The Ravens held their final practice of training camp Thursday, and finished with a lighter session as they prepare for the second game of the preseason Saturday night against the Dallas Cowboys. The players wore shorts and shells, and there was minimal contact, which is typical of the final practice before a game.
A standout player on the day was rookie wide receiver Michael Campanaro, who worked with the third-team offense to provide a scout-team look for the defensive starters. Campanaro caught several passes throughout practice, working the middle of the field and the sidelines.
Campanaro's good day was particularly impressive considering it came against the first-team defense, and is evidence that he has made significant strides in training camp.
The key now for the rookie seventh-round pick to earn a roster spot is to get his practice performances to carry over to the games.
"The games are going to be a big thing now," Harbaugh said when asked about the overall receiver competition. "If practice doesn't separate guys, then maybe the games will."
Here were some of the other highlights from Thursday's practice:
- Tight end Owen Daniels didn't practice for the second day in a row, and Harbaugh said that they wanted to rest his legs. Cornerbacks Lardarius Webb (back) and Asa Jackson (ankle), and offensive lineman Will Rackley (concussion) also didn't practice.
- A funny moment during practice came when a group of kids congratulated cornerback Chykie Brown on a nice play. The only problem was that they were actually talking to safety Omar Brown. Omar laughed and shouted, "I'm not Chykie, I'm Omar!"
- The Ravens prepared for the Cowboys by game planning during practice. Rather than having the starting offensive and defensive units face off with each other, the Ravens gave the first-team units a different look with the scout teams. That is more typical of practices during the regular season.
- Wide receiver Marlon Brown made a nice grab along the sidelines where he had to keep his feet in bounds against his momentum. He also showed nimbleness after the catch by avoiding the camera lift and Port-A-John on the sideline that* *were right in front of him.
- The quarterbacks have switched to wearing black jerseys in practice, rather than the red uniforms. We'll see if the look is here to stay.
- Cornerback Jimmy Smith picked off rookie quarterback Keith Wenning in the end zone during 11-on-11 drills. Smith made the catch as he has running back toward the end zone away from the line of scrimmage.
- Safety Anthony Levine was flagged for holding while guarding wide receiver Torrey Smith, and he didn't take too kindly to the call. He protested to the official that Smith was also holding him, and even went to Smith for a little support. "Hey Torrey, tell him you grabbed me," Levine said.
- Wide receiver Deonte Thompson had a good day of practice, catching a handful of passes from quarterbacks Joe Flacco and Tyrod Taylor. His best catch was a pass from Taylor that was thrown behind him, but he was still able to adjust to the ball and bring in the catch.
- Wide receiver Jacoby Jones did his rendition of Ray Lewis' famous squirrel dance near the end of practice. The Ravens were working on drills where they spike the ball to set up a field goal, and Jones was the deep man on the play. After Flacco spiked the ball, Jones immediately went into the squirrel dance, just like Lewis did at the end of the playoff victory over the Colts in his final game at M&T Bank Stadium.
