Ravens Training camp: Biggest Winners & Losers 7/28

Today was the first day of practice at training camp, and boy did it fly by quickly for me. I do know that for some it wasn’t so pleasant.

Today’s woes involve:

1. Kenneth Dixon - The rookie back was something to behold. Very agile, and quick to snare a pass and turn up the field. Which made it all the worse when he was shoved to the sideline and tweaked his knee from a hard landing. He has been listed day-to-day with a Grade 1 MCL strain. Hopefully he’s back tomorrow as Harbaugh said it’s a possibility.
2. Benjamin Watson - The free agent acquisition from New Orleans was not in the zone today, as he dropped two easy passes from Joe Flacco. The first just fell flat in his hands to the turf. On the second pass attempt nobody was near Watson on the inside curl route. He put his hands out and bobbled it twice before almost giving it away to the recovering defense man on the play. This is a guy you expect to compete for starting reps instantly. If you caught Darren Waller or Daniel Brown doing this it would be lowering their neck to the guillotine.

On the good side of the spectrum, the most successful individuals today:

1. Joe Flacco - Rocking the brace and not showing signs of an ACL surgery is a quite the feat. Flacco dropping back smoothly is a massive confidence boost, and the Ravens can start building chemistry quickly with his unit because he’s on the field day one.
2. Dennis Pitta - Another player off injury, and another knock out of the park. Dennis helped lead the tight end drills, and finished the day by receiving a great throw down the middle from Joe Flacco. It was a touchdown worthy pass, and in full pads may have been worth six points.
3. Kamalei Correa - The rookie linebacker took many snaps today, notably at the inside linebacker postion. His speed is noteworthy. Now it is only day one, but he thrived in day one at the ILB spot.

Highlighted plays:

• Sheldon Price intercepted Joe Flacco
• Flacco hit Pitta with a great throw down the middle, after pump faking multiple defenders
• Jet Sweeps were carried by both Chris Moore and Michael Campanaro. Both gained positive yardage on their respective sweeps.
• Kenneth Dixon received multiple passes he turned upfield for.
• Chris Matthews had back-to-back catches
• Darren Waller had catch of the day with an over-the-shoulder nine route..