ExtremeRavens Posted August 9 Posted August 9 Training camp practices are one thing. Joint practices and preseason games are quite another. After 11 sessions of Ravens players going against one another, they finally got a taste of new blood, with the Indianapolis Colts in town for a lively practice and the preseason opener for both teams Thursday night at M&T Bank Stadium. Only five of Baltimore’s expected regular starters — left guard Andrew Vorhees, right guard Daniel Faalele, right tackle Roger Rosengarten, linebacker Trenton Simpson and safety Malaki Starks — played in the game, but everyone got good run in the two-plus hour practice against Indianapolis. Put another way, this week was the best test yet of where players are in their progress with the start of the regular season a month away. Here’s a look at whose stock has risen and fallen over the past week as the Ravens return to the practice field Saturday for the first of six straight days of work. Brian Wacker, reporter Stock up: Edge Mike Green. Through the first two weeks of camp, the Ravens’ polarizing but highly touted second-round rookie edge rusher did not exactly announce his presence with authority. His 17 sacks at Marshall to lead college football last season perhaps set unrealistic expectations that he would have immediate and meaningful success, and it generally does not work that way. But against the Colts, both in practice and in the game, Green made his presence felt. In Tuesday’s practice, he consistently put pressure on Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson and it’s possible that he would have been credited with at least one sack if not more. He also showed off his speed and power, giving Colts linemen some trouble in one-on-one drills. Two days later — and on his first play in an NFL game — he was instrumental in forcing an incompletion by Richardson and was in the backfield on a few other occasions, including once converging on the quarterback with fellow outside linebacker Adisa Isaac, who was credited with the sack. Stock down: Quarterbacks not named Lamar Jackson. There’s no sugarcoating it. Cooper Rush and especially Devin Leary were dreadful against the Colts on Thursday night, combining to go 5-for-16 for 59 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns. Neither quarterback was overly impressive in practice against Indianapolis earlier in the week, either. Though Rush did have his best practices to date this past week, he had some blunders, too. Among them was an interception off a tipped pass during the final two-minute drill against the Colts as well as an interception on his first pass attempt of Thursday’s game. Leary’s development, meanwhile, has been mixed at best in his second year. That has been evident in practice and exposed in the game against the Colts, in which he went 3-for-12 for 43 yards with an interception and some woeful overthrows. Mike Preston, columnist Stock up: FB Lucas Scott. The undrafted free agent might have earned a spot on the 53-man roster, and if not, at least on the developmental squad. The Ravens were waiting to see how Scott played in the preseason and the Army graduate was very successful against the Colts. Go watch the tape. The 6-foot-3, 290-pound Scott is as big as starter Patrick Ricard, and might even have better technique. A key to being a good blocker or a fullback is to have good hips, and Scott did a good job walling off defenders for running back Keaton Mitchell. He’ll run through defenders and has good explosion upon contact. He also has decent feet, especially for a person of his size. The Ravens might not have room for two fullbacks on the regular-season roster, but if Scott can play on special teams, he might have a shot. Ravens fullback Patrick Ricard, left, and fullback Lucas Scott go through a drill during the first day on training camp. Scott looks the part of an NFL player, and he's in the mix to land a 53-man roster spot after the first preseason game. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) Stock down: LG Ben Cleveland. He had a poor performance against the Colts, and he fell way behind Andrew Vorhees in the battle for the starting position. Cleveland does well in short space because he can be overpowering at times, but he doesn’t run well and has problems turning the corner. He can trap, like most guards, but to turn and get up field is not his strength. Pass blocking has never been a forte of Cleveland’s, and he got exposed once or twice against Indianapolis. Cleveland’s lack of versatility and depth could be a glaring problem for the Ravens all season. The offensive line has to stay healthy to be successful. Meanwhile, Vorhees played well and got up field quickly. Sam Cohn, reporter Stock up: RB Keaton Mitchell. Thursday night’s performance stamped what had already been an impressive week for Mitchell. He checked every box. Nearly two years removed from ACL surgery, the crafty back showed a return