Training Camp Comments, Questions and Concerns

[rmw10]

What team is he practicing with?

 

It was hard to tell today with Torrey and Steve both given the day off.  They rotated heavily.  This was the one position where "teams" didn't really apply. Everyone got a shot.

[The Raven]

Much, much better.  The DL had their moments but the OL is mostly solid.  The starting OL was pretty good.  Suggs was a man amongst boys today and beat both Monroe and Wagner.  KO looks great and in shape.  Zuttah looks solid, and we know what we have in Yanda.

 

Even the 2nd OL was pretty good.  Reid was the standout as I said.  Shipley and Gradkowski both did pretty well themselves.  Jensen was up and down from what I could tell.

 

The one guy I forgot, and the one that was the weakest link on the 1st and 2nd teams, was James Hurst at LT.  He cannot handle a swim move at all and regularly got manhandled on running plays.

 

Thanks.

 

Hate to clutter this up with "boring" talk, but can you tell how exactly Kubiak's scheme differs from Castillo's? They both run the ZBS but with different nuances, and I'm trying to find out what the differences are, if you can tell. 

[rmw10]

Thanks.

 

Hate to clutter this up with "boring" talk, but can you tell how exactly Kubiak's scheme differs from Castillo's? They both run the ZBS but with different nuances, and I'm trying to find out what the differences are, if you can tell. 

 

Kubiak requires a lot more pulling from the OL.  Flacco and Taylor had a lot of designed rollouts and the OL really showed how athletic they are for such large men.  Overall, it seems like Kubiak really likes to open it up a bit more and get the ball out quick.  It seems that he wants to stretch the field from sideline to sideline rather than vertically.

[Gordo52]

It was hard to tell today with Torrey and Steve both given the day off. They rotated heavily. This was the one position where "teams" didn't really apply. Everyone got a shot.

Gotcha. I was just wondering who he was doing all of this against and who was throwing it.

Thanks for the notes. How about Joe and Daniels?

It seems that he wants to stretch the field from sideline to sideline rather than vertically.

Love to hear that.

[rmw10]

Gotcha. I was just wondering who he was doing all of this against and who was throwing it.

Thanks for the notes. How about Joe and Daniels?

Love to hear that.

 

Daniels was also given off of practice as many of the veterans were.

 

Joe seemed alright for the most part.  He had a few errant passes and a couple that should have been picked off, but they were dropped.  He looked pretty good rolling out.  The biggest thing I saw from Joe today was recognizing pressure from the blind side.  He was routinely feeling it and stepping up in the pocket.  I think what will really help Joe is that Kubiak designs plays that let the receivers get open.

[Gordo52]

Daniels was also given off of practice as many of the veterans were.

Joe seemed alright for the most part. He had a few errant passes and a couple that should have been picked off, but they were dropped. He looked pretty good rolling out. The biggest thing I saw from Joe today was recognizing pressure from the blind side. He was routinely feeling it and stepping up in the pocket. I think what will really help Joe is that Kubiak designs plays that let the receivers get open.

Thanks. A few more...

How about Mosley, Jernigan & Gilmore?

Also, was it as awesome as you thought it would be?

[GrimCoconut]

Really mad but I didn't get to go. I was really looking forward to this but I got pulled to go today to NJ instead of tomorrow. Pretty bummed. Thanks for your info, rmw.

[rmw10]

Thanks. A few more...

How about Mosley, Jernigan & Gilmore?

Also, was it as awesome as you thought it would be?

 

Mosley seemed to be alright.  He was the 1st one on the field which is nice.  He had a couple bounce of his hands in individual drills, but seemed to show an understanding of the game in 7 v 7 and 11 v 11.  He didn't really stand out ever, but didn't do anything bad.

 

Jernigan didn't show up too much today.  He got into the backfield a couple of times if I remember correctly.  Kind of like CJ where he didn't stand out, but didn't do anything bad.

 

Gillmore was pretty much nonexistent, but it seems like he was left blocking more than receiving with Daniels sitting out.  He looked pretty solid in blocking and had a few catches going over the middle.  Like Mosley and Jernigan, he didn't stand out really.

 

I definitely enjoyed it.  Free popsicles is always a plus lol.  It was really great to just get back to seeing some live football.  The facility is definitely top notch.  The biggest negative was that you can't use cell phones during practice at all.  I was trying to see if I could meet and say hi to Andrew and BmoreBird, but I got chided 2 seconds after I pulled my phone out.  I understand why, though.

[757RavensFan]

My observation from camp today. Following vets had the day off; Steve Smith, Torrey Smith, Owen Daniel and Ladarius Webb.

It's very impressive to see how organized and technical the practice is. The team systematically moves from one drill to another every 10 to 15 minutes. There isn't a second wasted during the 3 hr practice.

