Ravens News 8/24: Upper Hand

“It was a great opportunity, especially when a lot of guys aren’t playing in the preseason,” tight end Isaiah Likely said. “Going against another defense, seeing how the league is shaping their defenses, especially going against an NFC opponent, it definitely was great work today.”

Harbaugh Happy With 90% of Offensive Line Play

It’s not going to be perfect with the Ravens’ rebuilt offensive line, which is replacing three starters this offseason, but it has to be good enough.

One Packers reporter tweeted that Jackson was “running for his life” at practice. Jackson took a sack to begin a first-team two-minute drive. There were also positive reports, including rookie right tackle Roger Rosengarten winning a rep versus veteran Packers pass rusher Rashan Gary.

“[The Packers] were bringing bull rushes and games and physical games in there, and our guys were stout passing that stuff off really well,” Harbaugh said.

5 takeaways from Packers-Ravens joint practice – Aug. 22

Mike Spofford, Packers,com

The Packers appeared to have the upper hand on both sides of the ball through most of the practice. It wasn’t one-sided by any stretch, as Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith picked off QB Jordan Love once (and nearly a second time), and Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson made his share of plays in the red zone. But overall, the work looked and felt far different than a week ago.

Love was rarely under duress going up against one of the league’s top defenses, and his comfort level in the pocket showed as practice progressed.

Against Baltimore’s first-team defense, Kraft caught five passes from Love, a couple downfield on middle crossers that opened up nicely off play-action.

With Baltimore down a starter or two on its offensive line, the Packers took advantage by getting in the backfield for a number of would-be tackles for loss or sacks, and harassing Jackson a fair amount.

Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, T.J. Slaton and Devonte Wyatt all had their moments, which the defenders in the back end appreciated against a QB like Jackson.

2024 NFL Preseason, Week 3: One thing to watch for on each of the 32 teams

Eric Edholm, NFL.com

RAVENS: With the regular season closing in, the Ravens’ top three wideouts would appear to be Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman and Nelson Agholor. After that, it gets murky. Devontez Walker figured to be close to a roster lock after the Ravens took him in Round 4, but he’s had a frustrating, injury-marred summer. Deonte Harty’s return ability helps his chances, but what does he offer as a receiver? Fourth-year pro Tylan Wallace finally looked to be settling in, but the recently added Anthony Miller might be challenging Wallace. There’s also a slew of other WR candidates (like Russell Gage, Keith Kirkwood and Malik Cunningham) trying to elbow their way in. Can Wallace hang onto his spot? Is Miller poised to be a late mover? Some of these answers could be settled shortly after Saturday’s game at Lambeau.

NFL Preseason Week 3 Preview: Schedule, storylines and matchups to watch

Mason Cameron, PFF

Storyline of the Game: How much will the starters play, if at all?

At the time of this writing, it remains unclear whether Packers head coach Matt LaFleur or Ravens head coach John Harbaugh intends to get their starters snaps in the preseason finale. Leave it to two teams poised for big seasons to resort to gamesmanship in the final matchup of the preseason.

The expectation is that both teams sit the starters in order to get an extended look at roster depth, but that remains to be seen.

Matchups to Watch: Packers QB Sean Clifford vs Ravens Secondary

After a solid performance in the preseason opener, Clifford saw a sizable drop-off this past week, earning just a 39.0 PFF passing grade against Denver. That surely set off alarms for the Packers coaching staff, who now have to evaluate whether Clifford can reliably fill in should Jordan Love go down at any point.

The Ravens have a deep secondary, evidenced by the performances we’ve seen from names further down the depth chart. One depth piece who has particularly stood out is CB Trayvon Mullen, who produced a fantastic 90.0 coverage grade this past week, albeit against Atlanta’s reserve unit.

Ranking all 32 NFL teams’ coaching staffs, coordinators in 2024

Ben Solak, ESPN

5. Baltimore Ravens

Head coach: John Harbaugh

Offensive coordinator: Todd Monken

Defensive coordinator: Zach Orr

Oh, how badly I wanted to put the Ravens above the 49ers and the Rams. If I had certainty in the state of the defensive coaching staff, they’d easily be No. 3, maybe even No. 2. But the defensive brain drain is difficult to ignore: Coordinator Mike Macdonald, line coach Anthony Weaver and secondary coach Dennard Wilson all left the franchise this offseason. That’s as big of a change of any team.

Now, if there’s a head coach I trust to shepherd his team through the change, it’s Harbaugh. The Ravens flipped their offense from Greg Roman’s system to Monken’s last offseason. Those two are about as different as it gets, and the personnel wasn’t even right for Monken’s preferred approach — they didn’t have the talent at wide receiver. Yet the Ravens still ranked in the top five in expected points added per play and success rate on offense, as Lamar Jackson produced a second MVP season.

The success is important, but the nature of it is what gives me faith: The Ravens were far from perfect early in the season, but they got better week over week, changing the offense and smoothing over the rough edges even as they lost key players to injury (Mark Andrews, J.K. Dobbins, Ronnie Stanley). Monken and Harbaugh produced one of the best coaching jobs last season, and you barely hear it discussed.

This is why I believe in the defense, even despite the departures. Harbaugh has proved he can adjust his staff and philosophy successfully (see: transition from Wink Martindale to Macdonald in 2022). He’s also one of the league’s preeminent game managers, which minimizes the impact of those early bumps in coaching transitions. I gave the Lions the nod for the strength of the staff across the board, but if you made me pick just one “CEO” coach with whom to start my franchise, I would take Harbaugh over Campbell and the rest of the field.