A number of players received a veteran day off Friday and they missed a great day to practice. Practice was dry but overcast with mild temperatures.
By my count, 18 Ravens did not practice on Friday. Those fall into 3 categories:
Assumed to have received veteran day off (7): Kamar Aiken, Justin Forsett, Eric Weddle, Albert McClellan, Jeremy Zuttah, Marshal Yanda, and Ben Watson
Injured (6): Chris Moore, Maurice Canady, Crocket Gillmore, Dennis Pitta, Bronson Kafausi, and Tim Jernigan
On the PUP List (5): Breshad Perriman, Lorenzo Taliaferro, Terrell Suggs, Elvis Dumervil, and Steve Smith
Practice began with punt returns and Keenan Reynolds had a new role as the personal protector for Sam Koch. That is a job formerly held by Anthony Levine, but Reynolds’ presence there would give the Ravens a dangerous fake option. Keenan did not return any punts (Michael Campanaro and Kaelin Clay split the duty).
However, when the ST practice turned to kickoffs, Clay, Young, Reynolds, and newcomer Stephen Houston took turns on returns. Reynolds and Young were the most impressive of the group. All of the returners completed their lateral movement to the ball prior to the catch, but Young and Reynolds caught the ball at chest height with some forward momentum. While Clay caught the ball cleanly each time, he didn’t always have that forward momentum.
After the promising day as a returner, Reynolds had another difficult day as a receiver. Here are my notes:
—Joe Flacco for Reynolds PD by Jerraud Powers on left sideline–Reynolds unable to recollect going out of bounds
–Flacco for Reynolds incomplete between numbers and left hash with coverage from Shareece Wright
–in 3-on-3 drill: Reynolds drop from Flacco 5 yards between left numbers and hash
I don’t note every short reception, but I try to note long ones as well as good play by the defenders. Part of the problem for Reynolds is separation.
I watched the entire defense perform a drill where they hit a pad and hold the opponent up for a moment, then release to one side before cutting back to a dummy. Each player was able to perform the drill once to each side and Dean Pees had some colorful but understandable comments:
–“We’re stopping our feet on contact” (emphasizing the need for the defender to continue to churn his feet through contact)
–“We’re jumping off our block too quick”
–“There ain’t one guy on this defense who this doesn’t work for; Everyone is in this position.”
Pees also spent time with the defensive linemen emphasizing the need to avoid extra shuffle steps out of their stance against the blocking sled, but rather to set their leverage appropriately and step directly into their block, an important skill in short yardage in particular. It was all fundamental and concise.
Another entertaining positional drill was the gauntlet for wide receivers. Each player tries to run past the other receivers with a football tucked high and tight and must avoid fumbling. Most spin through to make the strip more difficult for their teammates, but Clay and Jacobs each lost the football to a chorus of jeers.
The offensive line was reconfigured with veteran days off for Zuttah and Yanda. From left to right, it was Stanley/Hurst/Urschel/Ducasse/Wagner. It was interesting that Ryan Jensen was not promoted to the first unit for the day, but I guess the coaches wanted him to continue to practice at center and also give John Urschel a day there with the first team with Zuttah out. The 2nd unit was also changed with Clausell taking over at LT and Lewis moving back inside to play LG after 2 days at LT.
Standouts for the day included:
—Brandon Williams who got penetration on several run plays. At one point, he and Kapron Lewis-Moore surrounded Terrance West for a 5-yard loss and celebrated briefly in the backfield.
—Will Davis recovered a fumble by West. Several plays later he delivered the hardest hit of the day on Dobson Collins to dislodge a 15-yard completion down the right sideline. He was quick to wrap Maxx Williams on a slant pass in 7-on-7 and pressed Collins off his feet in 3-on-3.
–Victor Ochi is a rare sculpted rookie and the most likely UDFA to make the team. His high motor has drawn retaliation from some offensive lineman, including a brief scuffle with Anthony Fabiano today. He jumped offsides once, and lost the edge to Maxx Williams on a run left, but his size and leverage make him an intriguing pass rush option who could be effective against taller offensive tackles. The top end of low-center, high-motor, muscular edge rushers is James Harrison. We can always dream.
—Terrence Brooks had a potential pick-6 in 7-on-7, neatly collecting a pass from Flacco that was tipped by Darren Waller.
–Waller subsequently beat Kamalei Correa for a long Touchdown from Flacco in the right corner.
In the 2-minute drill segment, Flacco put together an effortless drive with the first team that fell just short when he was intercepted by Kendrick Lewis at the goal line. The defense held on for a 56-48 win that probably would have been a narrow offensive victory had they converted.