The Baltimore Ravens saw perhaps the best outing from their quarterbacks on the very first day of mandatory minicamp, Tuesday. Quarterbacks Lamar Jackson and Robert Griffin III threw the ball well and found the end zone multiple times, an encouraging sign for Baltimore’s offense ahead of training camp.
However, the second day of minicamp practice didn’t follow the same theme. Today, the Ravens’ defense finished the roughly two-hour practice with an astounding number of interceptions, including several in the end zone.
Both Jackson and Griffin were feasted upon nearly equally, according to ESPN’s Jamison Hensley.
While many fans will be quick to panic at this news, this is the time of the year when interceptions simply come with practice. There’s a new offensive scheme getting installed and the players are trying to find their chemistry and timing together. It doesn’t help Baltimore’s defense is widely considered one of the best in the league, especially with their deep secondary.
The point of practice is to find and correct issues that come up. And after a rough session, you better believe offensive coordinator Greg Roman and quarterbacks coach James Urban are going to be looking at what went wrong and how to improve by Thursday’s final minicamp practice.
On the flip side, it’s an encouraging sign for the Ravens’ defense. Defensive coordinator Don Martindale praised the defense’s effort, saying the players looked fast.
With a number of young players stepping up into more prominent roles this season following the departure of several veterans, Baltimore’s defense looks a little different. Though there is still some concern the Ravens’ defense will falter in the absence of guys like Terrell Suggs, Eric Weddle and C.J. Mosley, it appears as though the youth movement is making up for their lack of experience with pure physical talent.
Hopefully, the offense and defense can work together to make each side of the ball stronger for training camp and the regular season. Battling this much already in minicamp should be considered a pretty good sign though.
