Ravens News 8/20: Joint practice reports, Hill hype and more

Practice Report 8/19: Facing Eagles Gives Lamar Jackson Another Red Zone Test - Clifton Brown

During Monday’s joint practice with the Philadelphia Eagles, Lamar Jackson connected with tight end Mark Andrews for a touchdown in the back of the end zone.

It was the type of play the Ravens want to carry into games. Baltimore has scored on four of the five drives led by Jackson this preseason, however, only one of those drives ended with a touchdown.

“The red zone is tough,” Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh said. “The red zone is faster. Coverage is tighter. Things have to be executed more quickly, more decisively. The windows are going to be closing quicker, and they’re smaller. Timing is really important. Execution is everything. So, for a young quarterback, it’s a fast game as it is, that much faster in the red zone, and that’s where you score points. We can’t be down there kicking too many field goals. We’ll take them, but touchdowns count for a lot more, so that’s the point.”

Baltimore Ravens joint practice notes: Secondary impresses, offense struggles and injuries pile up - Aaron Kasinitz

Jermaine Eluemunor, who has an inside track to win the starting left guard job, departed the field in a cart. Starting running back Mark Ingram and left tackle Ronnie Stanley were sidelined during the final chunk of practice, while undrafted inside linebacker Otaro Alaka and defensive tackle Gerald Willis both walked gingerly off the field midway through the session and never returned to the action.

The Ravens are still figuring out how to defend slot receivers while Tavon Young is out, and it looked like Brandon Carr took the most first-team repetitions as the nickelback Monday. Cyrus Jones played there a bit, too.

With Ingram, Dixon and Edwards out, both Justice Hill and De’Lance Turner showed occasional burst out of the backfield while playing with the starters. Hill sprinted through hit a huge hole at one point for a big gain, and Turner showed off a nice jump cut.

Practice Notes: Who shined in the first joint practice against the Ravens? - Philadelphia Eagles

The Baltimore defense is a tough unit, and its secondary did a really good job throughout the afternoon, forcing Eagles quarterbacks to check the ball down in several of these passing periods. – Fran Duffy

Brandon Brooks had what I believe to be his first real rep of the summer, as he locked down Baltimore’s Willie Henry and did so quickly. The young tackle got nowhere against the strong, powerful Brooks. Jordan Mailata also stood out in this drill over at right tackle with some strong reps against rookie defensive end Jaylon Ferguson, who broke the NCAA record for career sacks last season. A couple of Baltimore players who stood out included veteran Pernell McPhee, Daylon Mack, and Patrick Ricard. – Ben Fennell

PFF’s NFL Team of the Week: 2019 NFL Preseason Week 2 - Gordon McGuinness

RB JUSTICE HILL, BALTIMORE RAVENS

85.2 Overall Grade, 20 Snaps

Hill was a nightmare for the Green Bay Packers to try to bring down in the second week of the preseason, totaling seven missed tackles forced from just 10 carries. While Hill averaged 4.9 yards per carry on the night, a whopping 43 of his 49 rushing yards came after contact.