Through the first three days of training camp, the Ravens' offense was humming. Lamar Jackson was throwing darts all over the field, and Derrick Henry was exploding through open running lanes.
That changed when the pads came on Monday.
For the first time in training camp, the Ravens' defense definitively won the day. Jackson and Tyler Huntley were often forced to hit underneath routes or scramble, and most of the deep shots they took fell incomplete. The Ravens' running backs had open running lanes, but not nearly as many as previous practices.
Head Coach Jesse Minter said it was part of the ebb and flow involved with preparing for the season.
"There's always gonna be back and forth in training camp," Minter said. "{We'll} look at the tape, there'll probably be some good plays on both sides."
It'll be interesting to see what the ensuing practices bring, as Minter said that Monday was a "tag-off" day. It sounds like the physicality will ramp up over time.
"Tomorrow, we'll incorporate a little more thud on the ball-carriers," Minter said.
Here are other notes from Monday's practice:
- Calais Campbell and John Jenkins returned to practice, but neither of them participated in 11-on-11 or 7-on-7.
- Wideouts and cornerbacks went one-on-one in the early part of Monday's practice. Zay Flowers brought in a contested deep shot over Marlon Humphrey, while Chandler Rivers had a nice pass breakup guarding Octavian Smith Jr.
- Ja'Kobi Lane also had a couple of nice catches during one-on-ones. He caught a deep ball down the left sideline after getting behind Chidobe Awuzie and caught another pass over the middle against Humphrey.
- Speaking of Lane, he's established himself as a legitimate threat in the red zone. He was targeted twice in the end zone, and while he didn't make a touchdown catch, he drew a pass interference penalty when two defensive backs crashed into him before the ball landed.
- Another player who continued to produce was tight end Matt Hibner. He had three catches during 11-on-11, including a red-zone touchdown on a strike from Skylar Thompson, who was rolling to his right. Hibner also caught a screen in the red zone that could've easily gone for a touchdown if it were an actual game.
- Jackson's best throw of the day came when he rolled to his left, stopped on a dime, and unleashed a sidearm bullet to Durham Smythe.
- The defense tallied a couple of quality tackles for loss. One featured Trenton Simpson stopping Flowers on an end around almost immediately after Flowers got the ball. The other came via Carl Jones Jr., who got Rasheen Ali for a big loss early in practice
- Mark Andrews, who was targeted a couple of times in the red zone, drew a pass interference penalty on Kyle Hamilton in the end zone and later made a diving catch at the front right pylon. Andrews was ruled out of bounds, but it was a nice grab nonetheless.
