ExtremeRavens Posted August 28 Posted August 28 Ravens players have spent all summer acknowledging two competing truths: What they do during training camp matters and what they do during training camp, ultimately, doesn’t matter. What matters is how this team looks by winter’s end. Training camp is meant to lay the brickwork for the long game. Here are five things we learned: Ravens are prioritizing the little details This summer, coach John Harbaugh implemented a more transparent grading system. The detailed collection of practice data that staffers normally collect from every game permeated into the offseason, now showing up on television screens in meeting rooms all around the Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills. It measures individual performances and tracks the progress of players within their positional groups. “Probably the best way to describe it is just to take it to another level,” Harbaugh said. “When you go through the things that we’ve gone through, in terms of different games and things like that, they can see when we do those things well, most of the time the game’s not even close.” “Everything is graded,” cornerback Marlon Humphrey said. “Literally every single thing that you can possibly grade is graded.” The offense is marked for the “Raven Claw,” according to fullback Pat Ricard, measuring ball security. There’s a “convoy” stat detailing a player’s willingness to run to the ball. The defense measures “shots on goal,” which is the number of times a player attempts to punch a ball loose, as well as whether a player exemplified leadership qualities either in communication or operation. Offensive linemen are nicked for poor presnap operations, and the defense cashes in their chips for every forced turnover. Running backs coach Willie Taggart said that he hears leaderboard chatter every day. The first thing players do when they walk into a room is check out the monitor to see their standing for the day. Coaches feel less inclined to harp on a player. There’s less need to explain where certain lapses were that day when said player can see the data for themselves and feel self-motivated to come back better the following day. “They don’t like when they get bad grades,” Taggart said with a laugh. The Ravens were among the best teams in the NFL in 2024. Their offense was, by most metrics, the best in the league. Defensively, they came around in the back half to be considered one of the NFL’s better groups. Everything that made them sharpest during the regular season — impeccable ball security, a stout run defense and a reliably potent offense — all came back to bite them during a snowy playoff game in Orchard Park, New York. Practices have been sharper as a result of this newfound fixation. Attention to detail can influence their regular season. Intentional preparation could separate them in the playoffs. It’s not just Harbaugh taking such steps. Players such as Humphrey, Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman took the initiative to revitalize Baltimore’s famed “Breakfast Club” workouts, initially started by former Ravens safety Eric Weddle. All throughout training camp, a small group of players has gathered in the gym at 6 a.m. to enjoy their morning lift together. That’s eight hours before practice starts. And to keep everyone accountable, any player who tries to walk through the door at 6:01 a.m. or later will be turned away. “We’re trying to create an environment where everything matters,” Humphrey said. “6:01 a.m., does it really matter? No. But does it? Yes. So, it’s kind of just another thing we’re trying to do. Everything matters. Accountability is going to be the key to the season.” Ravens kicker Tyler Loop celebrates after making a 61-yard field goal in the team's preseason finale. Loop is the team's starting kicker entering 2025. (Stephanie Scarbrough/AP) How the Ravens found their kicker It has been, undoubtedly, the most gripping storyline of camp. Let’s review. Senior special teams coach Randy Brown spent his spring canvassing the country for a kicker. The Ravens needed a succession plan in light of sexual misconduct allegations that would eventually lead to Justin Tucker’s release and a 10-game suspension brought down by the NFL. After three West Coast trips and extensive evaluations, Brown found a kid named Tyler Loop. There was an official interview at a restaurant in Tucson, Arizona. Brown spent 2 1/2 hours sipping on Pepsi and getting to know Loop, connecting over the minutiae of field goal kicking. At one point, they cleared out a few tables for Loop to stand up and diagram his swing. Brown texted Harbaugh afterward, “I think we have our guy.” In late April, the Ravens used a sixth-round pick on Loop. It marked the first time the organization had ever drafted a kicker. Loop’s dad, Steve, was the one who pointed that factoid out to him. Every one of the 24-year-old’s kicks was diligently tracked. Unofficially, Loop went 78-for-84 in training camp practices before he was named the starter on Aug. 16, when the maniacal note-taking softened. He finished 9-for-11 through three preseason games. What’s more impressive is his pair of misses, from 46 yards against the Colts and 50 in Dallas, were each followed by a dead-eye 50-plus-yarder. Loop proved one miss won’t derail his day. His 61-yarder against Washington confirmed the big leg hype. Loop didn’t show up ready to go, as evidenced by a tough rookie camp showing. “Tyler had a little different way that he planted,” Brown said. “He had a little different way where he struck the ball. He had a little different way of how he swung, and his sweet spot was a little lower, so we had to change all that, and his apex was higher. … We’ve worked hard on it. We’ve only had three months, but we’ve worked very hard on changing how we can hit a ball in the AFC North the way the ball should be hit in the AFC North.” A word of caution: Don’t expect Loop to be the kicker Tucker was. A spoiler: He won’t be. But based on what we’ve seen the past four weeks, he’s ready to be Baltimore’s kicker. “I’ve been around a lot of people,” punter Jordan Stout told The Baltimore Sun earlier this month. “I think he has the biggest leg I’ve ever seen.” Ravens aim to hit on one UDFA every year. They hit on 3. A streak spanning 21 of the past 22 years says more about the organization’s scouting and development infrastructure than it does the individual player. For over two decades, every season sans the pandemic fall, the Ravens have included an undrafted rookie on their initial 53-man roster. “When the draft ends,” general manager Eric DeCosta said, “we spend hours on those guys evaluating those players and talking about their backgrounds and their mentalities. We really are just hoping to hit on one guy every year.” This year, the Ravens saw three through the roster cutdown deadline: linebacker Jay Higgins IV, cornerback Keyon Martin and safety Reuben Lowery. Toss sophomore Corey Bullock into that group, too. He was a UDFA who spent his rookie year on the practice squad and earned his keep this year as the team’s backup center. It wasn’t for lack of talent elsewhere. Those guys unseated a former draft pick in Jalyn Armour-Davis and the formerly rostered Beau Brade. Ravens cornerback Reuben Lowery sprints during training camp. Lowery made the Ravens' 53-man roster after a great camp. