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New York Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
As Ravens work on cadence, they'll live with some penalties now to avoid them later
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Some offensive penalties the Baltimore Ravens will probably live with. Early in Monday's practice, undrafted rookie receiver Jahmal Banks was flagged for offensive pass interference on his back-shoulder catch against cornerback Robert Longerbeam down the far sideline. It was a borderline call, and it's tough to fault Banks too much for working to get open and making the play. Advertisement Toward the end of practice, DeAndre Hopkins' circus catch of a Lamar Jackson pass in the back of the end zone was nullified when the veteran receiver was flagged. Hopkins was jostling with Nate Wiggins, and his hand appeared to get stuck in the area of the cornerback's face mask. Hopkins is one of the best contested-catch artists of his generation, so the Ravens certainly aren't going to fret over the occasional call on the potential future Hall of Famer. Flag on the play but the catch was tooooo fire not to share 😮💨@Lj_era8 ➡️ @DeAndreHopkins — Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) July 28, 2025 Then, there are the penalties that drive John Harbaugh and the coaching staff nuts. An early false start penalty on the offense, one of two on the day, prompted Harbaugh to yell toward the offensive sideline Monday. Limiting pre-snap penalties was deemed a priority heading into the season after they were one of the few things that proved capable of slowing Baltimore's offense last year. The Ravens led the league in penalty yards assessed (1,177) and were tied for second in total flags (161). Of those flags, 45 were thrown because of infractions before the snap, according to NFL Penalties. The Ravens were flagged for false starts 21 times, illegal formations 10 times and delay of games six times. Through the first week of camp, that trend continued with a handful of pre-snap offensive penalties each day. Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken was asked multiple questions about the penalties Saturday after a practice in which the offense was flagged numerous times before the snap. 'There really isn't anything different other than we're starting back up again, and it's hot, and we have a number of guys going in the game,' Monken said. 'Sometimes, it's the quarterback that takes a little bit of time at the line of scrimmage, more than he should, and then all of a sudden you're making calls at the line, and you may forget you're on a different cadence. Advertisement 'All of those things are a part of it, but I'm not going to give in. We're going to fight like heck to be good at it. Why can't we be elite at cadence? Other teams can; we sure as heck can be and should be.' Monken called himself the 'king of overreacting,' but he understands that the team needs to work on using different cadences to gain an advantage over the defense. 'Now is the time to do that,' Monken said. 'We're practicing some other things in the throw game and the run game to obviously try like heck to be on point when we play the first game. But obviously, we have a lot of work to do, but that's not the only thing.' Asked after Monday's practice whether the Ravens would simplify some of the cadences this week to cut down on some of the pre-snap penalties, Harbaugh cited interviews from a recent Kansas City Chiefs training camp practice, where the same issues were being discussed. 'You've got to keep pushing that,' Harbaugh said. 'Over the years, people that didn't want — and I've had coordinators like that here that didn't really want to do cadence or didn't really want to take a chance at having the issues — will say, 'Well, we'll get into that later,' but we want to get these plays off early. 'And what happens is you never have cadence the whole season. You can't just bring it out two weeks from now or three weeks from now or four weeks from now. It always looks bad early. You have to push through it, you have to practice it, and you've got to practice it under the toughest conditions — heat, pads, whatever it is — and try to get really good at it.' It seems to happen to the Ravens every year. Their depth chart at cornerback is well stocked at the start of training camp, but then injuries start occurring once practices and preseason games begin. Advertisement Veteran free-agent signing Chidobe Awuzie practiced sparingly late last week, although he did take on a representative workload Monday. However, the Ravens started practice without Jaire Alexander and rookie sixth-round pick Bilhal Kone. They then watched fourth-year corner Jalyn Armour-Davis get helped off the field due to an injury he sustained in the individual phase of practice. Harbaugh said Alexander, whose injury issues with the Green Bay Packers were well documented, had his knee drained after some swelling. He's optimistic that Alexander will return to practice Tuesday. Kone hurt his shoulder on a fall in Saturday's practice. Harbaugh doesn't expect him to miss extended time and called it a 'pain-tolerance thing.' Things are less certain for Armour-Davis, who will have an MRI to determine the extent of his undisclosed injury. Missing any amount of time would be a significant setback for Armour-Davis, the oft-injured corner who is perceived to be on the roster bubble. Harbaugh said the team is hopeful Armour-Davis' latest injury isn't 'too serious.' • The pads came on for the first time in camp Monday, and tempers flared. Outside linebacker Odafe Oweh and rookie offensive tackle Carson Vinson engaged in the first scrap of training camp early in the full-team session. Punches were thrown, and Vinson emerged from the fracas without a helmet. But order was restored quickly, and there was no further incident. • Rookie Tyler Loop, who didn't miss a kick during the first week of training camp, had a much harder time Monday. Loop went 5-of-8 on field goal attempts, missing from 43, 38 and 45 yards. The 43-yard attempt banged off the left upright. The 45-yard miss generated some confusion because one of the referees under the uprights ruled it no good, the other ref down there didn't make a call, and holder Jordan Stout insisted it was good. Undrafted rookie John Hoyland, Loop's competition for the kicking job, went 4-for-4 and ended practice with a make from 47 yards. • Wide receiver Rashod Bateman was sent home sick and didn't practice. Fellow wide receiver Keith Kirkwood, who missed the previous two practices, was back in uniform but mostly did conditioning work and didn't take part in the crux of practice. Meanwhile, inside linebacker Jake Hummel was activated off the non-football injury list and practiced for the first time this summer. Hummel was nursing a hand injury that occurred before training camp. Advertisement • By his standards, tight end Mark Andrews had a quiet