ExtremeRavens Posted August 5 Posted August 5 The Ravens have tried several combinations during training camp, so it’s difficult to predict who will start on the offensive line for their preseason opener Friday night against the visiting Philadelphia Eagles. They worked several scenarios again at practice on Monday, including rotating Patrick Mekari and rookie Roger Rosengarten at right tackle and Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu and Daniel Faalele at right guard. They even had veteran Ben Cleveland starting at center, so it appears all options are still open. The Ravens are still without starting center Tyler Linderbaum, who missed his third straight practice because of a “soft tissue” problem, coach John Harbaugh said. “He’s been at center now since the first day of OTAs, he’s been working in there,” Harbaugh said of Cleveland. “He continues to work in there. Tyler is out right now — they’re kind of evaluating him — he had some discomfort, and we’re going to hold him out. We’re going to be very cautious with Tyler, obviously. … We’ll kind of rest him up there. We’re going to work Ben, we’re going to work [Andrew] Vorhees in there. We’re going to work all of those guys.” Aumavae-Laulu appears to have better range than the 6-foot-8, 380-pound Faalele, who still struggles with hand placement. Faalele at times has problems in pass protection because he allows opponents to get under his shoulder pads or gets overextended. Regardless, it should be good work for the group which was and remains a major concern with Week 1 in Kansas City a month away. Veteran left tackle Ronnie Stanley practiced Monday at least, but he didn’t take a lot of repetitions with the first team. Bateman falls hard Fourth-year wide receiver Rashod Bateman has had a good training camp but appeared to suffer an injury after catching a 15-yard touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson in the corner of the end zone near the end of the 2 1/2-hour practice. The extent of any injury is not known, but the Ravens need Bateman, a 2021 first-round pick, to develop into a top-notch receiver. He doesn’t need to become an elite player like the Miami Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill but needs, at least, to force opposing defensive coordinators to game plan for him. The Ravens have a good group of receivers with tight ends Isaiah Likely, Mark Andrews and slot receiver Zay Flowers but need a major contributor on the outside. Ravens training camp, August 5, 2024 | PHOTOS A copycat league Former Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, now the coach of the Seattle Seahawks, might have started a trend last season with his use of three-safety looks, especially bringing Kyle Hamilton off the corner as a pass rusher. Word has leaked out that Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson, who was the Ravens’ defensive backs coach last season, has installed some similar packages with his new team. Baltimore certainly has it in their playbook for this season, and it’s a safe bet that Macdonald will use it in Seattle. The NFL is a copycat league, and remember the old saying, “If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.” Just Jonesing around Third-year defensive tackle Travis Jones has played well throughout camp and appears to have reshaped that big body in the offseason, but the biggest improvement I’ve seen is with his foot speed. At one point on Monday, he was only a few steps behind Jackson, which is no easy feat, but even when the quarterback started juking, Jones stayed with him. That’s impressive, and even more so considering Jones is 6-4 and 338 pounds. Working with the guru One of the best things I’ve noticed about Ravens outside linebackers coach and pass-rushing guru Chuck Smith is there isn’t much rest once he steps on the field. Even before practice started, Smith was working on the sidelines with pass rushers Kyle Van Noy, Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo. These weren’t just talking sessions, but going through eye, hand and foot coordination to work on movement and leverage. When he was finished with one, Smith would go to the others in succession. It’s still a question if the Ravens can have the same pass-rushing success of a year ago, but it won’t be from a lack of effort. Meanwhile, Ojabo looks like he is rounding into shape and appears to have slimmed down from when training camp started nearly two weeks ago. Piercing the sled It’s always fascinating to watch Michael Pierce do sled work. The 6-foot, 355-pound nose tackle has to be one of the strongest players in the NFL, and few can explode like him when he is at the top of his game. Another player who has that type of explosion is seventh-year tackle Josh Tupou, who is 6-3 and 340 pounds. Tupou had to be assisted from the field by a trainer but the former Cincinnati Bengal might work his way into the rotation even though the Ravens have a surplus of defensive line talent. Tough day for a corner It was tough times for third-year cornerback Christian Matthew on Monday. Not only did Andrews swat him like a fly on a quick inside move for a touchdown in a one-on-one session, but Matthew dropped an interception in the right corner of the end zone after receiver Keith Kirkwood slipped and fell. It’s tough to make it in the NFL. These moments don’t help. Mitchell appears Second-year running back Keaton Mitchell stepped on the field Monday and is still walking with a slight limp. Mitchell had 396 yards rushing on 47 carries with two rushing touchdowns last season, but tore his ACL and other ligaments on Dec. 17 after breaking out. There have been several projections about his return, but the Ravens don’t need to rush him back. Derrick Henry and Justice Hill will be just fine for now. An ugly turn The 70 minutes of practice was pretty crisp — and then it got sloppy. There were a lot of poorly run routes and dropped passes. It got kind of ugly there for a while, and it certainly wasn’t one of the team’s better practice performances. Safety Ar’Darius Washington had the best move of Monday’s practice. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) Celebrate good times The best move of the day was safety Ar’Darius Washington running about 80 yards on an interception return for a touchdown while being escorted into the end zone by Hamilton, who wasn’t wearing a helmet. And then Washington did a backflip. Well done. View the full article Quote
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