It’s beginning to look a lot like football!
NFL Preseason Week 1 is here!
📱Watch live out-of-market preseason games at home or on the go, streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/HXEwno4TMA
— NFL (@NFL) August 5, 2024
We finally have a full slate of NFL football this week, albeit preseason ball, and it’s finally starting to feel like we’re getting back to some normalcy in the NFL world. Camps are in full swing, position battles are going on, guys are scrapping in the summer heat at joint practices…
#Giants and #Lions players got into a scuffle during their joint practice today. That time of year…
(🎥 @SNYGiants)pic.twitter.com/eJCcofpQkg
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 5, 2024
Good times! The Ravens don’t have their joint practices until their road trip to Green Bay in the third week of the preseason, so don’t expect to see your guys out there throwing down anytime soon. For now, Baltimore is eyeing down a preseason matchup against the Eagles on Friday, an opponent they’ll see again in December when the games count. Going into the game, the major stories to watch will be the appearance of this new-look O-line, and how the new arrivals figure into the equation.
With Linderbaum sidelined, Ravens had Ben Cleveland working at center. He’s been taking center reps since OTAs but he got longest look today.
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) August 5, 2024
Ravens first depth chart has Andrew Vorhees at LG, Daniel Faalele at RG and Pat Mekari at RT. It’s just heading into preseason. Vets usually get the benefit of the doubt. Roger Rosengarten is second on depth chart at RT. This could be a rotational situation at some point.
— Morgan Adsit (@MorganAdsit) August 4, 2024
Let’s start by briefly talking about one of the new arrivals I’m most excited to watch: Tez Walker. Rookie receivers haven’t always seen the best results in their first seasons in Baltimore (an understatement, I know), and I expect that Tez’s workload will be light behind the major trio of Flowers, Bateman and Agholor. Still, he’s looked great in the early workouts this season, mostly against the second team, and made his return to practice yesterday after missing some time. He also made a great downfield grab with some impressive separation (if you’re willing to overlook Eddie Jackson getting back there for a would-be sack).
Rookie WR Devontez Walker is back at Ravens camp. Another day of high temps and full pads. pic.twitter.com/x0bV4V5mCZ
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) August 5, 2024
Rookie breaks free 🔥@Head8cke ➡️ @DevontezWalker pic.twitter.com/MhRLm5gMrm
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 5, 2024
I’m looking forward to seeing what Tez can do against live competition. Even if he doesn’t represent a major piece in this year’s offense, he could make for a dangerous chess piece in the pass game when Todd Monken decides to put him out there.
Now onto the O-line. For what it’s worth, Coach Harbaugh had mentioned earlier in the offseason that we’d likely begin to see the O-line take shape around the middle of Training Camp, which would put us right about where we are now on the calendar. With Tyler Linderbaum continuing to nurse a soft tissue injury, you’ll see a rotation at center for the time being, so it may take some time to see what the interior of that unit is actually going to look like. Still, if there are glaring mistakes or tons of pressure in the backfield on Friday night, you can expect to see a different look in their second matchup against the Falcons. If you’re planning on hitting one of those games, you could be among the first to see some of the newest improvements to The Bank.
Check out our new digs 👀🔥 pic.twitter.com/ds5WVMkpPO
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 5, 2024
Since I don’t want my wallet ending up on IR, I probably won’t be visiting The Blackwing anytime soon, but the new facilities certainly bring some cool improvements into M&T. If all goes according to plan, I’ll be down in the lower bowl with the rest of the Flock, sweating profusely while we all bake in the August sun.
And I wouldn’t have it any other way. Football is BACK!
