Offense has rough day of penalties, bad snaps
Trestman says struggles are part of the ‘ebb and flow’; DT Jernigan has rib injury
Given the mediocre performance of Marc Trestman’s unit in his first season as Ravens offensive coordinator, there is plenty of scrutiny in the early portion of training camp.
While more eyes seem to be on quarterback Joe Flacco, returning from a season-ending knee injury, and nearly as many on rookie left tackle Ronnie Stanley, a first-round draft pick, for how well he protects Flacco, the offense as a whole is still a question mark.
It’s too early to give any definitive answers, but after looking pretty sharp for the first two days of practice, the offense seemed to be out of sync until the very end of the 21⁄2-hour session Saturday in Owings Mills.
There were more than a handful of dropped passes, some motion penalties and a couple of bad snaps, one of which went over Flacco’s head. Though it’s often the case that the defense is ahead of the offense in the early stages of training camp, Trestman doesn’t measure it in such tangible terms.
“There is an ebb and flow to training camp,” Trestman said. “The first day the defense might have an advantage, then all of a sudden the next day the offense rolls in and they get the upper hand. That’s what you see over time, this ebb and flow.
“Some days the winner of practice is the defense, some days hopefully we get a chance to win a practice, so to speak, as we look at it. Overall, I don’t look at it as it being harder offensively than defensively to get ready. It’s just the process of getting ready.”
Trestman, who seemed to have problems getting the best out of Flacco even before the quarterback tore two ligaments in his knee during the winning drive in Week 10 over the then-St. Louis Rams, doesn’t see the 31-year-old feeling bothered by the effects of surgery and rehabilitation.
“I don’t see anything that suggests that he’s [not] heading in the right direction,” Trestman said. “He’s got a better idea how he feels, but I don’t see anything that’s inhibiting his ability to work and practice and get it done. If there was, I don’t think he’d be out there.”
As for Stanley, Trestman said, “He’s had a very good start. He’s got excellent demeanor. He understands what he’s doing in terms of his job and his assignments, his footwork. It’s just day-to-day in growing at the position. He carries himself with a quiet confidence. He’s doing good things over there, and he’s just working to get better every day.” Jernigan leaves practice: The sight of defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan leaving the field in the middle of practice to head to the training room brought back bad memories of last season. It was the first day the Ravens had put on pads.
Jernigan walked off without any help, but he seemed to be moving stiffly. After the play on which Jernigan appeared to get hurt, he looked to be grabbing at something in his back. He missed nearly three-quarters of the practice with what is being diagnosed as a minor rib injury.
A year ago, the former Florida State star who was drafted in the second round in 2014 missed chunks of the preseason with a foot and a knee injury.
After sitting out the season opener against the Denver Broncos in 2015, Jernigan played in the remaining 15 games. He finished with 37 tackles and four sacks, the same number of sacks he had in 12 games as a rookie.
Jernigan never seemed to be 100 percent healthy, and in three games — in his first game in Week 2 against the Oakland Raiders, as well as against the Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals — he didn’t make a tackle. Reynolds struggles: Former Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds, who is trying to make the transition to wide receiver and special teams player after being drafted in the sixth round, compared the early portion of his first NFL training camp to when he was a plebe in Annapolis four years ago.
“I’m not where I want to be,” Reynolds said Saturday.
Reynolds, who has always been something of a perfectionist dating to his childhood outside Nashville, Tenn., concedes that there are “good days and bad days” in trying to make the transition from college star to NFL rookie.
One of many players on offense to have problems Saturday, Reynolds struggled with his pass-catching. In one 11-on-11 drill, he dropped two short passes, though one of them was thrown slightly behind him.
“I’ve got a lot to work on. I’m just working every day, trying not to repeat the same mistakes and learn as much as I can because we’ve got a lot of veteran receivers out here who make a lot of great plays,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds appears to be making strides more quickly as a returner, the position that could be the difference between his making the 53-man roster for the season opener against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 11, winding up on the practice squad, or worse: getting cut.
Special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg said Saturday that he plans to use multiple players for punt and kick returns and that Reynolds will be given “every return opportunity we can. We need to find out about him. He needs to show us what can do as a returner.”
Said Reynolds: “I’m working as hard as I can, [getting] in the playbook, they run a lot of plays on special teams. I’m trying to learn as much as I can, where I’m supposed to be.” Rosburg “happy” to have Tucker: For obvious reasons, Rosburg was elated — and possibly a bit relieved — when kicker Justin Tucker signed a long-term deal as the July 15 deadline neared.
“I was happy for Justin, I was happy for [general manager Ozzie Newsome] and our personnel department and our organization and our fans,” Rosburg said. “And I was also happy for me and my family.”
With punter Sam Koch and long snapper Morgan Cox also signed to long-term deals, Rosburg said, “it’s really a good feeling when you come out and the first day of practice or in training camp and everything looks the same.
“These guys have done a really good job in the offseason getting ready for the start of training camp. When we came out here, they looked in season form.” End zone: Rookie wide receiver Chris Moore, who looked impressive the first two days of practice, sat out Saturday’s session for an unspecified reason. … Cornerback Jerraud Powers, who missed the first two days of practice after failing the conditioning test, practiced Saturday after passing it. The Ravens will practice again in Owings Mills today before moving to M&T Bank Stadium on Monday night for Military Appreciation Day.