Today’s practice featured more live action and situational drills with a focus on down and distance, particularly deep in the red zone. With each passing day, it becomes more and more apparent that Todd Heap is primed to have a career season. He appears to be the primary target in the red zone regardless of the situation. And even when the second team is on the field, Boller seems to lean on Wilcox and Sypniewski more so than the receivers on the outside.
Speaking of the receivers on the outside, bodies were a bit limited as Clarence Moore continues to sit out, Mark Clayton was down for the third consecutive day and Demetrius Williams was down for the second straight day. Deep reserve UDFA WR Rufus Skillern also sat out. To help fill in the depleted unit, the Ravens brought in Matt Cherry, a player with limited NFL experience. Cherry is out of Akron. The No. 3 receiver today was Romby Bryant, a player that has caught the attention of receiving mate Derrick Mason. Jamal Lewis refrained from live contact action but was available for most drills.
On the defensive side, Chris McAlister was given the morning off but was in attendance and helped with his secondary mates. David Pittman returned but seemed to be favoring an aggravated hamstring, particularly after he was torched by Devard Darling on a deep post during one on one drills. Unfortunately, Darling dropped the ball.
Darling has been solid throughout camp, and today in live scrimmaging deep in the red zone, he caught a perfectly thrown pass from Kyle Boller in the corner of the end zone. Both players congratulated each other. Despite great coverage from Derrick Martin, the execution was flawless.
The offensive line play has been solid in both pass and run blocking. The left side of the line with Adam Terry and Edwin Mulitalo seemed to do a fine job in short yardage and goal line situations. The pair along with Mike Flynn sprung open a gaping hole for Mike Anderson at the 20 yard line and Anderson took it to the house.
During red zone live action, it is clear why Steve McNair will be effective for the Ravens. He provides a calmness under pressure that hasn’t been seen in these parts since Bert Jones led the Colts in the 70’s. McNair stands tall and erect calmly surveying the field despite the chaos that envelopes him. On one play behind very good protection, McNair play faked a dive at the 2 only to find his primary (Heap) covered. On the play, Heap released to the right side towards the end line. Recognizing the coverage Heap redirected his route along the end line towards the goal post. McNair calmly delivered the ball for the score. Later Heap made a nice block on a 2 point conversion run by Musa Smith.
While it’s clear that McNair’s arm can’t compete with Boller’s he knows what needs to be done to move the chains and while his passes may often be dinks and dunks, he places the ball in a way that allows his pass catchers to make plays, gain yards after the catch and keep drives alive, something that the defense will grow to appreciate.
Boller threw the ball well and rifled a few passes into tight spots. Both he and McNair have been effective at drawing the defense offsides particularly in third and short situations with hard counts. The offensive line has shown better discipline and they’ve held firm. After one productive hard count producing a first down, Brian Billick exclaimed, “That’s too easy!”
On the defensive side, Ronnie Prude continues to impress. I spoke with Prude after practice along with secondary coach Mark Carrier. Those interviews will be up in our multimedia section early this afternoon.
Corey Ivy ran with the first unit in place of Chris McAlister. On the second live play of the morning, Musa Smith ran right with Ngata in pursuit. Ngata and Ray Lewis on the stop…that could be something you’ll hear often in 2006. Smith was brought down for a loss of one. The defensive line depth and rotation is impressive and there’s a chance that a good football player might not make the final 53.
Other observations: Both Sam Koch and Leo Araguz had fine days punting. Koch is a bit lengthier and has a bit more hang time where Araguz gets the ball off a bit more quickly; Matt Katula’s job does not appear to be at risk whatsoever. He has been pretty much flawless while Landon Schrage has been inconsistent.
One Ravens’ official has shared with me that the organization is very pleased with the improved chemistry and camaraderie on the club. Several of the players are putting in extra time in the gym and the commitment has been contagious. There seems to be a lot more communication amongst players not on the field. It’s a bit of “Hey, what did you see out there?” and “When he goes there, know that I’ll do this…”, etc., etc. Brian Billick not only during this camp but also during OTA’s has said repeatedly to his squad regardless of position but often to his secondary, “Talk to each other.”
Towards the end of practice, Dan Cody suffered a minor ankle injury and walked off on his own toward the trainer’s room. Brian Billick ended the practice at 10:05 today after Matt Stover hit a long field goal that just got over the cross bar. Better to bank on Matt Stover than to bank on offensive linemen catching punts (see Seattle Seahawks and Mike Holmgren).
