In the early 7-on-7 period, Flacco's first pass coincidentally went to Pitta, who was injured in this same practice one year ago.

• Rookie linebacker C.J. Mosley was so tenacious on a tackle of tight end Owen Daniels, he stripped the ball while Daniels was on the way down to the ground.

• Veteran safety Omar Brown was called for a defensive holding penalty and got a detailed explanation from one of the many area high school and collegiate officials usually brought in for camp practices.

• Cornerback Chykie Brown continued to struggle, getting beat deep by both Jacoby Jones and Steve Smith, but wideout Marlon Brown had a much better day holding on to the ball.

• On a screen play in early team drills, guard Kelechi Osemele quickly got out in space and flattened safety Darian Stewart, which drew one of the biggest reactions of the day.

• There weren't nearly as many pre-snap penalties in this practice, but blitzing safety Anthony Levine and linebacker Elvis Dumervil both jumped offsides.

• Left tackle Eugene Monroe did a nice job pushing Terrell Suggs past the pocket. Earlier, Suggs easily beat Pitta during a blocking drill.

• Steve Smith, cutting across the middle, leaped high and snagged a pass thrown behind him, drawing a loud cheer.

• A pass rush from Courtney Upshaw was stopped dead in its tracks by undrafted tackle James Hurst.

• Linebacker Josh Bynes, having a strong camp so far, literally jumped on the back of Justin Forsett to stop his progress.http://www.pressboxonline.com/2014/07/26/practice-report-ravens-finally-put-on-full-pads

[tsylvester]

thanks max, such a shame we have to go to certain sites, give them the hits, clicks so they can make money off of us. You can bet the media is loving the Ravens not allowing the public in any longer.....

[papasmurfbell]

I really do think that the OL is as good as Wagner is. If he turns out then the Ravens really made out last yr.

[oldno82]

I really do think that the OL is as good as Wagner is. If he turns out then the Ravens really made out last yr.

I agree and I hope he pans out.