More to watch in 2nd week of OTAs
Progress of team’s injured players, play of rookies among notable storylines
The Ravens’ second week of organized team activities will begin today, with Wednesday’s workout open to the media.
While we learned a little last week about quarterback Joe Flacco’s adjustment to coordinator Marc Trestman’s version of the West Coast offense, Timmy Jernigan’s ascension to the starting defensive line and just how much longer 36-year-old wide receiver Steve Smith might play in the NFL, all of that news has been sufficiently discussed and dissected.
Here are a few new things to watch for during this week’s set of voluntary practices:
Progress on injuries
Aside from the quadriceps injury that wide receiver Michael Campanaro (River Hill) suffered, last week brought some positive injury news for the Ravens. Most players coming off seasonending injuries or offseason surgeries participated in some fashion.
Cornerback Jimmy Smith, who had foot surgery in November, felt good enough to tie the red noncontact jersey around his waist and battle with wide receivers. Defensive end Kapron LewisMoore (Achilles tendon) rushed the passer. Cornerback Asa Jackson (knee) got extensive reps on the outside.
Tight end Dennis Pitta (hip) and
safety Terrence Brooks (knee) were in uniform and ran around on their own. They remain far from healthy, but just having them out on the field this early has to be viewed as a positive.
Running back Lorenzo Taliaferro (foot), inside linebacker C.J. Mosley (wrist) and long snapper Morgan Cox (knee) also were working.
Training camp is still about a month and a half away, but the Ravens have to feel good about the progress of several of their rehabilitating players. They’ll feel even better if they can get through the next couple of weeks without any setbacks.
Attendance
Seventy-two of the Ravens’ 90 players participated in last week’s OTAs. While some teams around the NFL reported near-perfect attendance, the Ravens’ 18 absences were hardly surprising.
Rookies Breshad Perriman, Maxx Williams and Buck Allen were at the NFL Players Association’s Rookie Premiere event. Undrafted free-agent center Nick Easton (Harvard) and the team’s fifthround draft pick, tight end Nick Boyle (Delaware), had college graduation festivities this past week. Defensive end Brent Urban was at a funeral service for his grandfather. Campanaro is injured, while right tackle Rick Wagner (foot) still is rehabbing.
Several veterans, including outside linebackers Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil, guard Marshal Yanda and defensive end Chris Canty, traditionally have stayed away from OTAs to work out on their own and get ready for mandatory minicamp, which is June 16-18.
The Ravens don’t spend much time worrying about who isn’t practicing, but it will be interesting to see whether attendance increases or decreases over the next two weeks. In the past, some veterans have come for the first OTAs, then disappeared for the couple of weeks before mandatory minicamp.
Improvement on OL
Ravens offensive line coach Juan Castillo loves teaching and developing players. He has his offensive linemen out on the field for practice before the rest of the team and keeps them out there later than everybody else.
If last week’s OTAs were any indication, he’ll have plenty of work to do with several of the team’s younger linemen. To be fair, there wasn’t a single projected starting offensive lineman participating in last week’s OTAs, so inexperienced blockers or rookies found themselves matched up against Brandon Williams, Courtney Upshaw and Jernigan. Rookie guard Robert Myers, a fifth-round pick, and guardtackle Marcel Jones, who spent part of last season on the practice squad, were particularly — and perhaps predictably — overmatched.
The Ravens’ top seven offensive linemen appear set, with John Urschel and James Hurst serving as the primary backups for Eugene Monroe, Kelechi Osemele, Jeremy Zuttah, Yanda and Wagner. But injuries can hit at any time, and you never know whether Myers, Jones and Ryan Jensen will be needed to step into prominent roles at some point. Remember, Urschel, a fifthround pick, and Hurst, an undrafted free agent, started both playoff games for the Ravens last season.
Schaub’s comfort level
Matt Schaub, the veteran quarterback who was signed after Flacco’s longtime backup, Tyrod Taylor, signed with the Buffalo Bills, was impressive in how he communicated with coaches and receivers. He remained engaged at practice even when he wasn’t getting repetitions. His experience, professionalism and personality should serve Flacco well.
Ultimately, though, Schaub will have to be ready if Flacco, who hasn’t missed a game in his career, cannot play. Schaub short-hopped several throws and lacked zip on some others. He’s obviously working in a new offense and with new coaches and teammates, so it would be unfair to expect him to be razor-sharp at this point of the offseason.
But Schaub’s shortcomings — along with his problems turning the ball over — are impossible to ignore. Like most undisputed starters, Flacco won’t play a ton in the preseason, so Schaub will get plenty of opportunities to prove that he can be counted on if pressed into action.
Several rookies will return
Much of the post-workout discussion last week centered on Flacco’s work with offensive coordinator Trestman and a host of new weapons, even though several of the Ravens’ offseason additions weren’t practicing.
Perriman, Williams and Allen all should be back on the field this week. Boyle could be as well. They’ll join a young group that already includes sixth-round pick Darren Waller and undrafted rookie DeAndre Carter, who was the talk of rookie minicamp.
With so many newcomers, the progress of the Ravens’ offense will be the team’s biggest storyline this summer. It was tough to glean much from last week’s session, with the rookies elsewhere, Campanaro sidelined and not a single starting offensive lineman present. Perhaps this week will show a little more.
If nothing else, the team’s wide receiver competition, which is in its infancy, will be even more interesting to monitor.