This is Marlon Humphrey's 10th NFL season and he had never seen the Ravens' defense practice as well as it did on Wednesday.
Thursday's joint practice against the Minnesota Vikings wasn't quite as dominant, he said, but it was more of the same – on both sides of the ball.
Now captained by Head Coach Jesse Minter, the Ravens' secondary, stocked with four former first-round picks, made finding the end zone tough for a Vikings wide receiver corps similarly brimming with talent.
Humphrey has offered blunt assessments over the past couple of years that the Ravens haven't lived up to their high defensive standards despite having elite talent. There's still much work to do, but that seems to be changing this offseason, and the progress was underscored over the past two days of joint practices.
"I have just really never been a part of a practice as electric as we had yesterday. It was not bad today, it just was not at the [same] level," Humphrey said.
"All the guys have really just bought in, and I think if we continue to buy in like that and we just work together the way we are working right now, I think that standard that we have kind of been chasing but we've just really lacked, let go ... I think it can definitely be back, and we can be rolling."
On a day largely devoted to red-zone work, Baltimore's starting cornerback duo of Humphrey and Nate Wiggins led the way. On multiple occasions, they denied one of the best receivers in the NFL, former Offensive Player of the Year Justin Jefferson.
"I learned that we really like to compete, and we are physical," Minter said. "I want to just continue to chase that mindset, chase that mentality of being a dominant unit every snap, every play, no matter what the situation is, bouncing back from bad plays [and] finishing a little bit better."
Here are the highlights from Thursday's practice, again with contributions from new Voice of the Ravens Kyle Youmans, who watched the Ravens' offense:
Defensive Notes
- The intensity was high on the very first play of one-on-ones, as Humphrey broke up a sideline pass for Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison. Kyle Hamilton followed it up with a breakup against Vikings receiver Jauan Jennings.
- Humphrey tied up Jefferson on a sideline throw during 7-on-7s, and the pass seemed to bounce off Jefferson's shoulder pads. On the next play, Wiggins broke up an end zone shot to Jefferson.
- During 11-on-11s, Humphrey cut off Jefferson so much that the former Offensive Player of the Year didn't attempt to make a catch.
- Humphrey dove to force an incompletion in the back of the end zone intended for Addison.
- On another red-zone rep from the 11-yard line, Wiggins clamped down on a shallow slant by Jefferson to force an incompletion.
- The Vikings tried Humphrey deep, but the pass was too long for Jefferson, and Humphrey casually kicked the bouncing ball into the stands as the Ravens' defense celebrated.
- Safety K'Von Wallace jumped a shallow throw by Vikings backup quarterback J.J. McCarthy to get a pick-six along the sideline. Nearly the entire Ravens defense streamed onto the field to celebrate in the end zone.
- Nickel cornerback Keyon Martin won a 1-on-1 rep against Jennings, who is six inches taller than him, with a jumping breakup in the back of the end zone.
- Safety Malaki Starks broke up a pass in the back of the end zone during 7s, and rookie Chandler Rivers won a rep against Jefferson.
- On the first play of 11-on-11s, defensive end Calais Campbell showed off his mobility, rolling to the sideline for what would've been a monstrous hit on Vikings running back Aaron Jones Sr. for a short gain.
- On the next play, defensive tackle Travis Jones shed his man to make a tackle on a run to the right.
- Outside linebacker Trey Hendrickson finished off that series with a sack, one of his two on the day. His other came on third down after the Vikings started an 11-on-11 drive from the Ravens' 37-yard line. Hendrickson was a problem for one of the more talented left tackles in the league, Christian Darrisaw.
- Inside linebacker Trenton Simpson made a physical play, breaking a block and making a solo tackle in the gap on running back Jordan Mason.
- The Vikings won the two-minute period for a second straight day. A shot down the sideline to Jennings, who was working against Martin, led to a Vikings field goal for the first-teamers. A questionable pass interference call on T.J. Tampa set up Minnesota's second-team offense for a game-winning touchdown run. The Ravens' two-minute defense was the only blemish of the joint practices.
Offensive Notes
- Overall, the offense struggled with the Vikings' pressure and blitzes, with Vikings outside linebacker Dallas Turner collecting a sack and disrupting the offense on multiple occasions along with Minnesota's defensive line. It was good work for Baltimore's offense against Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores' frequent and exotic blitzes; left tackle Ronnie Stanley said the Ravens have work to do.
- Offensive lineman Jovaughn Gwyn, stepping in with the first team after Danny Pinter's injury on Wednesday, was impressive in 1-on-1s and worked well with rookie Vega Ioane during 2-on-2s.
- Jackson navigated the pocket well to find Zay Flowers over the middle. Flowers made a nice juke to break free for extra yards.
- Jackson was picked off as he faced a fourth-and-13. Jackson and his intended target weren't on the same page, and Vikings cornerback James Pirre intercepted the floating pass.
- The Ravens' second-team offense moved the ball some on its two-minute drive with a completion over the middle to Elijah Sarratt, but the possession stalled, and Tyler Huntley was sacked on fourth-and-2 to end the day for the offense.
Special Teams Notes
- Kicker Tyler Loop wasn't put into a simulated game-winning field goal situation because the Ravens' two-minute offenses didn't get him in range. However, he made all six of his kicks from 33, 33, 38, 43, 43, and 53 yards.
- Both teams spent a long time working on kickoff coverage/returns and punt protection/coverage. Minter was locked in on the punt protection unit.
