The quality depth on the Baltimore Ravens roster produced another preseason victory in Indianapolis on Saturday night. This game featured strong showings from many projected backups and role players on both sides of the ball. Overall, an encouraging performance.
Quarterback
Ryan Mallett had a utilitarian performance, his ball placement was poor. Josh Johnson put together a great drive to close out the first half, spreading the ball around with impressive arm strength and touch. Johnson also showed off his scrambling ability, he has closed the gap on Mallett.
Running Back
Rookie Kenneth Dixon is an electrifying player who combines the ability to make defenders miss with great balance and effort to get to the sticks. Terrance West opened the game with a nimble catch and run and was decisive after trying to do too much on his first few carries.
Wide Receiver
The best position on offense in this game. Kamar Aiken played a deep ball perfectly to win a big pass interference penalty and showed savvy underneath route running on his touchdown. Jeremy Butler showcased excellent hands with several clutch catches. Chris Moore did well in his first taste of NFL action.
Tight End
Relatively quiet night for the position. Trestman ran some run plays with both Ben Watson and Crockett Gillmore on the field. Gillmore dropped a catchable ball. Darren Waller passed his concussion test after getting popped in the jaw.
Offensive Line
Alex Lewis started at left guard while John Urschel was out with a contusion. Lewis showed his youth, missing a pull block and getting beat off the snap to allow a pressure. Ronnie Stanley makes pass blocking look natural and was getting a good push in the run game. Ricky Wagner made some quality blocks on the second level.
Special Teams
Harbaugh and Rosberg seem intent on using a running back to return kickoffs. Sam Koch really got into a few punts.
Defensive Interior
It was an underwhelming game from the backup big men overall. Timmy Jernigan did stack and shed to make the tackle on one early play. Lawrence Guy had a rough game against the run, getting pinned inside on one decent gain and driven off the line on another. Carl Davis missed a tackle and was quiet throughout. Brent Urban knows how to use his length to disrupt the short passing game, he knocked one ball down at the line and almost tipped another.
Edge Defender
Matt Judon had a high-quality game. He set a solid edge against the run and supplied a pass rush with a sack and another big hit. Kamalei Correa showed playmaking ability by tipping the ball on a blitz from the left side. Za’Darius Smith displayed improvement in pass coverage. And Albert McClellan also turned in a top notch game. McClellan was stout against the run, punched out a fumble, supplied ample pressure off the edge and did well when dropping into zone coverage. McClellan has taken on a leadership role and could really surprise some people this season with better than steady play.
Inside Linebacker
Zach Orr looks like he is ready to be a starter. He was consistently in the right place and utilized his quickness to both shadow receivers underneath and get into the backfield. Anthony Levine played the pass well at dime linebacker, highlighted by his game-winning "Pick-2". On the downside, C.J. Mosley was juked out by Luck and Arthur Brown was beat in coverage a couple of times.
Cornerback
The best corner on the field for the Ravens against Indy was Will Davis. Davis had tight coverage all game, located the ball in the air and made several tackles, including a sack. Rookie Maurice Canady also made a play on the ball to break up a pass at the goal line, unfortunately, he incurred an apparent hamstring injury. Shareece Wright did not look sharp. He was plainly beaten on a few plays and gave too much cushion to others. Jerraud Powers missed an easy tackle.
Safety
Eric Weddle set the tone with successive strong tackles in the red zone. Lardarius Webb supported the players in front of him well against the run and pass. And Matt Elam made a couple crucial tackles. If Elam can regain his rookie form, he could end up playing a lot of snaps, and make a big positive impact on the season.