Ravens observations: Penalties, Ja’Kobi Lane and Tyler Loop stand out in ‘physical’ practice

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With their preseason opener less than a week away, the Ravens couldn’t help but get ahead of themselves Sunday.

During a hot, physical, late-morning practice, the Ravens’ offense was flagged for eight false-start penalties, by far their most in training camp. Rookies and veterans alike struggled as the quarterbacks continued to work on their cadence, part of a preseason emphasis by coordinator Declan Doyle to keep defenses off-balance.

“We were really trying to mix it up, not letting the other side know what we are always operating on,” coach Jesse Minter said. “So we want to be able to do that. You really want to be able to use that as an advantage, as a weapon. I think it is a great message of just the focus and the details that are required for that to become a real weapon, and not something that puts you behind the chains like it did a few times today.”

The Ravens’ offense opened the padded practice with a ragged start, and it rarely held the upper hand over the two-hour workout. Quarterback Lamar Jackson’s first pass, to tight end Mark Andrews, was broken up. His opening drive ended with a fumble at the mesh point on a read-option play with running back Justice Hill.

Unofficially, Jackson finished 9-for-16 in 11-on-11 action. With star wide receiver Zay Flowers sidelined by a quadriceps contusion, Jackson again turned to rookie wideout Ja’Kobi Lane for help. Lane had two explosive gains and drew a pass-interference penalty, all on reps against cornerback Marlon Humphrey, continuing a torrid camp. Running back Derrick Henry chipped in with a couple of big runs in the red zone.

But most of the day’s most notable highlights belonged to the defense. Wide receiver Devontez Walker fumbled after a first-down catch, and outside linebacker Adisa Isaac recovered the loose ball. Safety Kyle Hamilton forced an apparent safety after meeting Henry behind the goal line. Safety Keondre Jackson picked off a pass from quarterback Tyler Huntley after baiting him into a throw over the middle. And blitzes from cornerbacks and inside linebackers often led to pressures and sacks.

‘More ready to play’

The Ravens again ended practice with some “live” tackling scenarios in 11-on-11 action, mostly featuring the team’s younger players. Rookie running back Adam Randall had one of the rushing highlights, bouncing off a tackle attempt from undrafted rookie defensive lineman Aaron Graves on an inside run before bouncing the ball wide for a first-down carry.

Rookie defensive lineman Rayshaun Benny, undrafted rookie outside linebacker Ethan Burke, outside linebacker Adisa Isaac and cornerback Amani Oruwariye also stood out with their play in the red zone.

“Today was more of almost like a game-like [atmosphere] — even though it is hard to really simulate that when you are playing against each other,” Minter said. “I thought there was some good physicality. We know with the ones, we were obviously mostly in ‘thud’ [a competitive level where players do not take down others]. We did a little bit of tackling with some of the other groups. So, again, good physical work, and I feel like we will be a little more ready to play now going into this week.”

Extra points

• Kicker Tyler Loop continued his strong form, making all nine of his field goal attempts. He connected from 52, 54 and 55 yards.
• Huntley found wide receiver LaJohntay Wester for an easy touchdown catch after he shook free of undrafted inside linebacker Dominic DeLuca down the left sideline. Huntley also hit Walker for a big gain down the right sideline after a lengthy scramble, though the Ravens’ pass rush likely would have forced a sack or a throw-away in game-like settings.
• Rookie outside linebacker Zion Young and rookie cornerback Chandler Rivers each had a run stuff of Randall early in practice. Rivers was also effective as a blitzer.
• Minter said he expects defensive lineman Travis Jones (pectoral), who opened camp on the physically-unable-to-perform list, to return to practice “real soon.” Aeneas Peebles, who’s been held out of several practices for undisclosed precautionary reasons, could also return soon. Fellow defensive lineman Calais Campbell returned to practice and participated in team drills.
• Minter said quarterback Skylar Thompson, who missed his first day of camp Sunday, is “dealing with something small,” but the team’s hope is that he can be ready by Saturday’s preseason opener against the Philadelphia Eagles. Undrafted rookie quarterback Joe Fagnano took his reps Sunday in his first extensive work of camp.
• Flowers, sidelined Sunday by a quadriceps contusion that he suffered in practice Saturday, could miss only a few more days of practice, Minter said. “I feel good that he will be back out there being Zay here pretty soon,” Minter said.
• Also missing Sunday were wide receiver Dayton Wade, inside linebacker Carl Jones Jr. and cornerback Keyon Martin. Inside linebacker Teddye Buchanan remains on the PUP list.