ExtremeRavens Posted July 29 Posted July 29 Mike Green hasn’t had a “welcome to training camp” moment, per se. But his “welcome to the NFL” moment — a jarring first look at life at the highest level of football — came during rookie minicamp. The 6-foot-3 edge rusher from Marshall who led the FBS in sacks last year stepped into his new defensive huddle. At every level of football, Green has been considered one of the heavyweights. Now, towering over him was C.J. Okoye, a 6-6, 370-pound defensive lineman. “Big C.J.,” as they call him. “Dude is huge,” Green said. “I was like, ‘Oh, I’m really here.’” Since then, Green sounds comfortable in his first preseason camp, even if the flashy dominance has been few and far between during live repetitions. Pass rush coach Chuck Smith said that he hasn’t noticed much of a learning curve beyond what’s normal for a rookie. But he noted that Green, who relishes the game’s physicality and was eager to finally put on pads Monday, looks comfortable. While players were still in helmets and shorts last week, defensive coordinator Zach Orr promised, “It’s going to crank up next week.” The first highly anticipated day came and one reporter caught him on film pancaking tight end Zaire Mitchell-Paden on Monday. “He’s taking his lumps,” Smith said. “But he’s also giving out his lumps.” Green was part of an offseason oddity. By mid-July, he was one of 30 second-round draft picks who hadn’t inked their rookie deals, all hung up on guaranteed money thanks to an unprecedented deal by the Houston Texans with wide receiver Jayden Higgins. Green signed his four-year, $7.4 million deal on July 17, when the dominoes started to fall. With that hurdle cleared, he’s lined up to be an important part of Baltimore’s long-term pass rush plans. There’s an expectation that 2025 will be the encore to Odafe Oweh’s double-digit sack season of 2024. Kyle Van Noy, at 34, is coming off the best season of his career. Anything close to his 12 1/2 sacks would be a win. Those two led the way for Baltimore’s 54-sack season, good for second most in the NFL. Tavius Robinson and Green are the two younger guys who could complement and eventually backfill those roles. Green said that he spent the whole predraft process trying to prove to teams that he’s a power rusher. That he can overpower a tight end or an offensive linemen, not just beat him with speed. Two days into pads, “I’ve been able to at least show what I’m capable of doing,” he said. Green wants to put on film that he’s not just a pass rusher either; he wants to use this time to let everyone know that he can set the edge and takes pride in his run defense. “When people think you have deficiencies,” Green said, “you’re gonna go out there and show them what you can do.” Ravens pass rush coach Chuck Smith and outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy watch tight end Sam Pitz and outside linebacker Mike Green, right, during camp at the team’s training facility. Green, a rookie from Marshall, led the Football Bowl Subdivision with 17 sacks in 2024. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) If there’s one guy he’s trying to model himself after, it’s Robinson. Green didn’t know much of anything about the outside linebacker going on Year 3. Smith repeatedly sings Robinson’s praises, calling him a glass eater last summer and pointing out this offseason that Robinson has never missed a practice or a rep. “The way I see him work, he’s out here flying around. He’s being very disruptive,” Green said. “My time being here, that’s definitely [someone] that I can look up to and I can follow behind.” Pass rusher can be a tough position to determine success in training camp, particularly when the pads are off. For one, they can’t bring down the quarterback. Green might get by his man, but it’s not always obvious, on a given play, if he’s bringing the quarterback to the turf for the money stat. That, and certain individual drills have less-than-obvious objectives about engaging a blocker or trying out pass rush moves. What Green is capable of won’t be clear until at least the preseason. And, more definitively, when he’s thrown into the fire with games against three 2024 playoff teams in the first four weeks. Still, there’s been no shortage of praise for how Green has adjusted to NFL meetings, schemes and physicality. Orr said that he’s been sharp knowing his assignments. Smith called Green the best example “of this new generation that have learned from the pros, and he comes in already really highly skilled up.” Robinson said he’s “going to be a baller, for sure” and Oweh called him “twitchy,” finding success within the defense “doing what he’s told to do.” It’s Green’s first training camp, which means there’s a lot to learn and a lot thrown at him — more than just seeing how big his teammates are. But to every question about adjusting to new levels of coaching, physicality and responsibilities, Green’s answer circled home to the same spot: He’ll only get better with time. “Mike has earned his stripes,” Smith said. “Mike’s a rookie. And Mike has to play his position and get in line like any other rookie. … But when we talk about pass rush, Mike is all in. Mike is everything he was advertised to be.” Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn. View the full article Quote
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