to form in practices without tackling. Then he snapped off big runs when the pads came on. He did it again in the joint practice. That knee looked stronger than ever on Baltimore’s 71-yard drive in which Mitchell handled four carries for more than 50 yards, capped by a 22-yard touchdown run. Harbaugh said Thursday night, while his running back sat to his left, “You can bounce it to the edge. You can cut it back. … and then also establishing the fact that you’ll run the ball between the tackles. … You don’t want to be the guy that they say, ‘Oh, he is an outside run game guy,’ right? You want to make him pay between the tackles, too. That’s something, too, that I know he is very focused on.” There were questions about how Mitchell would fit into a backfield behind Derrick Henry and Justice Hill. There was justified concerns about whether he’d return to form. This week in particular, he’s banging the door down to earn touches. Ravens running back Keaton Mitchell scores a touchdown in the team's preseason opener against the Colts. Mitchell is expecting to play meaningful snaps in the regular season. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) Stock down: WR Dayton Wade. This was supposed to be Wade’s week. He’d been so sharp for much of training camp, flashing in live drills against his own team’s defense with a knack for finding open space and aggressively pursuing the ball no matter who was throwing it to him. A joint practice against the Colts and the first preseason game served up prime opportunities to prove it wasn’t a farce. Wade was a relative nonfactor in the joint practice this week and he came up empty on three targets Thursday night. Some of that blame can be pointed toward the shaky quarterback play, but by and large Wade didn’t show that same aggressiveness toward the ball. The week was a missed opportunity for someone vying for a 53-man roster spot in a crowded wide receiver room. Josh Tolentino, columnist Stock up: WR/PR LaJohntay Wester. When I asked Wester back during Big 12 pro days in March in Frisco, Texas, what he hoped to show at the next level, the 5-foot-10 wideout grinned and offered his brief reply: “Speed. Folks will find out soon.” Wester then waited until the sixth round of the draft to hear his name called, but the former Colorado standout put on a show in his Ravens debut. His 87-yard punt return for a touchdown was the marquee moment. Wester also led all receivers with two catches for 41 yards. With his electric outing, Wester, who recorded a 4.46-second 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine, has started to distance himself from teammates Tylan Wallace and Anthony Miller in solidifying himself as the team’s Week 1 punt returner. Stock down: OL Daniel Faalele. The 6-8, 370-pound Faalele was sent sprawling to the ground by Colts defensive tackle Adetomiwa Adebawore and surrendered a sack in one of his most embarrassing reps of the summer. Faalele, a 2024 Pro Bowl alternate, was one of three projected starting offensive linemen to play in the preseason opener. Considering their unimpressive backup quarterback play this summer, the Ravens need Lamar Jackson upright once the games and results matter. Faalele allowed just one sack last season, but on Thursday, he couldn’t get out of the first quarter without surrendering two pressures and Adebawore’s sack of Rush. Sam Jane, reporter Stock up: TE Charlie Kolar. “They forgot about the fat white guy.” That’s how Charlie Kolar described himself a year ago when the third-string tight end rumbled for a long touchdown catch. But now Kolar’s in Year 4 and Jackson is making sure that nobody’s forgetting about the former Iowa State star. Jackson said that Kolar is starting to look like Isaiah Likely and Mark Andrews, and Kolar dominated during Tuesday’s joint practice with the Colts with a touchdown catch and another reception in zone coverage. With Likely out for at least the preseason, the Ravens should be fine in the short term with Kolar as TE2. Stock down: DB Beau Brade. Brade made the 53-man roster as an undrafted free agent last season, but he finds himself in another tight battle to make the team this year. The River Hill and Maryland graduate is competing with Sanoussi Kane to secure the team’s third safety spot, and Kane has impressed in practice. Undrafted free agent defensive back Reuben Lowery also has positional flexibility, which adds another roadblock to Brade’s roster chances. Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. Contact Mike Preston at epreston@baltsun.com, 410-332-6467 and x.com/MikePrestonSun. Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn. Contact Josh Tolentino at jtolentino@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200, x.com/JCTSports and instagram.com/JCTSports. Contact Sam Jane at sjane@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/Sam_Jane230. View the full article Quote
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