Ravens Insider: Ravens observations from joint practice with Packers on Lamar Jackson, offensive line and more

ExtremeRavens · August 22

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander came into the NFL together, separated by 13 picks in the 2018 draft. Alexander went 18th overall to Green Bay, and Baltimore traded up to select Jackson with the final pick of the first round.

But before both players became Pro Bowl selections — and in Jackson’s case, a two-time NFL Most Valuable Player — they were teammates at Louisville.

On Thursday, they were reunited at the Packers’ practice facility across the street from Lambeau Field. The two former college stars first rode bicycles given to them by kids lining the street between the stadium and the practice fields before chatting with each other ahead of the sun-splashed joint practice.

Lamar Jackson heads to practice on a bike here in Green Bay #RavensFlock pic.twitter.com/2oPEllt3wX

— Brian Wacker (@brianwacker1) August 22, 2024

“It’s like watching a distant cousin or brother,” Alexander said of watching Jackson’s success from afar. “I always joke with him saying, ‘When we gonna meet in the Super Bowl?’ I think the time is coming soon.”

For now, they had to settle for the end of training camp.

With the Ravens not playing almost any of their starters during the preseason, including Saturday’s finale against Green Bay, the 2 1/2-hour session was the best glimpse yet of Jackson, new running back Derrick Henry, a work-in-progress offensive line and a revamped defense that a season ago led the NFL in sacks, takeaways and points allowed per game with both teams playing starters for multiple periods.

“They’re a very good team,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said of the Packers, who made a surprising run to the NFC divisional round last season with one of the youngest offenses in league history. “I thought our guys did well.

“It was good to get out there in a little up-tempo situation against another team, situationally, and try to handle the problems that are caused by that.”

There were some notably good plays, on offense and defense, but the results were largely mixed for the Ravens.

Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker signs autographs during an NFL football joint training camp practice with the Green Bay Packers Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)

1 of 17

Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker signs autographs during an NFL football joint training camp practice with the Green Bay Packers Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)

Expand

Lamar Jackson

The Ravens’ first play from scrimmage during 11-on-11 play ended somewhat dubiously with defensive tackle Kenny Clark sacking Jackson.

But during the first two periods with starters going against one another, Jackson also had moments of taking what the defense gave him. He hit wide receiver Zay Flowers on a short route that went for about 20 yards up the right sideline and later connected with receiver Tylan Wallace on a crossing route with cornerback Eric Stokes trailing. He also hit receiver Anthony Miller for about 10 yards in the middle of the field with cornerback Corey Ballentine in tight coverage.

There was also some chemistry with receiver Rashod Bateman, who had a couple of nice grabs, though a deep pass from Jackson to Bateman was broken up when Stokes and safety Xavier McKinney converged on the ball.

“I thought he looked really good,” Harbaugh said of Jackson. “I also think that the value of this thing … because he’s coming back there telling me, ‘I should’ve done this. I should’ve done that.’ It’s just another kind of a circumstance for him to be in where he can kind of get ready for the season.”

Offensive line

The Ravens’ starting offensive line has started to come into focus over the past couple of weeks, with Andrew Vorhees at left guard, Daniel Faalele at right guard and Roger Rosengarten at right tackle. Interestingly, Patrick Mekari took first-team reps at right tackle in the first 11-on-11 series Thursday.

As for how the linemen performed, Harbaugh said he thought they looked good. But there were plenty of times when they struggled against the Packers’ fast and physical front.

Rosengarten, left tackle Ronnie Stanley, rookie Nick Samac — who got the nod at center with Tyler Linderbaum still dealing with a neck injury — and Faalele all had moments in which they got beat. It happened frequently enough that Jackson was routinely forced into scramble mode, be it in 11-on-11 play and especially in the red zone.

“I thought their bull rush was really good, [their] run defense was really solid [and] strong,” Harbaugh said. “It looked like a bunch of big dudes that played hard. I was impressed with them.

“You’re not going to be perfect, and Lamar definitely held the ball. Lamar was not looking to run; he was looking to stay in there and throw. I think he probably would run more in a game than he did today, and that’s a problem for the defense, too. From what could see [when] I was standing there — I can’t wait to see the tape — but I was happy with how firm the pocket was 90% of the time.”

The tape will be telling, but other moments stood out, including four false starts between the first and second teams in the first two 11-on-11 periods and what appeared to be some struggles with pass protection in the red zone.

Packers outside linebacker Rashan Gary had at least one coverage sack of Jackson, while defensive linemen Kingsley Enagbare and Brenton Cox Jr. had at least one pressure and a sack on backup Josh Johnson.

Derrick Henry

Henry rolled into practice on a bike with a sign that read “King Henry’s Royal Ride” and then looked pretty much as advertised.

While the Ravens’ offensive line struggled with pass protection, they seemed to handle run blocking a bit better, opening some nice lanes for the four-time Pro Bowl selection. Henry burst through the line and into the Packers’ secondary on more than a few occasions.

But the Ravens also did not burden the 30-year-old veteran with many carries.

“He’s an explosive guy,” Harbaugh said. “He’s always critical of himself. He’s like, ‘Ah, I should’ve taken that one outside,’ or ‘I should’ve taken that one back.’ I love his attention to detail.”

Defense

Baltimore’s defense stood out in several ways, especially up front.

In 11-on-11 play, middle linebacker Roquan Smith intercepted quarterback Jordan Love, who essentially threw the ball right to him as he tried to connect with wide receiver Jayden Reed over the middle. Defensive lineman Justin Madubuike and outside linebacker Odafe Oweh both had multiple pressures on Love. Defensive tackle Michael Pierce deflected a pass.

The secondary had a little less success — at least in the red zone — but still had plenty of standouts.

Notably, cornerbacks Brandon Stephens and Marlon Humphrey were largely sticky in coverage, though Stephens got lost during one red zone score and gave up a roughly 40-yard completion from Love to Romeo Doubs.

Rookie cornerback Nate Wiggins, meanwhile, got burned deep a couple of times, including once by Grant DuBose, who got behind the former Clemson star and hauled in a long pass. Wide receiver Malik Heath also beat Wiggins on a go route down the sideline with backup Sean Clifford hitting him in stride.

In four red-zone periods, Love threw four touchdown passes with one interception.

Kicking

Ravens kicker Justin Tucker was his usual accurate self, though he did come up short on a 62-yard field goal attempt.

Attendance

The only new absence for the Ravens was wide receiver Nelson Agholor.

Others who did not practice included cornerback Arthur Maulet (knee), rookie outside linebacker Adisa Isaac (soft tissue), Linderbaum and tight end Mark Andrews, who was in a car accident last week but is not dealing with any serious injury, according to Harbaugh. It should be noted, however, that Linderbaum and Andrews were both in attendance.

Andrews also did some light running as players broke into positional drills before the teams converged on the same field.

Safety Kyle Hamilton also briefly left the field after covering Packers wide receiver Christian Watson, but Harbaugh said the All-Pro’s injury was not serious.

View the full article

Sign In

Ravens Insider: Ravens observations from joint practice with Packers on Lamar Jackson, offensive line and more

Recommended Posts

ExtremeRavens

Lamar Jackson

Offensive line

Derrick Henry

Defense

Kicking

Attendance

Join the conversation

Browse

Activity