Rashod Bateman and Ronnie Stanley Fire Shots (in a professional manner)
"Very detail-oriented team. From the head coach to OC to receivers coach, everybody harps on the details and the small things. That's just not what we were in the past."
On Marlon Humphrey's recent conversations he's overheard while observing Declan Doyle's offense:
"I would just probably say he's hearing a different variety of information from the coaches that he hasn't received here. Our coaches are very communicative, very talkative, very informative ... that's what we've never had here."
Ronnie Stanley had similar comments relating to detail. There have been somewhat similar sentiments on the defensive side of the football, but Bateman, Stanley, Lamar Jackson are three tenured offensive players in Baltimore who clearly feel that the previous regime lacked the attention to detail requisite of a champion. This is all pretty big talk, which will require bigger walk. The words are sharp, fresh, yet still maintain professionalism. To me, it means the offensive players are bought in more than they were previously. That’s half the battle.
The big picture: Flores and Minter won the week
Let’s not overcomplicate it. Brian Flores brought his blitz-heavy defense down on Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offense for two straight days, and both days the pressure won. Thursday was the more lopsided of the two. Jesse Minter, who knows the value of the test better than anyone, put it plainly that nobody in the league pressures more than Flo. A new offense under coordinator Declan Doyle got two full sessions against one of the nastiest fronts in football and didn’t find consistent answers.
Here is the part I keep landing on: that is good for the Ravens, even if it stung. You want to see this look now, in August, on a back field in Minnesota, and not for the first time in a game that counts. The tape from these two days is worth more than a clean, feel-good practice against your own scout team would have been.
The pressure was real, but the sack count lies
Here is your anti-panic PSA, because the number is going to travel all weekend. Yes, Lamar got harassed for two straight days. Yes, the offensive line got beaten, with Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner getting home repeatedly. That is fair and it matters. But before you repeat whatever gaudy sack total shows up on your timeline, remember three things: Lamar was never live, defenders could not finish him, and he is one of the few quarterbacks alive who turns half of those would-be sacks into positive plays. He also made a point of not scrambling and conserving his legs in a practice setting that doesn’t count. So plenty of those “sacks” are plays he escapes on Sundays.
Take the pressure seriously. The line has real work to do. Just don’t take the raw number literally, because it overstates the problem by a wide margin.
The bright spot up front: Vega Ioane held the wall
Amid all the pressure, the rookie first-round guard did not blink on Wednesday. Multiple stonewalls in pass protection against Minnesota’s interior, and by the beat’s read, the heat simply was not coming from the right guard spot. On a line that spent two days getting tested and just lost its projected starting center, a rookie guard looking stout is a genuine data point, not camp-hype filler. If you’re hunting for reasons to feel okay about the trenches, start here.
The counterweight: the secondary balled out
The offense’s struggles will dominate the takes, so let’s give the other side of the ball its due, because the Ravens defense was legitimately excellent.
Nate Wiggins was arguably the best Raven on the field Wednesday, plucking a deep shot away from Jefferson and then breaking up an even deeper one to Jordan Addison on the next snap. Marlon Humphrey added a delayed-blitz sack and a near-interception, Bilhal Kone picked one off in one-on-ones, and the young corner room kept playing older than its résumé.
Keyon Martin has had an excellent camp and dominated in the Ravens preseason opener. That continued throughout these joint practices with his physicality and confidence on display at the stem of routes and through the catch point.
The respect ran both ways, too. Kevin O'Connell said he wanted this matchup specifically because Minter's scheme "makes it murky," praising the zone-pressure looks that gave his offense trouble. When the opposing head coach is complimenting your defensive design, that counts for something. The one blemish worth noting for balance: Vikings corner James Pierre, who is Lamar's cousin, came down with a diving interception on a fourth-down heave Thursday. Family bragging rights go north for a week.
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