Rookie Report Week 10 vs. Jacksonville
Sunday’s loss was as painful as they come. I am rarely one for silver linings, but even from an objective viewpoint, most of the rookies played quite well against Jacksonville. They made important contributions that bode well for light at the end of this dark, dark tunnel of a football season.
Tight Ends Rising
The rookie tight ends stole the show this weekend, combining with Crockett Gillmore to tally 11 catches for 117 yards, including Maxx Williams’ first NFL touchdown reception from 21 yards away. Maxx took 4 catches for an even 40 yards while Nick Boyle grabbed 3-for-35, including a 25-yarder on the Ravens opening offensive play of the game.
On that play, Boyle and Chris Givens ran a deep route combination as Givens used his speed to clear out the safety on a 9-route while Boyle ran a deep out.
Notice how Boyle gets a clean release from the line to maintain the play’s timing.
He has lots of room to work as both the safety and the outside cornerback are occupied with Givens’ vertical route. Boyle does well to get to proper route depth, gaining separation from the underneath linebackers. He throttles down into this soft area of the zone, makes the catch, then finishes the play with aggression.
Boyle later hurdled a defender in a crowd once again, which is always both dangerous and exciting. He and Williams need to eventually use the hurdle more sparingly to protect themselves, but for now it’s just good to see a bit of effort and passion.
Judging by comments from the tight end group after the game, this is the type of performance they have been expecting all year. The trio, all of whom finished with positive PFF grades, expressed unwavering confidence in their pass-catching skill. They have been more frequently implemented into the game plan in the absence of Steve Smith Sr. The tight end position (outside of Dennis Pitta’s contract situation) is one of the few on the roster that the Ravens will not need to be addressed this offseason.
Smith Up, Davis Down
Despite again failing to generate tremendous quarterback pressure, Za’Darius Smith made his presence felt as a backup linebacker Sunday. He diagnosed a wide receiver screen to make a tackle for a modest gain, and constantly had his hands up in the passing lane. Which paid off in the fourth quarter when he batted down a screen pass that could have gone for big yardage.
Carl Davis continues to see his snaps reduced, this time to just 7 on the afternoon. The defensive tackle assisted on 1 tackle but was quiet otherwise. Davis’ snaps will be interesting to monitor, especially with Brent Urban looking to crack the rotation.
Rookie Notes
– Buck Allen took just 5 carries for 19 yards including a long of 12, and caught 1 pass for 4 yards. His 12-yard run showed his maturity within the one-cut zone blocking scheme, but even more impressive was his conversion on an important fourth quarter 3rd-and-2 where the defense snuffed out the outside pitch. Allen used a powerful stiff arm and showed great body control to finish the run powerfully and make the line-to-gain in a crucial spot. Marc Trestman seemed very quick to ditch the running game (passing on 29 of 33 first half snaps), so both Justin Forsett and Allen’s production suffered.
-Rookie cornerback Tray Walker was inactive this weekend. He has been dealing with a lingering concussion, but was listed as a full practice participant all week and was probable to play. He was essentially a healthy scratch.
The Ravens rookies will look to continue expanding their roles as Baltimore looks to avoid consecutive seasons with a loss to quarterback Case Keenum with the Rams coming to town Sunday.
