With the Ravens winning the second preseason game in a 13-3 final in Minnesota on Saturday afternoon, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. Both defenses excelled, which aligns with how the joint practices went earlier in the week. Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores unleashed plenty of blitzes and challenging looks, which were beneficial for offensive coordinator and first-time play-caller Declan Doyle to see as much as anyone.
2. Jovaughn Gwyn started and played at center until Ethan Pocic entered late in the first half. Before Danny Pinter’s injury, I began to wonder if the plan was for him to start early on as Pocic continued working back to full strength on short-term IR. This week should be telling.
3. Lining up against third-string offensive tackle Henry Byrd during the third defensive drive, Mike Green wreaked havoc with a sack and a quarterback hit on back-to-back snaps. You wanted to see the second-year edge rusher really stand out against backups, and he certainly did.
4. The Ravens went three-and-out six times, so there was an abundance of work for Ryan Eckley, who had two 59-yard punts and two 60-yard punts. You’re hoping not to need your punter too often, but the rookie showed off his very strong leg.
5. The opening drive wasn’t pretty for Vega Ioane, who was flagged for holding and surrendered a pressure. He committed only one penalty for Penn State all last season, but there are bound to be some hiccups for the talented rookie right guard. He’ll be fine.
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6. Tyler Loop connected from 49 yards on his first field goal try, later made a 20-yarder, and was complimented by Jesse Minter for his kickoffs after the game. Nothing special, but you wanted to see Loop have a clean game, especially kicking in an indoor stadium.
7. Ethan Burke registered a sack, a forced fumble, another quarterback hit, two passes defensed, and a special-teams tackle. He and Dominic DeLuca — who was all over the field early — are the two undrafted rookies standing out in regards to pushing for a 53-man spot. They’re great practice-squad candidates at least.
8. While the attention is understandably on the starting center job, the top reserve guard spot is between Emery Jones and Andrew Vorhees. The latter started at left guard Saturday after Jones started the preseason opener. I can’t say I’ve been particularly impressed with either.
9. It was disappointing that Adam Randall missed Saturday’s game with a “minor” ailment, per Minter. Given Randall’s college transition from wide receiver and the state of the running back picture behind Derrick Henry, these are valuable live-game reps for the rookie to develop into a game-day option sooner than later.
10. J.J. McCarthy reminded everyone why Minnesota went out and got Kyler Murray to be the starting quarterback this offseason. The Ravens defense made him uncomfortable, but he missed multiple wide-open throws in his quarter of action. Ugly stuff from the former first-round pick.
811. This is my annual suggestion for the NFL to morph lousy preseason games into a showcase event featuring a controlled scrimmage for starters — what joint practices bring — and then a 30-minute game for rookies and backups. At least paying customers would actually get to see starters do something of interest.
12. News of Rashod Bateman’s family violence arrest in June reinforces how disappointing the return on the investment made in him has been on the field and now off it. The allegations could have led to termination for someone coming off a career-worst season anyway. Minter declined comment after the game.
