The Ravens already had a surplus of expertise within the secondary at first of coaching camp, nevertheless it has grown considerably with the emergence of rookie cornerbacks Jalyn Armour-Davis and Damarion Williams.
They have eight cornerbacks on the present roster, together with Pro Bowl performers Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters, confirmed veterans like Daryl Worley, Kyle Fuller, David Vereen and Robert Jackson, and second-year participant Brandon Stephens, who can play each security and nook.
The Ravens most probably will hold six, which means Armour-Davis and Williams will doubtless power defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald to make some tough selections for the preliminary 53-man roster.
“It’s a great problem to have,” mentioned Macdonald, in his first season because the staff’s coordinator. “We always say, ‘you can’t have enough corners.’ The short answer is, it’s going to be very tough.”
So far, Armour-Davis and Williams, each fourth-round picks in April’s draft, have performed effectively sufficient to earn roster spots. They are quick, deal with effectively, have good restoration pace and most significantly, they’ve the flexibility — a capability to play inside or outdoors, in addition to particular groups — that the Ravens crave within the secondary.
“Special teams ability will definitely play a big part of it,” Macdonald mentioned.
Red zone consistency
Quarterback Lamar Jackson has develop into extra constant throwing within the purple zone, placing the ball ready the place solely his receiver could make the catch.
That doesn’t sound like a lot, nevertheless it’s important. Few quarterbacks within the NFL have completed it in addition to Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady.
But in observe Sunday, Jackson positioned three balls completely, together with one to a sliding tight finish Mark Andrews and one other to broad receiver Rashod Bateman on a fast slant in.
Cleveland making progress
It seems that second-year guard Ben Cleveland is lastly stepping into correct form after failing his conditioning checks a number of instances, which prohibited him from taking part within the early days of coaching camp.
Cleveland, a 2021 third-round decide, did a pleasant job of run blocking in opposition to the Titans Thursday evening, and he actually has extra explosion and higher ft than he did a yr in the past.
But he faces an uphill battle to begin as a result of starter Ben Powers and backup Tyre Phillips have improved, too. It’s a superb drawback to have.
False begin frustration
It’s obvious coach John Harbaugh was irritated after the Ravens had a number of false begin penalties Thursday evening, and now he’s making gamers jog a brief lap in the event that they bounce earlier than the ball is snapped.
Rookie proper offensive deal with Daniel Faalele, who has improved considerably since offseason minicamp, nonetheless struggles with conditioning and infrequently will get drained close to the top of observe, which accounts for why he tends to get beat or bounce offside. It’s a scarcity of focus.
There was an ironic Faalele second Sunday. Immediately after he was penalized, he was seen jogging on the sideline because the AC/DC track “Highway to Hell” blared over the audio system.
He Means effectively
There isn’t any certainty that outdoors linebacker Steven Means, in his eighth season, will make the roster, however few play as onerous. He will run, chase and stalk a quarterback all around the discipline till he has hassle respiratory.
He has a superb first step and robust explosion upon first contact, nevertheless it may be a numbers sport for Means. Regardless, some staff will give him a possibility if the Ravens let him go.
Before every observe, Means, 31, is all the time one of many first gamers on the sphere engaged on his approach.
Andrews within the clutch
When you watch Andrews observe, it simply provides you confidence that he’s going to make a giant play in crunch time. He’s snatched nearly each go thrown his approach throughout coaching camp.
The confidence isn’t as robust in the case of Bateman. He’ll make some wonderful performs, like taking a fast out from Jackson, escaping a deal with from defensive again Kevin Seymour and turning it right into a 40-yard landing.
But earlier within the observe he had a one-on-one with rookie security Kyle Hamilton, whom he had overwhelmed by two steps, after which he dropped an extended landing go from Jackson.
It simply leaves you shaking your head.
Veteran management
It’s all the time enjoyable to observe a veteran participant like defensive finish Calais Campbell or outdoors linebacker Justin Houston run 30 yards down the sphere to catch a ball service or try to strip the ball from his arms.
The youthful gamers like that, which is a big a part of the rationale Campbell, Houston, guard Kevin Zeitler, linebacker Josh Bynes and Peters are on the roster.
The Ravens have a key veteran in nearly each place group, and that stuff rubs off.
Injury report
Tight finish Nick Boyle returned to observe after lacking Saturday’s session. Running again J.Okay. Dobbins missed his second straight day as a part of what Harbaugh referred to as scheduled knee evaluations.
Also lacking had been broad receivers James Proche II (tender tissue), Tylan Wallace (knee) and rookie Bailey Gaither; offensive deal with David Sharpe and rookie middle Tyler Linderbaum (foot); and defensive lineman Justin Madubuike (migraine).
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Source: www.bostonherald.com