I assumed that today’s practice session at 1 Winning Drive might be a bit sloppy, undermined by a hangover of sorts from Thursday’s 23-10 preseason win over the Tennessee Titans. To the delight of fans in attendance on this absolutely glorious day, that wasn’t the case. The team looked sharp.
But it didn’t start out that way for Lamar Jackson. His timing was a bit off early during the session. He sailed an intermediate in-route well over the head of Devin Duvernay and shortly thereafter hung up a deep shot intended for Makai Polk who was well behind Pepe Williams. But the poorly thrown ball allowed Williams to recover and break up the play.
The Ravens seemed to focus a bit more attention on the long ball today and regularly on the receiving end of those big shots was Rashod Bateman. Bateman is just head-and-shoulders over the rest of the WR corps. That’s not meant as a knock on the young pass catchers but more a compliment to the polish and silky-smoothness of the second-year receiver. He’s got the entire package and he and Lamar are really dialed in together. They did have one misfire early in practice when Bateman beat veteran CB Daryl Worley but the under-thrown pass allowed Worley to gain ground and come up with the PD.
The pair caught fire as practice continued. Lamar hit Bateman on a 9-route down the right sideline over a badly beaten Pepe Williams. With CB David Vereen in very tight coverage on Bateman, Lamar connected with Bateman on a beautifully thrown pass to Rashod’s back shoulder for a 20+ yard gain. Then on a deep crosser with Josh Bynes in pursuit, the pair connected again – another perfectly thrown ball that earned props from lineman Ben Powers. And one more for good measure, Lamar hit Bateman in the back of the end zone, running parallel from right to left along the end line.
Lamar also connected deep with Duvernay, once again with Pepe in coverage. The rookie CB had a rough day but the big plays he allowed only seemed to fuel his enthusiasm and determination. Jackson is throwing with confidence and authority. His mobility has not diminished despite what appears to be about 15 pounds of added muscle mass. He took off once along the left edge and glided through the secondary.
Thursday’s impressive outing seems to have given a lift to Tyler Huntley who looked much sharper today in practice than he has prior to the game against the Titans. On one play when flushed out of the pocket, Huntley juked Geno Stone so badly that the safety got twisted and fell to the ground untouched.
One-on-One Highlights
Note: I can’t stress enough how heavily slanted these drills are in favor of the offense. So keep that in mind as you continue…
• Duvernay beat Robert Jackson on a 9-route down the left sideline for a score.
• Isaiah Likely and Kyle Hamilton go at it regularly. Today was a draw. Hamilton blanketed Likely on a crosser and knocked the pass down. Later, Likely made a diving catch in the end zone on a deep pass, despite tight coverage from Hamilton.
• Likely also went up against Marlon Humphrey, and beat Marlon on a crosser until Fruit Punch showed up and knocked the ball out. It would have been ruled an incomplete pass, not a fumble.
• Andrews beat Hamilton badly on deep post corner outside the numbers to the right.
Other Observations
Of the group of young receivers, the best on the day were Polk, Jaylon Moore and Binjimen Victor. Moore made a spectacular diving catch towards the left back-end of the end zone. It was ruled out of bounds but Moore made a great play on the ball that when thrown looked like it would simply skid out of bounds…Pat Mekari ran with the 1’s at center today. Trystan Colon ran with the 2’s. You have to wonder if the Ravens were trying to send Colon a message by playing Powers at center for a bit on Thursday Night. Or, they may be showcasing Powers for a trade later this month. Time will tell…Justice Hill did a nice job in blitz pickup, stopping Jeremiah Moon in his tracks.
Several batted passes at the LOS today. Calais Campbell, Brent Urban, Broderick Washington and Moon all got in on the action…Odafe Oweh brought regular heat and would have had at least one sack, blowing the doors off a seemingly helpless Ja’Wuan James…Justin Houston was effective rushing inside the tackles…Daniel Faalele continues to impress although he was flagged for a false start…as practice finished, Jordan Stout, from about the 31 yard line, tossed a tight spiral aimed at the crossbar, 41 yards away. PING! He shoots and scores. What is it about the Ravens and punters who can throw?
The Ravens will practice again tomorrow at 1:35PM.
