Ravens observations: Tavius Robinson, Carson Vinson bring ‘fire’ in chippy practice

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From his position sprawled on the ground, Ravens left tackle Carson Vinson surged upward, leading with his fists.

The ensuing chaos late Thursday morning obscured what happened next, but he appeared to be clashing with outside linebacker Tavius Robinson, who’d put him on the ground during 11-on-11 action.

Players were separated and order restored. Coaches called for a huddle to settle tempers, but they were forced to huddle up several more times as the Ravens pushed through their longest, hottest padded practice of training camp yet.

Coach Jesse Minter had made his feelings on camp fights clear two days earlier.

“To me, in a game, if you fight, you get ejected,” Minter said Tuesday. “Look, there are times where tempers rise and competitiveness happens. I think there’s a level that it can stay at, a little bit of back-and-forth where we can get the guys back from each other. But, to throw a punch or to do whatever, we’re not going to have that. That person’s not going to [play] after that.”

Minter wasn’t upset when he walked off the field Thursday, though. He said, although the scuffle was chippy, he didn’t see any punches thrown. Earlier in the practice, tight end Mark Andrews and outside linebacker Trey Hendrickson butted heads.

“I love the competitiveness,” Minter said. “I love the fire.”

And the Ravens wanted this practice, specifically, to be physical. They ended the two-hour session with “live” tackling near the goal line. Rookie running back Adam Randall was hit twice in 11-on-11 work before ending the period with a touchdown catch.

“We wanted them to kind of fight through some things,” Minter said. “Long-drive drills, where it’s intentionally an eight- or nine-play drive, regardless of the down and distance, and so you want to be able to do all that with a high, high level of physicality and also keep your wits about you.

“And I know that, in a game, people do things, man. People tug on your jersey after the play, try to get you to respond, chirp in your ear, try to get you to respond. And so we just got to be so dialed in on why we’re out here making each other better.”

Getting the Green light

As players returned to Baltimore this offseason for their first practices under the new coaching staff, defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver sat with outside linebacker Mike Green and showed him a compilation of “almost” sacks.

The message wasn’t about what had kept him from getting the quarterback down. It was to show Green just how close he was.

“It definitely had me fired up in the meeting, of course, just to see how many times I got so close,” Green said Thursday. “I was just, like, inches away from making a play and changing the game around. And shout-out to ‘Weav’ for that, because I definitely needed it at that time.”

As a second-round pick widely considered a first-round talent, Green faced high expectations when he arrived in Baltimore. But, after a number of injuries along the defensive front, most notably to defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike, the Ravens’ pass rush struggled. Green finished with just 3.5 sacks on a defense that had 30, tied for third fewest in the NFL.

The Green who took the field for Minter’s first Ravens training camp is much more confident than the one who showed up for John Harbaugh’s last Ravens training camp. The game has slowed for him, and now it’s time for his talent to shine, outside linebackers coach Harland Bower said.

“What you see in Year 1 is, he is a twitchy, athletic pass rusher,” Bower said. “But what I think goes unnoticed at times is, he’s extremely powerful — like, extremely powerful and explosive.”

Green, Bower said, will be a mismatch against tackles because of his athletic ability. And, with Hendrickson leading the way, Green should get more favorable matchups.

Jackson’s frustrating finish

Unofficially, quarterback Lamar Jackson went 14-for-20 in team drills, with only a handful of drop-backs in seven-on-seven action, when he went 2-for-4.

But most of Jackson’s completions came on short- to intermediate-range throws. With the Ravens’ offense dealing with a third-and-long scenario in one team period and a disruptive pass rush throughout practice, Jackson often threw short of the first-down sticks. His best pass of the day came on a comeback route by Rashod Bateman, who fully extended to snatch the ball along the right sideline for a nice gain despite a penalty by cornerback Nate Wiggins.

Jackson’s day ended in frustration. After connecting with tight end Durham Smythe downfield to get the Ravens within range of a gimme field goal, he couldn’t snap the ball and spike it in time before the practice’s game clock expired.

One-on-one highlights

• In red-zone one-on-ones, wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane beat cornerback Chidobe Awuzie for a touchdown on a back-shoulder fade. Cornerback Amani Oruwariye helped force an incompletion on another jump-ball throw.
• Safety Kyle Hamilton picked off an underthrown lob for rookie wide receiver Elijah Sarratt, looking for a back-shoulder fade. Sarratt later shook free of safety Jaylinn Hawkins with a convincing fake on an in-breaker.
• Bateman beat cornerback Marlon Humphrey for a catch on an in-breaker despite tight coverage from the cornerback.
• In pass rush one-on-ones, newly signed offensive tackle Kendall Lamm held up well against rookie outside linebacker Zion Young’s two bull rush attempts.
• Guard Emery Jones Jr. didn’t give up much ground on a power move by rookie defensive lineman Rayshaun Benny.
• In a matchup of two of the Ravens’ more well-regarded undrafted rookies, outside linebacker Ethan Burke beat offensive tackle Diego Pounds with a rip move.

Extra points

• Kicker Tyler Loop had his best day of camp, going 7-for-7 on “live” field goals, including makes from 48, 53 and 61 yards near the end of practice.
• Cornerback T.J. Tampa had one of the defense’s best plays of camp, ripping the ball loose from running back Rasheen Ali on a screen catch-and-run. Undrafted rookie inside linebacker Dominic DeLuca recovered the fumble.
• Rookie tight end Josh Cuevas continued to produce in the red zone, catching two touchdowns late in the practice in 11-on-11 action.
• Defensive lineman Aeneas Peebles, inside linebacker Carl Jones Jr. and wide receiver Dayton Wade missed practice. Defensive lineman Travis Jones and inside linebacker Teddye Buchanan remain on the physically-unable-to-perform list.
• Defensive lineman C.J. Okoye received treatment from athletic trainers midway through practice and left early for what Minter said were precautionary reasons. “The accumulation of reps that he’s endured because of some of our other things on the D-line,” Minter said, referring to the team’s limited depth up front, “something like that pops up, you want to catch it on the front end so it doesn’t become something where you’re missing a bunch of time.”
• Left tackle Ronnie Stanley was limited to positional drills because he was “dealing with a little something,” Minter said. But he’s expected to return to practice Saturday after the team’s day off Friday.
• Center Danny Pinter has played almost exclusively on the Ravens’ first-string offensive line, but Minter said recent signing Ethan Pocic will get more opportunities there as he ramps up. Pocic tore his Achilles tendon in December and was cleared to practice just ahead of camp. “We’re letting him catch up,” Minter said. “I think he’ll definitely get opportunities to show what he can do with the first group.”
• Ferran Torres, who scored the game-winning goal for Spain in the World Cup final against Argentina last month, addressed the Ravens after practice. “This guy came off the bench in the final of the World Cup, in extra time, scored the game-winning goal,” Minter said. “Talk about just being ready when your number is called, being at your best when your best is needed — that is, like, the ultimate.”