Ravens cornerback Terrell Bonds found his moment to shine at the expense of quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Bonds, an undrafted rookie from Tennessee State, intercepted Jackson twice in the end zone during mandatory minicamp drills June 12.
However, Jackson bounced back both times with touchdowns passes on the ensuing opportunities. He also completed three of four passes in an 11-on-11 drill.
Overall, the Ravens offense looked much crisper on the second day of practice. Jackson’s passes were much tighter and had more zip as he hit open receivers for much of the practice.
“We want to see execution, whether it’s from pre-snap, alignments, cadence, time of the snap count, operating all the changes we make at the line of scrimmage, throwing, catching, blocking things the right way, footwork, all those things,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “You can’t work the whole offense in three days, but we want to look like we know what we’re doing.
“Since it’s a new offense with, really, a new cast of characters, including Lamar because it’s new for him, too. It’s not like you have a quarterback that’s been in the offense for five years operating with new guys. It’s really new for everybody, so every practice is really vitally important.”
Jackson hit second-year receiver Jaleel Scott in stride as he ran down the far sideline for a touchdown. Despite a couple of hiccups, the offense is playing much better.
Jackson is clearly taking more of a leadership role. His teammates appear to rally around him when he’s behind center during drills.
“Lamar has taken a big step maturity-wise, like I said, being a leader,” left tackle Ronnie Stanley said. “But beyond that, he’s been the same person he is. He hasn’t gotten big-headed over anything. He’s still the same guy, and he’s really good for us.”
Running back Mark Ingram has shown great burst and is clearly going to add another dimension to the ground attack. Ingram also caught several passes out of the backfield, and once he gets downhill, he will be difficult to stop. Perhaps most importantly, Ingram runs hard every snap and is setting a fine example for the other younger running backs. If Ingram stays healthy, he will be a force this season.
Tight end Mark Andrews has taken the next step with his development and is playing with a swagger. Andrews is dominating defenders and catching every ball thrown his way.
In addition to Bonds, linebacker Chris Board shined on defense and was particularly effective in pass coverage. He’ll battle Kenny Young for a starting role.
Justin Tucker converted a pair of field goals from 63 and 58 yards. However, he had missed a pair of attempts from about 50 yards and another 60-yarder. Fellow kicker Kaare Vedvik has been mostly inconsistent.
Receiver Marquise Brown, defensive tackle Michael Pierce, guard/tackle Alex Lewis, cornerback/returner Cyrus Jones and guard Patrick Mekari did not practice. With Jones out, Willie Snead IV, Joe Horn Jr and Tyler Ervin took reps returning the football. Cornerback Tavon Young is also emerging as an option to return punts, according to special teams coach Chris Horton.
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