Let the Hitting Begin

The first full practice in pads is the real mark that football is upon us. No more tiptoeing around. Players were hitting today, although it wasn’t a total tackling exhibition. It was still a controlled practice. Yet, it was nice to hear and see players collide and get after it.

The defense took advantage of the situation. There were a lot of pressures dialed up along with late blitz movement before the snap, causing the offense to play out of sorts most of the morning. Between the mismanagement of snaps, drops, and errant passes, it was a sloppy performance all-around.

Here’s what else stood out today:

Daily Joe Flacco Update

Within no time (maybe even as soon as tomorrow) these daily Flacco performance updates won’t be needed. I honestly couldn’t tell the difference between the old Joe and the new surgically-repaired Joe. He moved around just fine. On a couple of occasions, he was flushed out of the pocket and was able to dart to his left and throw the ball across his body.

Photo Credit: York Dispatch

Flacco’s velocity was also right what you’d want it to be. He was driving the ball into tight spots over the middle. He took some chances against double coverage and got burned a few times. But that’s what you want to see – you don’t want a Flacco who has lost his gunslinger mentality and plays tentative.

Za’Darius is the Man, the Man, the Man

Za’Darius Smith is one of the most critical players on defense who has to step up, especially in light of Terrell Suggs’ recovery from a torn Achilles. So far so good.

Smith has added noticeable weight to his rangy 6-4 frame. Even with the added weight, he was nimble in coverage. In the early sequences of 11-on-11 drills, he dropped back a few times and was able to flip his hips with ease to track receivers in the open field. On one play he anticipated the timing of a pass and nearly tipped the ball.

If you were to compare his progress with Pernell McPhee just in terms of cover skills and open-field instincts, Smith is clearly ahead of where McPhee was in his second year.

As a rusher, Smith rotated between the strong-side and weak-side positions. Compared to last season, he displayed a wider repertoire of moves, mixing it up with a powerful right-arm extension to get under the pads of the tackles he faced.

In two instances, Smith was able to get quick pressure with a spin move – a welcome sight for a second-year rusher.

The first matchup came against Rick Wagner, and Smith used a well-time spin to get through the A gap and get pressure right in Flacco’s face, causing a rushed pass attempt.

On the second spin, he was able to split a double-team from Maxx Williams and Kyle Juszczyk while putting Juice on his back in the process.

Smith heads up what I like to call the “Disruption Crew” – along with Timmy Jernigan, Kamalei Correa, and Willie Henry. All of these players play with a high motor and are fast off the snap. Their ability to create negative plays by getting into the backfield quickly is going to make a huge difference for a defense that lacked that front-line explosion last season.

Smith looked the part today.

Charting the Rookies

• Willie Henry: Speaking of Henry, I also made sure to keep track of his snaps during 11-on-11 drills. The former Michigan Wolverine is active and showed some quick movement off the snap. He rushed from a three-point stance and a four-point stance, mostly playing the three-technique role. On one play, he showed his ability to split gaps by looping through a double-team attempt.

• Matt Judon: Judon is more compact in his build than Smith. I was expecting to see him used more in a three-point stance, but he stood up and rushed from the OLB position more frequently. Overall, he looks a step slow off the snap, although he did use a second move to fight through blocks.

• Bronson Kaufusi: Kaufusi lined up all over the line, between the five-technique, the three-technique, and on the nose. That movement along the line shows the type of versatility he’s going to bring to the defensive line. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him stand up in some situations. Kaufusi doesn’t have a sophisticated rush approach – he just used the straight-ahead rush to create movement but was stymied for the most part. On one play, Kaufusi recognized that he couldn’t get to the QB so he tipped the ball instead.

Other Notes

• It’s a pleasure to watch Dennis Pitta run routes. His technique is simply on another level compared to the other tight ends. Take for instance his ability to drive hard on the first stem of his route to get inside leverage on Kendrick Lewis, only to break that route to the outside on the second stem to gain separation. He understands the nuances of setting defenders up, and if he can stay healthy, there’s no reason to think he won’t be able to work his way open consistently against any type of coverage. One other note on Pitta: He split out a few times as a receiver.

• Rookie Keenan Reynolds didn’t have the best showing today. He dropped a couple of passes, one being a wide-open opportunity over the middle. He was too eager to try to make a play after the catch and started running before he secured the ball. On another play, Reynolds was jammed by Kyle Arrington, disrupting his balance completely. The rookie looks smooth moving in and out of his breaks, but he has to play better because his competition (Chris Matthews, Jeremy Butler, Michael Campanaro) all made plays today.

• CB Sheldon Price had a couple of nice plays, including a pass breakup and an INT off of a deflected pass. At 6-2, he has the range and wingspan to squeeze windows.