Flowers Wants to be More Involved in Deep Passing Game

The Ravens have begun preparations to defend their AFC North crown with training camp now under way.  This was a no pads practice and Lamar Jackson did not practice due to being sick. Here are some highlights.

Derrick Henry is an absolute monster. I know this isn’t exactly new info to any of us but seeing him in person on field level really hammers home just how big he is. He looked comfortable in the offense during what little was done today. He caught some passes as well.

In 11-on-11 drills, Justice Hill made a nice catch down the field in between a few defenders. Hill also ran well and generally looked very good.

Also in 11-on-11s, Jaylon Armour-Davis made a nice play on the ball for a pass break up.  Obviously he is a guy who could be on the bubble due to his injury history, so any noteworthy plays will be important.

On the offensive line, Andrew Vorhees was moving around well. He didn’t appear to be favoring his knee at all and looks to be a full go.  Due to the limited nature of practice today, it’s hard to say too much about him, but the fact that he was out there, moving well and practicing the whole time is an encouraging sign.

Something I have been wondering about all offseason is how many offensive lineman Baltimore will keep. Unless they make a trade, I have to think the number is nine. The only guaranteed starters right now are Tyler Linderbaum and Ronnie Stanley. After that, it’s going to be a battle. There was a lot of rotating guys in and out today and obviously they aren’t making any decisions as of yet, so this will definitely be at or near the top of what to watch for this camp.  This is an organization with a long history of being able to draft and develop  offensive lineman, so the Flock should be confident. However, it’s going to be something to watch closely all summer.

It was also nice to see players who had some offseason surgeries, like Marlon Humphrey, David Ojabo and Kyle Hamilton out there and practicing in full and moving around well.

The highlight of the day was rookie QB Devin Leary throwing a ~50 yard TD pass to Dayton Wade. Josh Johnson also threw a beautiful back-shoulder throw to Isaiah Likely about 25 yards down the field. Johnson threw it perfectly and Likely beat his defender and caught it in stride. That was about it as far as highlights from the Jackson-less QB position today, however.

A Johnson pass was tipped during 7-on-7s, which turned into an interception. Leary also fumbled a snap. All the QBs had a lot of errant, off-target throws.

This is a position – backup QB – that has been ignored by the team for several years now. I know Tyler Huntley gave the team some good minutes here and there but overall, I think the Ravens have neglected backup QB too much and maybe that cost them the playoffs in the past.

To Johnson’s credit, he is a pro. He knows all the plays. He seems to have a command of the huddle and he has the respect of his teammates. Rashod Bateman commented today how it is nice to have that veteran presence as opposed to just having a rookie out there when Lamar is absent.

Still, I think you have to worry about the backup situation if something were to happen to Jackson.

We heard today from John Harbaugh, Rashod Bateman and Zay Flowers.

Harbaugh essentially said that Lamar is day to day and he will practice as soon as he feels better. Bateman mentioned that his foot is 100% and has zero issues now. He said it feels good to finally come into camp feeling good and he really seems to be in a great frame of mind. I still feel he’s the most talented WR on this roster.

One interesting comment from Flowers was that he wants to be involved in the deep passing game more. He felt that he lacked in that last year and part of the reason came down to a lack of chances.

“That’s one of the things I want to improve,” Flowers said. “I’ll say that’s one of the things just hitting more deep balls. Because that’s what I did in college, so I want to come out and try to hit more this year.”

That will be something to watch. Obviously, the deep ball is something we want to see in the offense and it’s something Jackson has struggled with at times in his career.

My last observation is just how great the Ravens do training camp. This was my first time there but what they do with all the kids, the facility itself and the entertainment for the fans is fantastic. This is really a first class organization in so many ways. I recommend if you are a Ravens fan to try to get to training camp at least once.

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