start to training camp last week. However, he was responsible for two of the offense's few big plays Monday. On a day when the defense again dominated, Jackson found Andrews twice streaking down the middle of the field for big gains. On the first one, Andrews punctuated a long catch by stiff-arming Wiggins. On the second, Andrews ran full speed with nobody near him and didn't stop until he reached the end zone. Andrews' form shouldn't have surprised anyone who has watched a Ravens training camp practice over the years. If things aren't going well for the offense, Jackson typically finds Andrews to try to get some momentum. That's been the trend for years. • Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr predicted last week that rookie outside linebacker Mike Green would show his skill set more when the pads came on, and Orr was correct. Green was one of the most noticeable players on the field, playing with speed and physicality. He got the best of Ravens offensive tackles a few times in team drills, and he was also a force in one-on-ones. After practice, Green was serenaded by fans, who sang 'Happy Birthday' to him. Green turned 22 on Monday. • Another Ravens player who had a dominant practice with the pads on was veteran defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike. The two-time Pro Bowler interrupted several plays and gave Baltimore's offensive linemen fits. • The Ravens didn't have much success in a late-practice red zone drill, but No. 3 tight end Charlie Kolar appeared to create a highlight when he outdueled middle linebacker Roquan Smith for a touchdown catch in the back of the end zone. Much to Kolar's dismay, the referee ruled the play incomplete and said Kolar didn't have control of the football. That provided little solace to Smith, who pleaded for an offensive pass interference call on Kolar.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bears training camp observations: The pads finally come on with Day 5
The Chicago Bears were back on the practice field at Halas Hall on Monday morning for the fifth practice of training camp -- and their first in pads this summer. It was a blistering first day in pads for the Bears during a nearly-two hour session that focused heavily on the run game. But there were some standout performances during 1-on-1 drills, including in the trenches, and two young rookies continue to impress. As far as attendance goes, rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III practiced for the first time (only during position drills) as he ramps up from a hamstring injury. Meanwhile, rookie defensive tackle Shemar Turner (ankle), rookie cornerback Zah Frazier (personal) and center Doug Kramer (leg) were all sidelined. Offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie, who exited Saturday's practice with a leg injury, was back out on the field. Here are some observations, from media members in attendance, following Monday's training camp practice: First padded practice had major emphasis on run game Luther Burden III was out on the practice field (in limited fashion) Colston Loveland had another impressive practice JP Richardson continues to shine Bears rotated all three competing left tackles Offensive line impressed during 1-on-1 drills OL Doug Kramer (leg) listed as day-to-day DE Tanoh Kpassagnon was carted off with apparent hand/wrist injury OL Bill Murray came off the field limping with an apparent left knee injury Follow Bears Wire on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears training camp observations: The pads finally come on with Day 5
CBS News
4 days ago
- Sport
- CBS News
Sun-Times beat writer Patrick Finley breaks down first week of Chicago Bears training camp
The Chicago Bears will put on the pads for the first time at their practice Monday morning at Halas Hall, following an intense week of practice last week as the team gets used to new head coach Ben Johnson's style. Chicago Sun-Times beat reporter Patrick Finley emphasized the intensity and urgency with which Johnson coaches. "When Ben Johnson got here on the first day on check-in day, he didn't say, 'Boy, we've got see weeks, you know, we'll ease into this thing.' He said: 'It is a race. We need to go,' and that's just a different vibe here. He's got an intelligence and intensity that I think is really refreshing, and it has been all offseason, and now we get to see it on the field," Finley said. "I think the players are reacting to it, and reacting in a really good way. This is a team that really wanted to be coached hard last year, had to beg the last offensive coordinator to coach them hard — and now they're getting it." Finley said the Bears' offense was really bad in the red zone on Friday, but improved Saturday — and progress is critically important. "It's one thing to make a mistake. It's another to keep making it. I think we've seen with Justin Fields and Mitch Trubisky before them that they'll make one mistake and then it keeps going on and on," said Finley. "If they can correct it, that's what I'm looking for, and Saturday was a really good start in that direction." On the defensive side, defensive coordinator Dennis Allen's unit is being talked about as getting different looks every day. "They've been a handful, and you know, there's this old wives' tale that at this time of year, the defense should be winning. But they've been winning, and they've been winning pretty decisively," Finley said. "Part of that is because of the different looks they're giving them. Part of it's by plan too. There is a pressure, time of practice, where they just bring blitzes at Caleb and go, hey, you know, figure it out." Meanwhile, the Bears are also working without cornerback Jaylon Johnson on the defensive side. He suffered a non-football injury during offseason training and will mis several weeks. "To make up for the lack of Jaylon Johnson has been really impressive. I mean, they have Nahshon Wright out there. He's looked good. They're cycling through with Tyrique Stevenson and Terrell Smith," said Finley. "They're going to need that depth at some point in the year, and for them to look pretty decent out there now, that's good stuff." In the week to come, the practices will feel a little more real as the team puts on the pads. Finley said his eye will be on the rookies. "Kyle Monangai — the seventh-round pick out of Rutgers — really curious to see what he does when he has really big guys trying to chase him down. You know, I'll be interested to see what the rookie class can do physically — you know, we saw Colston Loveland on Saturday practicing T-drills for the first time. That's a really good sign," said Finley. "Maybe Luther Burden can be out there next week. Ben Johnson said that he was hopeful on the second-round pick. And then you've got Ozzy Trapilo, who is playing left tackle and cycling through with the starters. All of those guys, once the pads come on, they're going to be really interesting to me."
