Ravens News 7/31: Feisty Fun

With Zach Orr’s Ravens defense setting a physical tone, training camp has turned into feisty fun

Childs Walker, The Baltimore Sun

On Monday, for instance, No. 1 running back Derrick Henry surged toward a crevice in the middle of the defense only to be pulled abruptly to the ground by second-year linebacker Trenton Simpson. Henry popped right up without seeming aggrieved, but such flashes of aggression have caught Jackson’s eye, and he likes what they portend for the season.

“I believe iron sharpens iron,” he said, borrowing one of coach John Harbaugh’s go-to phrases. “We’ve got one of the best defenses in this league. We’re talking trash to those guys, [and] those guys are talking trash to us. We [are] just going after each other, [and] I believe that’s what builds a great team.”

“I mean, man, we’ve got a lot of competitive guys on both sides of the ball,” Orr said. “I do kind of have to tell them to tone it down a little bit, but I like those guys being real competitive. We’re taking care of each other. Lamar and the offense, they get those guys going by competing at a high level and talking trash. So it’s good. Our offense is one of the best in the league. We’ve got the reigning MVP at quarterback. So it’s good work, and it’s a challenge every single day. I think both sides look forward to it.”

Monken, for one, is fine with the heat coming across the line of scrimmage.

“It was great last year and it is this year,” he said. “One, they do a great job schematically. Two is they do a great job of challenging all of your rules. And then they do it with tremendous personnel. That makes it very, very difficult, but good for us in terms of development, especially up front, where you’re trying to see who’s going to emerge in certain spots for us. So it’s been great. At times difficult and frustrating, but it’s been great. It’s something you want to be able to go against every day.”

Andrew Vorhees Is Acclimating Well at Left Guard

Clifton Brown, BaltimoreRavens.com

“I think Andrew is great,” Stanley said. “Ever since he got here, he’s been a student of the game and has just been trying to learn. Even the times he couldn’t really be on the field for practice, he’s been in all the meetings, he’s been here throughout all the offseason.

“I’m very impressed with how fast he’s learning things, how fast he’s getting up to the speed of the game, how good of a shape he’s in. Everything is moving really fast for him, but he’s also adjusting really fast, and he’s getting better and better every day.”

The Ravens will have new starters at left guard, right guard and right tackle, leaving the coaching staff with important decisions to make. The way Vorhees has held his own during padded practices the past few days could make the choice at left guard easier.

“I think things are going well,” Vorhees said. “I’m just going out there every day and just

trying to become the best player that I can be and just trust in [Offensive Line] Coach D (Joe D’Alessandris) and Coach Monken and the rest of the coaching staff. There’s obviously a wealth of knowledge and expertise, so just trusting them every day.

Ranking NFL offseason signings, trades, draft acquisitions

Mike Clay, ESPN

12. Derrick Henry, RB: Signed by Baltimore Ravens

Running backs might not be valued by teams as much as they were in the past, but the Ravens didn’t sign Henry for him to chill on the sidelines. Despite playing in a committee alongside Tyjae Spears in Tennessee last season, Henry managed to lead the NFL in carries (280) for the fourth time in five seasons. The 30-year-old has a good chance at his seventh consecutive season with double-digit touchdowns.

Top 10 NFL duos of 2024: Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes headline most talented pairings; six wideouts crack list

Cody Benjamin, CBS Sports

9. Roquan Smith and Kyle Hamilton (Ravens)

Linebackers and safeties don’t necessarily draw the most eyes, but that’s not the case in Baltimore, where defense played a pivotal role in the club’s 2023 AFC Championship bid. Smith is a punishing tackle machine at the heart of the unit, while Hamilton was all over the field rotating between positions on the back end in a All-Pro breakout. At just 23, he’s primed to become an even more prominent face of the team.

6. Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry (Ravens)

If there’s any duo that defines “thunder and lightning” in the NFL, it may well be these two, who are teaming up in 2024 after years of headlining competing AFC contenders. Henry, 30, is aging and racked up plenty of miles with the Tennessee Titans, but he remains a physical anomaly with supersized bulldozing ability. Jackson, meanwhile, oozes electricity as the game’s most dynamic dual threat under center. Imagine trying to defend this run game.

Ranking the NFL’s best red-zone offenses and defenses from 2023

Thomas Valentine, PFF

TOP RED-ZONE DEFENSE: BALTIMORE RAVENS

EPA per play allowed in red zone: 0.14

The Baltimore Ravens‘ defense was far and away one of the elites in the NFL last season. Mike Macdonald’s unit was second to only the Cleveland Browns in EPA per play allowed in 2023 and surrendered only 16.7 points per game — the fewest in the NFL.

The Ravens’ defense did an excellent job of defending the pass in the condensed spaces. The secondary, led by Kyle Hamilton, performed particularly well and the defense allowed the lowest EPA per passing play in the red zone. At the same time, Hamilton’s 86.4 PFF overall grade ranked sixth among safeties as he catapulted himself into an All-Pro nod.

Hamilton wasn’t the only outstanding contributor. Seven other Ravens earned grades of 70.0 or higher, with linebacker Roquan Smith also earning an All-Pro spot. It’s easy to see why the Ravens fielded the best red-zone defense in the NFL when there were so many excellent players contributing in the run and pass games.