Ravens middle Tyler Linderbaum stumbled backward, his equilibrium destroyed by the mass of muscle and intestine boring instantly into him.
It was only one rep in the course of the first full-pads apply of coaching camp, however a lesson nonetheless within the storm surge created by a professional NFL nostril deal with, Michael Pierce.
The Ravens introduced Pierce again to Baltimore understanding he would produce such collisions. They noticed lots from 2016 to 2019 as he grew from an undrafted free agent to a key run-stuffer on two Ravens playoff groups.
“Michael Pierce is a mountain of a man,” defensive position coach Anthony Weaver stated. “The thing about him, when he puts his hands on you, you can’t help but feel it. Even when I’m doing individual drills, I feel like I’m fighting a bear.”
But Pierce and his coaches count on greater than the bear this time round. As he nears his thirtieth birthday, Pierce desires to be a extra productive cross rusher, a steadier presence within the lineup and a extra trusted chief within the locker room.
“I’ve still got a lot to prove, I believe,” the ever-jovial nostril deal with stated after a balmy apply Tuesday.
Coach John Harbaugh agreed: “I think he has room to build. … In the big picture of his career, I know he’s not satisfied with where he’s at and how he’s played the last couple years. He’s been good but probably not to his expectations. I believe he has a statement to make.”
Even because the Ravens’ season fell aside during the last six weeks of final season, their run protection hardly ever faltered. But their No. 1 rating within the class didn’t cease normal supervisor Eric DeCosta from reshuffling within the offseason. The Ravens made no try and deliver again beginning nostril deal with Brandon Williams and waved a curt goodbye to defensive deal with Derek Wolfe, who retired final month. They used a third-round decide on Travis Jones, an inside sledgehammer from Connecticut. They introduced again versatile run stopper Brent Urban, who final performed for the staff in 2018. And in maybe their most sudden transfer, they dedicated $16.5 million, $6.75 million of it assured, to reunite with Pierce, who performed simply eight video games over two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.
“I think honestly, this is the most talented D-line I’ve been a part of, on the interior,” stated Urban, an eight-year veteran. “Top to bottom, there’s really no drop-off. There’s so many good young players, and it also has a good balance of leadership as well. It’s a really talented group and one that has all different shapes and sizes. We can kind of attack you however you want to play offense.”
When Pierce departed after the 2019 season, it was not a matter of the Ravens not wanting the previous undrafted free agent. Rather, they didn’t need to match the $27 million deal from the Vikings once they already had substantial {dollars} dedicated to Williams.
For Pierce, life away from Baltimore was not at all times rosy. He opted out of the 2020 season due to coronavirus considerations, then missed 9 video games final yr due to a torn triceps (he stated he additionally tore a calf muscle). In the eight video games he did play, he made 20 tackles and a career-high three sacks, however Minnesota launched him in March.
Pierce didn’t want lengthy to assume when the Ravens got here calling.
“It’s like a homecoming for me,” he stated, itemizing off his shut relationships with everybody from teammates to coaches to particular person members of the cafeteria employees.
Worries about Pierce’s sturdiness resurfaced when he didn’t attend obligatory minicamp in June. This was a participant whom Harbaugh had banished from the sphere in summer time 2019 as a result of he was too obese “to practice from a safety standpoint.” But Pierce and Harbaugh stated he was absent from minicamp due to a household matter that Pierce declined to elaborate on.
When Pierce arrived for coaching camp, he handed the staff’s conditioning check with out difficulty, and he has appeared fast and match, even on the most well liked days. “This is a complete joy for me,” he stated. “It’s time for me just to have a complete season, healthy and with a more well-rounded game. I’m looking forward to this like never before.”
Weaver stated he had no considerations about what Pierce would ship upon arrival. He’s been a fan since a former teammate coached Pierce as a linebacker at Tulane. He grinned, noting that Pierce “never lost those linebacker feet” regardless of including about 100 kilos to his stout body.
Pierce will anchor the defensive position together with the staff’s high inside pressure from final season, Calais Campbell, and third-year deal with Justin Madubuike. Though he’s a veteran now, he stated he’s desirous to be taught from Campbell on the similar time he helps Jones acclimate.
Pierce gushed when requested his preliminary impressions of the rookie: “He’s special, man, physically gifted. For a big dude, he can really, really move. They don’t make too many like him. He’s going to be nice, man. As soon as we get that technique down in the run game, he’s going to be special.”
Given Pierce’s pass-rush manufacturing final yr and Jones’ potential in that space, would possibly the Ravens lastly count on extra sacks from their inside linemen, who’ve historically emphasised run stuffing?
“I’m certainly pleased with the guys we’ve added, and it’s definitely an area of focus for us,” Weaver stated. “We want to lead the league in quarterback harassment, whether that’s pressures, hits, hurries — we want to make sure we’re doing whatever we can to harass that guy in order to help the guys behind us.”
No matter what number of sacks Pierce information, Weaver stated he’ll assist the staff make quarterbacks uncomfortable: “Some people think it’s just run defense, but the effect he has on the middle of the pocket, making that quarterback throw out of a well, is going to help our edges as well.”
Pierce stated he wanted to alter his mentality to unlock his sack manufacturing, itemizing cross rush and management because the areas the place he grew most in his time away from Baltimore.
“I just was here to be a run-stopper,” he stated, reflecting on his earlier tenure. “But the league is changing. I’m the last of a dying breed, I like to say. But I think I’m getting better at the pass rush. … It’s really just time and repetition for me.”
Preseason, Week 1
TITANS@RAVENS
Thursday, Aug. 11, 7:30 p.m.
TV: Chs. 11, 4
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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Source: www.bostonherald.com