ExtremeRavens Posted August 9 Posted August 9 Two days removed from their preseason opener, Ravens players were back to work Saturday in Owings Mills, where they were in pads and had what coach John Harbaugh referred to as a “spirited,” “intense” and “pretty darn sharp” practice in blissful and sunny conditions. Some players performed better than others, of course. But the most entertaining part of the 2 1/2-hour session came at the end of practice, when the offensive line was pitted against the pass rush with the rest of the team encircling the drill. By nature, the defense has the edge, but the offense had some moments. None was better than when left tackle Ronnie Stanley stonewalled outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy with one block, then broke into a sword celebration. Stanley also stuffed him on at least one more play, too. Other times, the offense was not so fortunate. Rookie tackle Carson Vinson had to practically tackle rookie edge rusher Mike Green to prevent him from getting to quarterback Devin Leary on one play. Linebacker Malik Hamm also juked rookie tackle Gerad Lichtenhan out of his cleats and raced in unabated to set off a wild defensive celebration. Baltimore had done the drill a couple of times previously this training camp, but it was the first time players formed a ring around the action. “That ramped it up,” Harbaugh said. “The stakes definitely go up. It’s a fun drill. That’s been a good drill.” Offensive standouts After Dayton Wade was a nonfactor against the Colts on Thursday night with zero catches on three targets, including on a box fade that was intercepted, the second-year receiver put together a nice practice as he has done a few times this summer. In 11-on-11 play, he made a leaping grab over Jalyn-Armour Davis on a pass from Cooper Rush and then later made a nice adjustment on an out route that Rush threw too far inside and caught it anyway. In red zone one-on-ones, he hauled in a touchdown on a fade with Sanoussi Kane in good coverage, then beat undrafted rookie cornerback Marquise Robinson with a shake to break free on another out route. Unsurprisingly, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins also had a nice contested catch, while tight end Charlie Kolar and receiver Anthony Miller both delivered highlight-reel moments. Kolar made a one-handed grab in the back of the end zone with Kane on him, while Miller snatched an out route against rookie safety Malaki Starks and then celebrated with some dance moves punctuated by a twirl. Of course, it was easier for Harbaugh to evaluate the wide receivers’ performance with more accurate throws than he got from Rush and No. 3 quarterback Devin Leary on Thursday against the Colts when they combined for a woeful 59 passing yards. “How many chances did they have to catch passes?” he said. “That kind of game is like, what are you gonna do? You just go wow. That’s kinda shocking to throw for that few yards. Hope we never see that again.” Ravens cornerback Nate Wiggins continued a strong camp with an interception at Saturday's practice. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) Defensive standouts Nate Wiggins and Chidobe Awuzie each had an interception of quarterback Lamar Jackson. Jackson threw a pass right to Wiggins during a 7-on-7 red zone period, while Awuzie picked off a late throw in the middle of the field intended for Tylan Wallace during a two-minute drill in 11-on-11. It was a particularly good day for Wiggins after some struggles earlier in the week. In addition to the gift-wrapped interception, he was particularly sticky in red zone one-on-one play against the Ravens’ top receivers and swatted away one end zone fade intended for undrafted rookie receiver Jahmal Banks. Dealing with false starts False starts have been a topic of conversation throughout training camp and the problem reared its head again Saturday. In an early red zone period, the second-team offense was at one point flagged five times in eight plays for moving too soon. It also burned a timeout in that span. How did Harbaugh react? By yanking all five linemen off the field at once. He’d had enough. “Seemed effective,” he said. “Cleaned it up after that. … Seemed like it worked for the most part.” It did, though not entirely, with the offense flagged for two more false starts later in the day. It probably beat some of the past punishments. In previous years, players would be forced to run laps, do log rolls or up-downs. “We’ve got lots of options,” Harbaugh said. Ravens coach John Harbaugh is not ruling out the idea of more starters playing in the preseason. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) Harbaugh doesn’t close door on more starters playing On Thursday, only five expected starters for the Ravens played against the Colts. Three of them (Andrew Vorhees, Daniel Faalele, Roger Rosengarten) were along the offensive line, with the other two being linebacker Trenton Simpson and first-round draft pick Starks. Could that change for Baltimore’s next preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on Saturday night? Harbaugh didn’t slam the door on the idea, at least not yet. “We’ll just wait and see,” he said after practice. “We’re having conversations with the leaders about that. We’ll see how practice goes this week, see how we feel about it towards Wednesday-ish.” Jackson hasn’t played in a preseason game since 2021, the same year the Ravens lost running back J.K. Dobbins to a season-ending knee injury in the preseason finale against the Washington Commanders. However, there has been a growing trend around the NFL of more starters, including at quarterback, getting at least limited action in the preseason. Already, Cincinnati Bengals star Joe Burrow and the Carolina Panthers’ Bryce Young and Las Vegas Raiders’ Geno Smith have been among the quarterbacks to play in their respective team’s preseason openers. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray were also slated to play in a limited capacity on Saturday night. Injuries and attendance A few players were missing from practice. Most notable among them were safety Kyle Hamilton and running back Keaton Mitchell. Hamilton, who appeared to be dealing with a groin issue on Monday and hasn’t practiced since, did some jogging on a side field. Mitchell, meanwhile, was in street clothes and only watched after logging 14 snaps on offense and four on special teams Thursday night against the Colts. Also missing was cornerback T.J. Tampa, who logged a team-high 80 snaps against the Colts and has six tackles and two pass breakups. Harbaugh said none of the injuries are serious, including for undrafted rookie cornerback Keon Martin, who limped off during Saturday’s practice. On the flip side, rookie running back Marcus Major Jr. returned to practice, but it was in a red noncontact jersey after he suffered a concussion recently. Myles Gaskin, a six-year veteran with the Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings, signed with the Ravens on Saturday, according to a source with direct knowledge of the deal. The 28-year-old has rushed for 1,354 yards in his career but just 25 in the past three seasons. Baltimore also signed cornerback M.J. Devonshire, a second-year player out of Pittsburgh who spent last season with the Raiders before being claimed off waivers by the Panthers during the offseason. Devonshire’s addition is likely to help with some of the attrition in the defensive backfield. Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article Quote
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