The Ravens returned to the practice field at the Under Armor Performance Center in Owings Mills for day 16 of camp under sunny skies with temperatures sitting in the low 80’s.
Donned in full pads, players began practice performing positional drills before seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 full team drills.
Missing in Action
OLB Elvis Dumervil, WR Steve Smith Sr., Wr Breshad Perriman and RB Lorenzo Taliaferro all remain on the physically unable to perform list.
TE Dennis Pitta (sprained thumb), TE Maxx Williams (unknown), S Kendrick Lewis (unknown), CB Tavon Young (hamstring), CB Kyle Arrington (unknown), TE Daniel Brown (unknown), OL John Urschel (contusion), OL Rick Wagner, CB Sheldon Price, CB Sam Brown did not participate in Tuesday’s practice.
Studs of the Day
After a relatively quiet outing against the Carolina Panthers last week, rookie Kamalei Correa was once again turning heads at practice. Correa was a handful rushing the passer and against the run with the second-team defense. The rookie linebacker, playing at both inside linebacker and on the outside, recorded several tackles for losses, including one against Kenneth Dixon after exploding through the offensive line into the backfield. Against the pass, he was nearly as impressive, hurrying the quarterback on several occasions.
Running back Justin Forsett has been quiet because of the noise surrounding the other members of the running back corps. On Tuesday, however, he excelled as a pass catcher out of the backfield. Forsett caught several short passes and extended them into big gains, showing shiftiness in the open field. During 11-on-11 drills, the veteran running back exploded across the middle of the field, hauling in a perfect pass from Flacco one-handed and scampered for a long touchdown reception.
With second team safety Kendrick Lewis once again absent from practice, former first round draft pick Matt Elam is making the most of his reps in his place. Elam once again hauled in an interception and recorded several passes defended. Elam faces an uphill battle to make the 53-man roster, but he has done a lot to help himself the last few practices.
Duds of the Day
It’s never good when your center stands out. Which is exactly why Jeremy Zuttah leads the Duds of the Day category today. The veteran center appeared to have trouble making adjustments at the line and had several botched snaps causing hurries or Joe Flacco throwaways. It’s the first time this camp we’ve seen him be errant, so there’s no cause for worry yet. We’ll keep an eye on it as camp presses on.
Cornerback Will Davis was picked on throughout the morning and struggled mightily. He allowed several long receptions and appeared lost in coverage. With Price and Sam Brown out again, Davis is getting noticed for all the wrong reasons.
Play of the Day
During the two-minute drill portion of practice, on 3rd & 10 from the defenses 38 yard line, Flacco underthrew a wide open Mike Wallace down the left sideline who beat Jimmy Smith clearly. Flacco’s pass bounced off Smith and into the hands of Wallace, who then crossed the goal line for a touchdown.
Other Observations
Rookie wide receiver Chris Moore returned to practice on Tuesday and appeared to be practicing without restrictions. During positional drills, Moore flew through his routes and had no troubles cutting up field.
Terrell Suggs saw a bit more action today than Monday. The veteran linebacker once again took part in positional drills and also saw a few reps during 11-on-11 drills. While it was clear Suggs wasn’t going at game speed, he appears in shape and had no troubles with his movements.
With right tackle Rick Wagner and left guard John Urschel both sidelined from practice, Vladimir Ducasse split reps at guard with rookie Alex Lewis. De’Ondre Wesley filled in for Wagner at right tackle.
During special team drills, coordinator Jerry Rosburg had his returners holding two – and sometimes three – footballs in their hands while attempting to catch kickoffs from a Juggs machine. Michael Campanaro fared the best, hauling in two kickoffs.
Jeremy Butler should get extra money for making Ryan Mallett look good during Tuesday’s practice. Butler did all he could to catch Mallet’s errant passes including several diving grabs and shoestring receptions.
Former Raven greats Rob Burnett and Matt Stover were in attendance during practice. They joined former New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin and former Eagles and 49ers kicker David Akers who were also in attendance. Harbaugh stated Akers will be with the team for the next few days helping the kickers.
The funniest moment of practice occurred during the first 11-on-11 team drill of the day. Safety Eric Weddle snuck into the offensive huddle while Flacco was giving the play. Flacco quickly noticed and smacked Weddle in the helmet yelling at him to leave all while the two were cracking up.
Flachometer
Joe Flacco got off to a rocky start in practice with a few throws, but was quick to right all of his wrongs as practice wore on. Flacco had several impressive throws at all levels of the field. While he did overthrow Wallace on two plays, the duo connected on several occasions. Joe Cool’s footwork is crisp and clean. Even when he was flushed out of the pocket today, he made some stellar bullet passes to his wideouts.
Quote of the Day
“Throw the damn flag! Illegal defensive formation! Throw the flag!” special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg to the referee during kickoff drills.
On Deck
The Ravens will be back out on the practice field beginning at 8:45 a.m. for day 17 of camp.
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