Ravens training camp: Biggest Winners & Losers 7/29

By practices end I had no doubt who landed upon this list. Clear-cut great players making great plays, and boneheaded mistakes by others.

Ravens with a bad day at camp:

1. Keenan Reynolds - I really like this kid, and I wish him success just as anybody else does. But when he doesn’t have a great practice, it translates to bad. During kick return he produced well. No problem for me, I liked his acceleration, and he never once muffed a ball. He caught a few in stride and took the correct lanes. Problem though, Michael Campanaro was explosive. An obvious difference between Camp & Reynolds isn’t a good thing. As of now, it felt one-sided. To make things worse, Reynolds dropped a pass on the outside that may have resulted in a touchdown, but couldn’t reel it in. Meanwhile Campanaro took home a third-down conversion, and he looked to make a play to the endzone had everyone been in pads.
2. Nick Boyle - A pass thrown directly to him was bobbled and tipped instead of secured. It looked even worse as it fell back to the hands of WR Keenan Reynolds who also couldn’t finish the catch. If you all remember the Steve Smith Sr. touchdown against Carolina after Owen Daniels tipped, this is the opposite end of the spectrum. That was the only play I noticed Boyle in on, and tha’s not something you want to hear. Especially with Maxx Williams catch of the day.

Other notable bad day players:

Jimmy Smith - Inconsistent coverage.
Ryan Jensen - Fumbled snap
Ryan Mallett - Intercepted once, and two passes deflected

The winners today were many, but the biggest in my mind stood out far greater than the rest.

1. Chris Moore - The boy is fast, and his route running is much more clean than anticipated. The longest catch of the day went to Moore on a nine route he adjusted his running to. At no point was the coverage near two yards of him. Once he went passed he only watched the ball until it landed safely in his arms in the endzone. Once he came back on the field the next series he bolted across the opposite sideline. Terrance Brooks swatted the ball this time, but a flag was thrown. The call: defensive pass interference. The penalty yardage equaling over 40 yards. The secondary played cautious to his speed, but still wasn’t enough. His stutter step is the move to open up deep. The corner starts shifting his hips and he’s already back to full speed. Look out folks, he is quick.
2. Tavon Young - Another rookie up on the board, Tavon Young made excellent plays. I counted two interceptions, and there may have been a third although I couldn’t see who snared the tipped pass. Hell of a job getting to the ball, and creating the turnovers the Ravens need to be successful in the 2016 season. Harbaugh was asked about him during his post-game presser. "Tavon is progressing well," John said. "You know he’s got a good feel for the game. He’s quick, and he’s got good ball skills. He’s fast too." Nothing better than being noticed by the head coach.
3. Kamar Aiken - Not an undersell when I say he was targeted minimum once per series with the starters on the field. Every series a catch was made by Kamar. He had only one drop, and I actually attribute it to Joe’s passing. Aiken still almost hauled it in though, diving for the pigskin. If not for Maxx Williams catch, Kamar’s forty yard mid-air adjustment would be my #1 play. He hurdled up and spun around deeper than he initially moved, and still made the catch. Jimmy Smith was the man covering him, and he was clearly not happy with the result. He had adequate coverage, but never got his head around.

Honorable mentions for good day players:

Kamalei Correa - Man was everywhere. Many snaps both at inside and outside linebacker. His quickness giving him an advantage.
Matt Judon - Broke through and had Justin Forsett in the backfield before the handoff finished.
Campanaro - Said everything with Reynolds bad day, and he also was in on jet sweeps again today

PLAY OF THE DAY:

Maxx Williams no doubt made the play of the day. Completely covered by Sheldon Price. Standing a yard from the endzone he jumps up and steals the pass over Price’s shoulder, and hangs on. It had no chance of being complete, yet Williams accomplished the feat.

Other notable plays:

• Pitta TD catch negated by offensive pass interference
• 50 yard TD catch by C. Moore
• Kamar Aiken 40 yard sideline catch
• Big tackle for loss from M. Judon
• Two successful corner blitz: J. Smith I & K. Arrington
• Campanaro successful Jet Sweep