After looking at the feedback from our training camp notes and tid-bits from Saturday's padded practice, it appears that Ravens cornerback Chykie Brown has been singled out as a whipping boy by not only the commenters, but Ravens receivers as well.
If you haven't seen the notes, click HERE to view.
Brown didn't have a good day of practice yesterday and Ravens defensive coordinator Dean Pees even confirmed that during his press session after practice.
"Chykie is coming along," Pees said. "They have their good days and their bad days. Right now, one of the things we've got to take care of is we can't give up big plays."
Against Brown, there were plenty of big plays to be had. First, he was figuratively left with his cleats tied together after a double-move from Jacoby Jones, which went for an easy 50+yard touchdown. Brown also lost a 50/50 ball on a deep pass from Joe Flacco to Steve Smith, being out-muscled by the short-statured - but a bulldog - of a receiver.
These were just a few of the big plays that happened against the defense, much to the disliking of Pees.
"I think we have given up too many [big plays] so far, even in camp in the first three days." said Pees. "What we can't do is get balls up over the top, and I'm a little disappointed in the first three days."
"We've got to do better than what we're doing."
Even though Brown has struggled, I firmly believe that he'll beat out Asa Jackson for the third cornerback spot vacated by Corey Graham in free agency during the offseason. Not only do I think Chykie will occupy the number three spot, I think he'll play quite nicely as well.
Brown has a good relationship with Ravens secondary coach Steve Spagnuolo and is a blank canvas for him to mold into a decent NFL corner. One thing that's important to consider is that Brown didn't have a standout college career at Texas, and the Ravens took him in the fifth-round of the 2011 draft.
What's impressive about Brown is that most players can't back up their previous season's worth of play. However, Brown continues to improve each season and often shows up when called upon to fill in. The biggest difference now is that he won't just be filling in, he'll be a consistent contributor to the defense and he's just a little rusty at this point.
The Ravens aren't in the position yet to have to worry about exploring the free agent market for another corner. While losing Aaron Ross to a torn achilles earlier this week during conditioning drills will hurt their depth, I believe that the secondary will be just fine and I think Brown is fully confident to fill Graham's role, but not quite to what Graham's level of contributions once was.