Mark Andrews loves a challenge, and will respond even when it comes from a teammate.
The All-Pro tight end had another dominant practice Friday and seemed to particularly enjoy his catch while defended by inside linebacker Patrick Queen. The two players had a playful Twitter exchange the day before, in which Queen indicated he wanted to defend Andrews in one-on-one drills.
Andrews had a one-word response – "whoa."
Queen got his wish Friday and Andrews came out on top. He made a nice move to get behind Queen, then high-pointed the catch and held the ball aloft to emphasize that he had won on the play.
Calling out Andrews comes with great risk. He is having perhaps the best camp of his career, and his daily intensity helps elevate the overall level of play.
Head Coach John Harbaugh was extremely pleased with Friday's practice, held on another hot afternoon.
"We had our sharpest practice of the year," Harbaugh said. "Both sides of the ball were pretty well on point, so that was good to see."
Here are other observations from Friday's practice:
- The players could thank Justin Tucker for an earlier end to practice. Harbaugh promised to end the day if Tucker made a 46-yard field goal. He nailed it for the walk-off and his teammates celebrated.
- Rookie cornerback Pepe Williams had the defensive play of the day, stepping in front of a Tyler Huntley practice for a pick-six. Williams continues to battle on every rep and brings plenty of chatter to practice. "Pepe' is great. He's done well," Harbaugh said. "Now, he's made plenty of mistakes too, which he hears about. But, he takes it well, he's very coachable."
- Rookies Isaiah Likely and Kyle Hamilton provided a nice matchup in one-on-ones. Likely made two tough catches on Hamilton but his coverage was solid and Hamilton had another solid day.
- Odafe Oweh flashed into the backfield on several nice pass rushes for the second straight day.
- Outside linebackers Justin Houston and defensive end Brent Urban were consistent in providing pass rush pressure.
- Lamar Jackson's best pass of the day came on a deep touchdown completion to Makai Polk that he caught in stride. With Rashod Bateman and Devin Duvernay not a practice, other receivers received plenty of reps.
- Trystan Colon and Patrick Mekari handled the majority of reps at center Tyler Linderbaum sidelined with a foot injury.
