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Ravens News 8/1: Hollywood’s speed, McPhee impressing and more

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AFC Championship - Baltimore Ravens v New England Patriots Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

His Long Wait Over, Hollywood Brown Is Getting Up to Speed - Ryan Mink

“Hopefully his progression to practice will be pretty fast. We’ll see,” Harbaugh said. “We don’t want any setbacks. We don’t have to over-rush him now. But I am looking forward to seeing him out there with other guys in real situations and see how he does.”

Brown’s speed and quickness were evident on his first day, even as he’s still easing in. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey said a Ravens trainer told him that Brown hit 21 miles per hour during his rehab, before he was going full-tilt. Humphrey said he hit 20 miles per hour the other day at full speed.

NFL receiving corps rankings: All 32 teams entering 2019 - Pro Football Focus

31. BALTIMORE RAVENS

Heading into the 2019 NFL Draft, the Ravens‘ wide receiving corps featured just three players with at least one NFL reception to their name, so the overall inexperience sees them sink to the bottom of this ranking. There are bright spots bursting with potential, however: Tight end Mark Andrews generated a position-high 129.9 passer rating in 2018 and has outplayed first-round counterpart Hayden Hurst thus far. Rookies Marquise Brown (87.0) and Miles Boykin (77.0) both earned respectable receiving grades during their final year in college, but ultimately, this team will look to dominate on the ground as opposed to win through the air — and this receiving corps shows it.

Bold NFL training camp predictions for all 32 teams - Jamison Hensley

Baltimore Ravens

Pernell McPhee will generate buzz in preseason.

McPhee is back with Baltimore after recording no sacks with the Redskins last season. But the Ravens, who lost their top two pass-rushers last season, have been impressed with McPhee. He has been moving better than expected, and has even caught the eye of the Ravens owner. McPhee looks like he will take advantage of every opportunity to make this team.

5 moments that defined the 2012 Baltimore Ravens’ improbable Super Bowl run - Vijay Vemu

AFC Championship Game: 21 straight points to exact revenge on the Patriots

The Ravens traveled to a familiar place for the AFC Championship Game: Gillette Stadium. It had been close to a year since they watched their Super Bowl hopes dashed against New England in the exact same stadium.

Baltimore had the momentum swing its way in the second half. After starting at their own 13, the Ravens moved up the field thanks to the Flacco-Pitta connection. The tight end caught three passes for 32 yards on the drive, including the 5-yard touchdown that gave Baltimore the lead. This was the start of three straight Ravens possessions that resulted in touchdowns.

Next came an incredible 3-yard touchdown from Boldin, who caught it in between two New England defenders. Then, the Baltimore defense forced a crucial turnover early in the fourth. Bernard Pollard flew in and delivered a vicious hit on running back Stevan Ridley, jarring the ball loose. Four plays later, Flacco found Boldin again, this time from 11 yards out. In the span of four minutes, the Ravens had scored twice and were up 28-13 on the defending AFC champions.

The Ravens’ defense held firm. They turned over New England on downs and then picked off Brady on back-to-back drives.