QBs: Flacco loooked good rolling out to pass, and was his typical self. There were still some headscratching throws, but I truly beleieve Joe is what Joe is. Unless there's a drastic change before the season starts, I don't see Taylor losing out to Wenning at all. Taylor made some very nice throws.

WRs: Campo is the truth. I don't think he dropped a pass all day. Marlon and Jacoby made some good plays. Deonte Thompson had a case of the drops today.

TEs: Pitta is back folks! Gilmore made a few catches as well.

RBs: They all looked good IMO. I thought Rice was gonna be done early after watching him throw up on the field.

OLine: Looked solid. Jury is still out on Wagner. Jah Reid is breathing down his neck. Reid had a good practice.

Will do defense tomorrow. I'm halfway into my 4 hour drive home.

[52520Andrew]

Yeah I agree with what rmw said, Campanaro did well today.

 

Urban looked good in the drills and was able to drop his hips well, they also lined him up at OLB on certain plays which for a 295 pounder is impressive. He was covering one of the TEs on a play as well. Really intrigued to see what happens with him. The length he has is a big advantage as well as he was able to use it to beat a D-lineman in a 1 on 1 drill.

 

Flacco had a nice TD pass to Pitta beating Elam and a nice almost TD that Pitta thought he was in on lol

 

A lot of check downs to the RBs overall, probably a good sign for Rice. Also a lot of quick passes.

 

I thought Tyson looked pretty good overall in D-line drills although Urban really showed nice potential as said.

 

Daryl Smith, Torrey and Steve, Daniels, Chykie Brown, and Webb are guys off the top of my head who weren't practicing, a lot of vets given the day off. 

 

Butler went down on a diving catch attempt but showed back up later in practice and looked good. Most of the other WRs looked solid too.

 

Suggs had a couple nice pressures, he beat Monroe on a play although Flacco sensed it and stepped up. Suggs also got past Wagner.

 

McPhee had a nice pressure as well and I saw Nicolas DiMarco get in the backfield and disrupt a play.

 

Asa Jackson did well as the #2 corner today, I think I might jump on his bandwagon and franks had an int on a bad throw on the sidelines. 

 

Rice looked to be in better shape, most of the rbs were solid. Taliaferro wasn't great but he had a couple nice plays, one where he got the edge gaining some nice yards and another where he got a good reception. Wood was good at hitting the edge of the play and Pierce looked good too. 

 

At the end of practice, they got the jugs machine out and couldn't go home until DeAngelo Tyson caught a ball. Jacoby had to test for accuracy before it all happened lol. Tyson had a diving attempt where he came close but fell short but he caught it on the next attempt accompanied with a roar from the players. After practice a few of the players met with their families which was cool to see as well. 

[Tank 92]

Thanks.

 

Hate to clutter this up with "boring" talk, but can you tell how exactly Kubiak's scheme differs from Castillo's? They both run the ZBS but with different nuances, and I'm trying to find out what the differences are, if you can tell. 

 

 

They have better personnel.  LOL!

[757RavensFan]

One thing that stands out, even though they're in full pads, there's not a lot of tackling during the drills and scrimaging.

[rmw10]

My observation from camp today. Following vets had the day off; Steve Smith, Torrey Smith, Owen Daniel and Ladarius Webb.

It's very impressive to see how organized and technical the practice is. The team systematically moves from one drill to another every 10 to 15 minutes. There isn't a second wasted during the 3 hr practice.

QBs: Flacco loooked good rolling out to pass, and was his typical self. There were still some headscratching throws, but I truly beleieve Joe is what Joe is. Unless there's a drastic change before the season starts, I don't see Taylor losing out to Wenning at all. Taylor made some very nice throws.

WRs: Campo is the truth. I don't think he dropped a pass all day. Marlon and Jacoby made some good plays. Deonte Thompson had a case of the drops today.

TEs: Pitta is back folks! Gilmore made a few catches as well.

RBs: They all looked good IMO. I thought Rice was gonna be done early after watching him throw up on the field.

OLine: Looked solid. Jury is still out on Wagner. Jah Reid is breathing down his neck. Reid had a good practice.

Will do defense tomorrow. I'm halfway into my 4 hour drive home.

 

I'm glad you noticed Reid as well.  He had a stellar practice.  Looks much slimmer and quicker from what I saw.

[rmw10]

One other note here that I forgot to mention...

 

I'm honestly not sure Urschel is making this team.  He was stuck on the 3rd team OL all day and got very few reps overall.  He was with the likes of Brett Van Sloten, David Mims, and Reggie Stephens, and when they did play, that unit got absolutely destroyed.

