With the Ravens holding their seventh full-squad practice and second padded workout of training camp on Wednesday, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. Even with Alejandro Villanueva back at right tackle, the offensive line was no match for a Baltimore defense constantly blitzing while practicing third-down situations. The quarterbacks had to be thankful they practice in black “no-contact” jerseys after such a mismatch. Hurry back, Ronnie Stanley and Kevin Zeitler.
2. Struggling in a pocket that was crowded all morning, Tyler Huntley threw interceptions to Anthony Averett, Marlon Humphrey, and DeShon Elliott, but the one to Elliott wasn’t the second-year quarterback’s fault. Trace McSorley handled the pressure better, but few big plays were made on offense.
3. Elliott’s pick was the play of the day, but the credit goes to Khalil Dorsey for delivering a hit and punching a perfect Huntley pass away from tight end Eli Wolf. It took quite a ricochet into the hands of Elliott, who was off to the races for a touchdown.
4. The collision of the day came when Ty’Son Williams appeared to be running out of bounds before lowering his shoulder and colliding with Averett. The running back from BYU got the best of the exchange, but the sound of the hit garnered quite a reaction from fans in attendance.
5. We’ve made mention of the somewhat quiet start to camp for Mark Andrews, but he made an acrobatic sideline catch on an overthrown pass he tapped to himself with one hand during a seven-on-seven drill. The fourth-year tight end shows great body control to make plays like that look easy.
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6. When Patrick Queen plays downhill with confidence, he’s one of the best players on the field. Wednesday was no exception as he blitzed effectively and showed good awareness in coverage. The traits are there for the 2020 first-round pick to be an impact performer if he finds more down-to-down consistency.
7. Asked how Odafe Oweh is progressing, Wink Martindale didn’t hesitate to double down on his belief that the rookie is “going to be a problem” while acknowledging his need to be more consistent with technique when the tempo increases. Oweh was a “problem” for Villanueva multiple times.
8. How excited is Martindale to see Justin Houston on the practice field? “What is it — 97 1/2 sacks? I think we can fit those in.” The Ravens are hoping to have the four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher on the field as soon as Friday if COVID-19 testing goes OK.
9. That timing coincides with Jaylon Ferguson having his best practice of camp with two pass breakups dropping into coverage. The third-year outside linebacker also blew past veteran offensive tackle Andre Smith for a pressure and brought heat a few other times. He needs more days like that.
10. Brandon Williams sat out for the second straight day and the third time in five practices, a stretch that also included the team’s day off Sunday. Williams falls into the “vet day” category of players, of course, but that seems like too much rest to chalk up to that.
11. Tavon Young hopes to finally be a full participant Friday while Iman Marshall practiced for the first time since tearing his ACL last August. Unfortunately, Nigel Warrior fell to the ground with what appeared to be a knee injury before eventually limping inside. Teams can never have enough cornerbacks.
12. Given the offensive struggles, Lamar Jackson’s return should be invigorating, but Greg Roman must juggle catching him up while advancing with everyone else. “The train has already left the station. He’s in his cabin car right now, but once he gets out of there, the train is down the road.”
