My Thoughts On Practice At “The Bank”

Tommy Streeter seemed to play somewhat inconsistent yesterday. At first glance, all I kept saying was, “This guy is a specimen and I pray he’s more than a workout warrior.” He did really well when it came to running drags across the middle and also fade routes closer to the goal line. However, he did still drop some easy passes that have to be caught at the next level and he will have to improve his hands in order to get on the field significantly this year. He reminds me of a more raw Torrey Smith; a speed demon that can stretch the field that needs to prove he can catch the ball consistently in the NFL.

Offense Does Well

Yesterday, Joe Flacco looked extremely comfortable in the pocket and appeared to be poised for yet another big season. He seemed really relaxed during the two-minute-offense and during the special categories periods of practice. For the most part, Flacco did whatever he could to get the job done.  He looked extremely comfortable in the spread offense as well. Whenever the Ravens went to a shotgun set, with four or five receivers, Flacco seemed to always hit his receivers. One play in particular stood out when Torrey Smith made a miraculous catch on a post route around the shield on the 50. Last year, he wouldn’t have caught the ball as he had to leap up and snag the ball over his head. He definitely refined his skills as a receiver this off-season because it appears he wants to emerge as a serious receiving threat in the pass game.

Jacoby Jones and Davon Drew weren’t missing a step for a majority of the practice. Jones displayed superb speed out of the slot receiver position and Drew, filling the void left by Dennis Pitta, showed he is capable of being a starting tight end in the NFL. Both of these guys did have their fair share of drops as well, but who doesn’t? In addition to these guys contributing, LaQuan Williams also appears to have grown as a player at all facets of the game. His route running, catching ability and special teams play all appeared to be leaps-and-bounds ahead of where he was last year.

The veteran of the receiving core stole the show for me. Anquan Boldin was catching everything in sight. His intermediate and short-route-running was superb and the effort he displayed in trying to make difficult catches did not go unnoticed. By far, his most spectacular and unexpected play was an end-around the team ran in the red zone. I would have expected Torrey Smith to be the only wide receiver to touch a ball in the run game, never Boldin. When he took the ball from Flacco, the offense was moving one way, baited the entire defense and Boldin walked into the end zone. While it is early, I wouldn’t mind if Cam Cameron threw a few of those plays into the playbook during the regular season because if we have the personnel to make it work, do it.