A day after slowing the tempo of practice, the Ravens put back on the pads with the heat index hitting 99 degrees for their most physical practice of training camp.
"Hot and crisp. That's a good conversation for fried chicken and for this practice today," Head Coach John Harbaugh said with a chuckle. "It was tough and our guys responded. It was a very good practice. Very happy with the guys."
This was the closest to full Derrick Henry monster mode that we've seen so far in training camp and it was a tasty appetizer. Henry had some bodies bouncing off him as he pummeled the line of scrimmage.
On two sperate occasions, cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey and Arthur Maulet had their arms wrapped around Henry's waist, looking like they were holding on for dear life. One outside run with Ronnie Stanley and Andrew Vorhees out in front blocking looked like a steam engine rolling downhill, which is exactly what the Ravens want to create with Henry.
The Ravens defense didn't back down (Maulet put a good pop on Henry after a jump cut, for example). There wasn't full-on tackling among first-teamers, but it was a good battle on several run plays.
Here are my other observations from practice:
- Linebacker Malik Harrison had a leaping interception on a pass by Josh Johnson during 11-on-11 work and came clean up the middle for what would've been a sack later in practice. Harbaugh sung Harrison's praises afterwards, calling him a "very valuable player" in large part because of his versatility.
- Wide receiver Tylan Wallace made perhaps the best catch of training camp thus far, going high to snag a pass and hold on despite being sandwiched by Marcus Williams and Jalyn Armour-Davis. As the defenders bounced off him to the turf, Wallace landed on his feet and cruised into the end zone.
- Rookie offensive tackle Roger Rosengarten got a lot of first-team reps and handled them well. Harbaugh said Rosengarten has been "steadily improving" and deserved his shot with the ones.
- Last season, Kyle Hamilton tipped a pick-six to himself. In practice Thursday, he kicked an interception to himself. Hamilton's leg knocked the ball away from a leaping Mark Andrews and it rolled into Hamilton's hands as they went to the ground for one of the oddest interceptions you'll see. That was Lamar Jackson's only interception of the practice.
- Hamilton has had his hands full defending tight end Isaiah Likely this week, but the All-Pro safety won both of his one-on-one battles on Thursday. Likely and Jackson tried to take big-bodied defender deep, but Hamilton ran with him step for step and forced an incompletion.
- Andrews had an impressive over-the-shoulder sliding catch versus safety Eddie Jackson during one-on-ones. Maulet continued his strong training camp, breaking up a pass intended for Malik Cunningham the same period, and undrafted rookie wide receiver Dayton Wade hit a couple deep plays from Jackson.
- Inside linebacker Josh Ross forced a fumble on rookie running back Rasheen Ali. That was a bugaboo in college for Ali, who had 11 fumbles in his college career.
- Inside linebacker Trenton Simpson continued to shine with pads on and when the physicality turned up. He came screaming downhill to stop Justice Hill on a check-down pass, sending the Ravens' defensive sideline into a frenzy. On the next play, Simpson had good positioning to make an open-field tackle on Hill on a pass into the flat.
- The good news is that Jackson and Rashod Bateman got to practice together after Jackson's illness and Bateman's soft-tissue issue kept them from getting much work together so far in training camp. However, the deep ball connection still needs work. Jackson threw a bit too deep on one with Armour-Davis in close pursuit. On a play later in practice, there seemed to be a miscommunication as the pass fell well short of Bateman and wasn't catchable for Nelson Agholor coming across the field.
- Rookie safety Sanoussi Kane got an interception on rookie quarterback Devin Leary. The seventh-round Kane stood out with pads on, and Harbaugh called him a "very steady, very conscientious player."
