During a coaching camp observe through which quarterback Lamar Jackson appeared to deal with his deep ball, his most notable connection may need been his best.
Matched up in opposition to defensive again Brandon Stephens, rookie tight finish Isaiah Likely blew previous him down the appropriate sideline to get open. Jackson simply lofted the deep cross into Likely’s palms for a 55-yard landing — a spotlight play of Thursday’s observe.
The Ravens ran the overwhelming majority of their observe with out 7-on-7 or 11-on-11 scrimmaging however did some on the finish of the afternoon. Whether there was protection or not, Jackson repeatedly threw deep.
“To see him come in and make those throws is a positive thing for us,” coach John Harbaugh mentioned. “We definitely want to throw the ball downfield, I hope that’s a big part of our offense. It just boils down to how good we are at it. If we get good at it, we’ll be throwing the ball downfield a lot.”
Jackson completed observe 6-for-9 in 11-on-11 drills and 5-for-7 in 7-on-7. Two of the incompletions in 11-on-11 drills had been balls thrown away. His finest throw of observe was a again shoulder cross to second-year extensive receiver Rashod Bateman, who made a formidable leaping catch whereas turning round midair.
Jackson’s deep balls weren’t all as crisp because the one to Likely, the Ravens’ fourth-round select of Coastal Carolina. He had a wobbly deep ball to extensive receiver Devin Duvernay in the long run zone fall quick, although a defensive cross interference name bailed him out.
Likely, who impressed all through minicamp, is already drawing comparisons to star tight finish Mark Andrews. Jackson known as him a “baby Mark.” Andrews himself agreed with the comparability.
“He’s got a natural, kind of knack-feel for the game,” Andrews mentioned Tuesday. “I think that he sees the game really, really well. He’s really fluid. When he sees something open, he takes it. He’s got a little bit of me in him, for sure.”
In addition to his landing, Jackson went again to Likely for one more catch in 7-on-7 drills simply after a missed connection.
“Isaiah is like a receiver but a tight end body,” Jackson mentioned Thursday. “He’s like a baby Mark right now.”
Cleveland fails conditioning take a look at
Harbaugh confirmed guard Ben Cleveland failed his conditioning take a look at after the second-year lineman was positioned on the nonfootball harm listing Wednesday.
Cleveland is battling for the beginning left guard spot with Tyre Phillips and Ben Powers, who’ve been rotating all through observe in Cleveland’s absence.
The staff’s conditioning take a look at is an annual supply of consternation for Ravens gamers. It’s believed to incorporate six back-and-forth, 150-yard sprints, totaling 900 yards, that have to be accomplished in a chosen time for every place — 32 seconds for the offensive and defensive linemen, 29 seconds for the tight ends and linebackers and 27 seconds for the extensive receivers, operating backs and defensive backs. It takes only one failed warmth to fail the take a look at.
“It’s got to resolve itself,” Harbaugh mentioned of the left guard battle. “You want the decision to be made for you in terms of somebody taking the job, somebody taking the bull by the horns and owning the job. That’s what we want to do. We’ll see. How long it will take kind of depends on how long it takes. The sooner the better, for sure. All the guys are doing well so far.”
Dropped passes
Wide receiver Devon Williams returned from the nonfootball harm listing to observe Thursday and was one of many many Ravens targets to drop a cross.
Tight finish Nick Boyle, fullbacks Ben Mason and Patrick Ricard, operating again Nate McCrary and extensive receiver Devin Duvernay additionally dropped passes. On one play, Duvernay almost collided with Bateman coming throughout the center.
Most of the drops got here in drills with out protection and didn’t gradual the Ravens’ offense throughout scrimmages.
On the play after Duvernay’s drop, he made a pleasant catch alongside the sideline in opposition to veteran cornerback Kyle Fuller.
Huntley restricted in observe
Harbaugh mentioned backup quarterback Tyler Huntley has been restricted in observe after lacking time in minicamp with shoulder tendinitis and is day-to-day.
Huntley, who began 4 video games final season rather than an injured Jackson, participated within the early drills however not within the closing scrimmage. Harbaugh mentioned that Huntley’s shoulder may need been bothering him by the tip of observe.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com