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) Lowery impressed right from the start of camp. The Tennessee-Chattanooga product was the first UDFA to turn heads, so when two cornerbacks suffered season-ending injuries, it was Lowery who was thought to benefit from his versatility. Martin worked his way from tryout candidate to camp signee to a roster spot. And Higgins, the least likely of the three to make it based on roster math, got lightheaded on his way to DeCosta’s office. He doubled over in joy when he found out he made the roster. An otherwise drama-free August was made interesting by the trio. “It’s unusual,” Harbaugh said, but to find such diamonds in the rough is something the Ravens take great pride in. “I only tried out [for] the Ravens,” Martin said. “The Ravens were the only ones that called me.” For Lowery, it was “radio silence” after the NFL draft until the Ravens called, earning a joyful sigh of relief. Higgins, who defensive coordinator Zach Orr said should have been drafted, came face-to-face with the reality that he might not have a future in football before Baltimore came around. “We could have traded these three guys,” DeCosta said. “Teams were calling left and right, and that’s kind of validation for what you think you might see on tape. It just became abundantly clear that these were talented players that, for whatever reason, were overlooked by the entire league, including us, and deserved to be on teams and who can help us be our best.” Ravens can’t count on a clean bill of health The Ravens dodged two bullets these past few weeks. For one, Isaiah Likely is expected to return sooner rather than later. The ascending tight end underwent surgery for a small fracture suffered in late July. There was optimism, but never certainty of his recovery timeline. When Baltimore held a spot for Likely on its initial 53-man roster this week, rather than landing on the injured reserve, it was a sign they expect him to play sometime in September. The other bullet dodged, this one Matrix-style, was the news that quarterback Lamar Jackson was going to be fine. The two-time NFL Most Valuable Player and centerpiece of Baltimore’s Super Bowl aspirations left practice last week after having his foot stepped on, the team said. Imaging came back negative, and Jackson returned to the field Monday with no signs of trouble. Phew. Baltimore knows the other side of that relief, the darker side. Flowers was held out from the AFC divisional round for a right knee sprain but has been healthy through the summer. Starting safety Ar’Darius Washington suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the offseason and will miss most, if not all, the regular season. On paper, the Ravens have perhaps the best roster in the NFL. All signs point to February. They’re a team more than capable of winning several playoff games. “We can do everything we want to do and more,” veteran left tackle Ronnie Stanley said, “and I feel like we are very capable, and we have the people to do it.” Health is perhaps the biggest stumbling block standing in their way. It’s football — injuries are a given. Baltimore already lost a pair of rookie cornerbacks who were on the bubble to make the roster. Chidobe Awuzie returned to practice after missing multiple weeks. Jaire Alexander hasn’t practiced in a month. Jake Hummel underwent minor hand surgery. Mark Andrews hasn’t fully practiced in about a week. Ricard has been absent as of late, too. Harbaugh expects all those guys to be ready by next week. And yet, as stacked as this roster is, they’ll surely have to manage some unfortunate injury luck at some point this season to get where they want to go. Record-setting Ravens offense added firepower Last year was a historic run for the Ravens’ offense. Jackson finished the regular season with 4,172 passing yards and 41 passing touchdowns with only four interceptions. His 119.6 passer rating was the fourth-highest mark in NFL history. Beyond the quarterback play, Baltimore became the first team in NFL history to score 40 passing touchdowns and 20 rushing touchdowns in the same season, as well as the first to pass for 4,000 yards and rush for more than 3,000. The Ravens’ total offensive production ranks third in NFL history, one spot better than the “Greatest Show on Turf” 2000 Rams. The 2025 Ravens might be even better. Digest that for a moment. Future Hall of Fame wideout DeAndre Hopkins joins the fold as a contested catch option, complementing Flowers and Bateman. The five-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time All-Pro was most recently a contributor to Kansas City’s Super Bowl run last season, traded at the deadline from Tennessee. When he first met with reporters in Owings Mills in early July, Hopkins said he felt like “there’s been a piece that’s been missing” and that “I could be that addition.” Keaton Mitchell is the other potential new outlet for offensive juice. The third-year running back who suffered a devastating knee injury during his rookie season popped in camp, like a new-and-improved version of his former self. Sharp cuts and mystifying speed mean the Ravens have a reliable kick returner and a third running back to find a way to get touches. Mitchell’s nine-carry, 68-yard performance against Indianapolis in the preseason opener offered a glimpse at what’s possible. “I’m not going to get into any expectations because everything looks good on paper until you go out there and actually do it,” Derrick Henry said. “We know what we’re capable of and what we can do.” Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn. Ravens running back Keaton Mitchell celebrates a touchdown during a preseason game against the Colts. Mitchell's impressive offseason means the Ravens have at least three reliable running backs entering the season. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) View the full article Quote
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