[Marc2k6]

Man I wish I could just jump in my ride and go check out training camp like we could back in the day! 

[hawkprey]

It's good to hear praise for Asa and Jah - two guys who were young and not expected to really do anything. We have a ton of young players who needed to step up and are doing so, and these two only add to that.

[PolishRifle]

I'm reading Hemsley's camp report daily:

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/baltimore-ravens/post/_/id/11517/ravens-camp-report-day-4

 

NIce to see Joe's accuracy is improving:

 

"Joe Flacco had his most accurate day of passing in this year's camp. Most of the passes that hit the ground were ones that were dropped. His best throw actually wasn't completed. Flacco flung a pass that went 60 yards in the air that was nearly caught byMichael Campanaro in the end zone. He still is the only quarterback in camp who has yet to get intercepted, although linebacker Albert McClellan nearly picked off one over the middle."

...and that's without Torrey, Steve and Owen. o.O Wow. Should I be a little concerned about the defense reading this? How did the secondary do yesterday?

[RavensFanInCA]

Just read this on MMQB:

 

 

Baltimore wide receiver Steve Smith and quarterback Joe Flacco have an interesting competition going: They wager $25 Starbucks cards when they disagree on on-field reads they have made. Case in point: Smith and Flacco viewed one adjusted Smith route differently, causing an errant throw; Smith said he was reading a Cover-2 alignment by the defense. Flacco said it was Cover-3. They went to the videotape. Flacco was right. They saw on video two corners covering the deep third of either side of the field, with the free safety dropping to cover the deep middle.

 

In the Starbucks Card standings this offseason, Flacco has a two-card lead on Smith.

 

Oh, and Smith pays up—usually the next day.

 

http://mmqb.si.com/2014/07/28/monday-morning-qb-nfl-training-camps/3/

 

Kind of interesting to see how they challenge each other.

[arnie_uk]

Webb was injured, not given the day off btw

[arnie_uk]

Just read this on MMQB:

Kind of interesting to see how they challenge each other.

Flacco could get a lot of coffee if he entered into a deal like that with anyone else. Seen wideouts running wrong routes a few times last year

[codizzle]

Flacco could get a lot of coffee if he entered into a deal like that with anyone else. Seen wideouts running wrong routes a few times last year

Man he'd have coffee for life

[redrum52]

I'm reading Hemsley's camp report daily:

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/baltimore-ravens/post/_/id/11517/ravens-camp-report-day-4

 

NIce to see Joe's accuracy is improving:

 

"Joe Flacco had his most accurate day of passing in this year's camp. Most of the passes that hit the ground were ones that were dropped. His best throw actually wasn't completed. Flacco flung a pass that went 60 yards in the air that was nearly caught byMichael Campanaro in the end zone. He still is the only quarterback in camp who has yet to get intercepted, although linebacker Albert McClellan nearly picked off one over the middle."

...and that's without Torrey, Steve and Owen. o.O Wow. Should I be a little concerned about the defense reading this? How did the secondary do yesterday?

Good to hear this cause earlier reports I read weren't looking promising.

[bMore Heathen]

Thanks for all the updates!!! Better than anything I read at the website or the Sun. Make me miss the old McDaniel days!!!

[BirdWatcher]

Just read this on MMQB:

 

 

Kind of interesting to see how they challenge each other.

Kind of interesting to disprove the assertion that Joe can't read defenses.

[757RavensFan]

Man I wish I could just jump in my ride and go check out training camp like we could back in the day!

You can tonight. Practice is open to the public at M&T at 730. With fireworks following practice.

[Inqui]

Man he'd have coffee for life

Coffee for life and McDonald's for life - sorted.

[Static]

I really hope Flacco moves and uses his feet more. I remember some of his best throws last year being on the run. Not to mention when he burned the viking for 22 Yards after stiff arming some limemen .

Also I thought Reid had run out of chances especially after his arrest. Glad to see him doing well ; he is great depth.

[1/28/01]

Sounds like Campanaro is being a beast!

[RobFuseRaven]

Also there were two scuffles that I remember. I couldn't really tell who was involved. The first may have been Pierce and someone else. The second looked like Jah Reid at the bottom of the pile. Can anyone else confirm who was involved?

 

Never mind:

 

The first fight of camp occurred when linebacker Josh Bynes pushed offensive tackle Kelechi Osemele twice after a play. It looked like Osemele was trying not to get provoked but he took Bynes to the ground after the second hit. There was a pileup, which included mostly defensive players, and order was quickly restored.

[Ravenseconbeast]

It's good to hear praise for Asa and Jah - two guys who were young and not expected to really do anything. We have a ton of young players who needed to step up and are doing so, and these two only add to that.

Asa has been a candidate for #3 CB for a while