Ravens observations: Defenses shine in spicy joint practice with Minnesota Vikings

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EAGAN, Minn. — Safety Keondre Jackson lit the fire under the pot. His buddy cornerback Keyon Martin got it boiling over as the Ravens’ first joint practice with the Vikings resulted in a scrum.

The two former undrafted rookie free agents had been duking it out with Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Terrill Davis and cornerback Da’Veawn Armstead in special teams drills. Every rep featured lots of contact and shoving through the whistle. But, when Martin and Armstead got tangled up, it appeared Martin threw a punch. The sidelines cleared.

“Oftentimes, like in special teams, it’s like everybody around and it gets a little bit more chaotic there,” said Ravens coach Jesse Minter, who said previously he doesn’t tolerate doing anything in practice that would get you thrown out of a regular-season game. “We try to do a really good job keeping those guys back.”

Pro Bowl safety Kyle Hamilton added that no one comes to fight, and he’s glad “nothing really popped off like that,” but “everybody’s grown men out here, and if you feel somebody tried you a certain way, and you feel like you need to do something about it, do something about it.”

The aggression characterized practice for both teams. Offensive lineman John Simpson stood over a Vikings defensive lineman in another dustup.

Between whistles, both the Ravens’ and the Vikings’ defenses brought the heat. Vikings defensive backs were staying tight and being physical with Ravens wide receivers. Ravens defensive backs were flying all over the field and attempting to punch out balls.

Minter was happy with the competitive fire, especially on his side of the field.

“I thought, on defense, really liked the way we played at the line of scrimmage,” Minter said. “Thought we were all over the place, just doing a good job, being physical, getting to our run fits, playing well in coverage.”

The defenses were the stars of the show on both fields.

Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores made sure Ravens quarterbacks had no peace, constantly blitzing and pressuring. As a result, the Ravens offense had to get the ball out quickly and didn’t have many explosive plays.

“Nobody probably pressures more in the league than Flo,” Minter said. “He does a phenomenal job.”

On the field where the Ravens defense took on the Vikings offense, constant cheering erupted from the Ravens’ sideline. The players treated every good play with the enthusiasm of a turnover, and they had plenty of pass breakups to celebrate.

Cornerback Marlon Humphrey had a dropped interception and batted away another pass. Cornerback Nate Wiggins got his hands on the ball and was sticky in coverage.

Safety Keondre Jackson forced an incompletion out of bounds. Cornerback Bilhal Kone had an interception in one-on-ones. Martin “proves himself more and more every day,” Hamilton said, and rookie cornerback Chandler Martin was communicating “as loud as Marlon.”

“We have a younger DB room, but you know guys play past their age,” Hamilton said.

They dominated for most of the day, but Kyler Murray and the Vikings offense found the end zone on the final few plays of practice, including a touchdown on which wide receiver Justin Jefferson beat a double team.

“Would have liked to finish the practice a little bit better the last couple two-minute situations, but overall definitely pleased with the physicality,” Minter said.

Those reps also gave the Ravens a chance to develop their “goldfish memory,” Hamilton said, teaching the players how to rebound when something doesn’t go their way, which is going to happen when you’re facing a good team.

While the Vikings scored on both two-minute-drill attempts after being stifled, the Ravens could not do the same.

Starting reps

Ravens offensive coordinator Declan Doyle will have the advantage of being an unknown quantity only for one season. As such, in addition to sitting most of their starting players, the Ravens are holding back Doyle’s best play calls.

Therefore, joint practices are the only times the new coaching staff gets to call plays with its starters against an opponent, and it’s the only time the starters will get reps in the preseason.

“It’s fun practicing against somebody ... other than yourself and seeing new releases as DBs and new running backs and new quarterbacks, and it’s all going to be for the better going forward,” Hamilton said.

As an All-Pro starting safety, Hamilton won’t play in the preseason, which means he isn’t getting communication reps with his new coordinator and head coach. Under former coach John Harbaugh the coordinators called the plays, but now it’s the head coach’s job. Hamilton said Minter’s been preparing them during the week to let the communication flow naturally.

Star running back Derrick Henry also won’t dress for any games, and he was excited to test himself against a strong Vikings defense. He said the goal was to execute Doyle’s play calls.

“It’s a good defense that gives you different looks to see where you’re at as an offense and a lot of stuff to build off of and a lot of stuff to work on,” Henry said.

He added that the offense is never where it wants to be by this point of the preseason.

Henry has used his time on the sidelines to build his relationship with Doyle, standing near him as he runs the offense. He said Doyle has clearly set the expectation for how he wants the Ravens to play, and he’s been consistent in his approach from games to practices to the film room.

End zone

• Wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane looked good in his first one-on-one rep as he kept hold of the ball through contact from cornerback Charles Demmings, earning a pat on the head from Rashod Bateman. However, on the next rep, the contact brought both Lane and his opponent tumbling to the ground. The Vikings pass rush limited Lane’s opportunities in team drills.
• Back in his college stomping grounds, Bateman took heat from the Vikings, who were hitting him as hard as they could without tackling. Bateman’s hands proved sure, and he had a nice one-on-one rep, along with several catches on quick plays in team drills.
• Quarterbacks Lamar Jackson and quarterback Tyler Huntley faced a lot of pressure. In the first 11-on-11 period, the Vikings had two potential sacks (they aren’t allowed to wrap up the quarterback, so it’s not certain if Jackson would have escaped) in a row, then stuffed Justice Hill’s run attempt. The next time Jackson went out, he tried to scramble and was immediately stopped, and then Henry was stuffed as well.
• The Vikings weren’t the only ones pressuring the passer. Outside linebacker Tavius Robinson and defensive lineman Calais Campbell had sacks.
• All the Ravens were at practice, although running back Rasheen Ali and linebacker Carl Jones Jr. were not dressed.