The Ravens defense dominated most of Sunday’s training camp practice, especially along the line of scrimmage. The standout player was tackle Willie Henry, who repeatedly got penetration to stymie both the running and passing games.
This is a big year for Henry, who is in his fourth season out of Michigan. He has always been one of the team’s quickest players, but appears to have added some strength in the offseason. The Ravens need him to step up and play well alongside nose tackles Brandon Williams and Michael Pierce. Now, if Chris Wormley, in his third season out of Michigan, can improve, that will fortify the Ravens up front and give them balance.
Wormley has the necessary physical attributes but needs to gain more mental toughness.
Offense out of sync
Offenses are supposed to operate better as time goes on, but the Ravens had six illegal-procedure penalties before the final 45 minutes of practice. Coach John Harbaugh was clearly irritated, and so was quarterback Lamar Jackson.
The Ravens had so many problems with the snap count that it reminded me of when former left tackle Michael Oher played in Baltimore and he struggled with his timing. After three practices, the Ravens offense should be getting better. Instead, they just looked out of sync and, at times, tired.
No love?
Former Ravens coach Brian Billick attended practice Sunday, and you would figure many people would recognize him as the coach who led the franchise to their first Super Bowl title.
But there was very little chatter. Billick basically went unnoticed. I guess it’s not what have you done for me, but what have you done for me lately.
Gearing up
The Ravens practiced for 2 hours and 20 minutes in full gear, which was surprising considering they had a late-afternoon practice Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium.
But maybe Harbaugh was just trying to get his team ready for games on Sunday afternoons. It will be interesting to see whether the Ravens are in shorts Monday morning before the players get the day off Tuesday.
Another chance
Defensive line coach Joe Cullen has had some off-field problems in the past, including being fined $20,000 by the NFL for “conduct detrimental to the league" after two offseason arrests when he was with the Detroit Lions in 2006. But those within the Ravens organization say he has regrouped and moved on with his life. Hopefully, he gets a shot at being a coordinator before he is done coaching.
He is respected within the league and his players play hard for him.
Like father, like son
Second-year right tackle Orlando Brown Jr is starting to look more and more like his late father, Orlando Sr. They even stand the same way on the field, even though his father was more menacing and slightly bigger.
But Zeus Jr. has gotten better. He is quicker, faster and more explosive than in 2018. Harbaugh has Brown running on the second team because he initially failed the team’s conditioning test and missed the first practice of training camp, but this is just a Harbaugh punishment.
This ploy is fooling no one. If Brown isn’t the Ravens’ starting right tackle Week 1, then this team is in trouble.
This could work
I like when the Ravens fake a handoff and roll Jackson to the right and have him throw to a receiver down the left sideline. When Jackson rolls to the right, the entire defense has to move with him, so this play should be effective, much like a quarterback draw with Jackson within the opponent’s 10-yard line.
Well, the draw will at least work against bad defensive teams like the Cincinnati Bengals. The good ones will shut it down, especially after they have seen the play about four or five times.
Block party
Harbaugh likes running backs that can pass protect, and Mark Ingram II might be the best. He has super quick feet and strong arms and hands for a running back.
Meanwhile, rookie Justice Hill needs some work as far as adding weight and muscle. If he isn’t coming out of the backfield to catch passes, he is going to be a liability trying to block pass rushers.
A little too quiet
The Ravens could use a few nasty guys on offense.
The defensive players want to establish themselves as being nasty, hard-hitters and they have stretched some of the receivers out in practices. With few exceptions, the Ravens haven’t retaliated. Tight end Mark Andrews doesn’t back down, and neither does left tackle Ronnie Stanley, but that’s about it.
If receiver Steve Smith Sr. were still on the roster, he would have gone after safeties Tony Jefferson, Earl Thomas III and Chuck Clark by now. So far, there hasn’t been a fight in training camp. That’s unusual.
Standing tall?
Rookie quarterback Trace McSorley took repetitions with the second team filling in for the injured Robert Griffin III, and he had a lot of passes knocked down. McSorley is only 6 feet, but the pressure from the defensive line caused more trouble than his height.