Baltimore Ravens: Preseason Recap Ravens shut out the Jaguars 29-0
Baltimore Ravens kicker Kaare Vedvik kicks off in the second half of a preseason NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)
The Baltimore Ravens shut out the Jacksonville Jaguars 29-0 in preseason week one as Kaare Vedvik had a nice audition to teams that could trade for him.
The 2019 NFL preseason has officially started as the Ravens kept their preseason undefeated streak alive by beating the Jaguars at home on Thursday night. Jacksonville sat almost all their starters in this game, so the Ravens starters that were in were playing backups from the Jaguars. That being said, both sides of the ball for Baltimore had nice outings as Lamar Jackson looked good compared to last year when he was a rookie. Defensive depth in the secondary showed out and the pass rush was surprisingly good throughout the game. Some rookies had their debut in the NFL but the biggest takeaway from the Ravens is that they should get trade offers for their backup kicker, Kaare Vedvik. Here are some other things I saw from the Ravens in this game.
The Chicago Bears or New York Jets are prime trade destinations for Kaare Vedvik if he continues to impress in the preseason.
Kicker/ punter Kaare Vedvik was 4/4 on field goals and 2/2 on extra points, kicking a 55-yard field goal that should have teams inquiring the Ravens about him. The 25-year-old from Marshall was an undrafted free agent last year but was put on the reserve non-football injury list. He was a candidate to be traded last year, as he was 8/9 on field goals last preseason. The Norwegian kicker/punter should continue to showcase his talents in the upcoming preseason games as a trade should happen before Week 1. It would most likely be a conditional day three pick for the 2020 NFL Draft.
Offensive recap: Miles Boykin and Justice Hill show potential as Trace McSorley had an uneven debut.
In his first two series, Lamar Jackson had a pretty clean start and was 4/6 on passes and threw one touchdown to Willie Snead. Snead looks to be a big part of the Ravens passing game out of the slot and should get plenty of targets as a safety valve for Jackson. The offensive line, overall, kept the quarterbacks clean as rookie Ben Powers made the most out of his playing time at guard with the 2nd string players.
Mark Andrews also had a catch in this game, as he is looking to continue where he left off as one of Jackson’s favorite targets. Chris Moore also caught a nice play to open their passing game along with Jaleel Scott, as both receivers are looking to get more involved in the offense this season. Former 1st round pick Marquise “Hollywood” Brown has gotten more involved in the offense, now off the P.U.P. list and coming off his Lisfranc injury but could make strides to play in an upcoming preseason game soon.
Rookies Miles Boykin and Justice Hill made their debuts with the backups as they showed flashes of potential on the field. Boykin had a few drops but still caught four passes for 39 yards. The former 3rd round pick and Notre Dame wide receiver should push the receiver depth chart a bit and should see more playing time with the starters eventually. Justice Hill showed why he’s the lightning to the thunder in their running back group as the Ravens brought in Mark Ingram and still have Gus Edwards along with Kenneth Dixon. The former 4th round pick and Oklahoma State running back should be a nice scatback in the offense as he led the Ravens in rushing with 33 yards on 10 carries.
Trace McSorley had an up and down start as the Ravens backup quarterback and was 9/22 for 85 yards but threw an interception right to the Jaguars cornerback in tight coverage. He had a touchdown to Miles Boykin that was called back by a holding call but overall, it was what I was expecting. The former 6th round pick and Penn State quarterback should see more snaps as the backup but should be the third quarterback on the roster once Robert Griffin III comes back from an injury (hairline fracture in right thumb).
Defensive recap: Pass rush, with new faces, had a nice showing along with the depth of the secondary.
Even though the Ravens had two interceptions (one by Cyrus Jones and Bennett Jackson), the highlight of the defense was the pass rush. Chuck Clark should have had one but dropped an easy interception on a pop-up ball after it was tipped in the air. The depth at cornerback is evident; as guys like Maurice Canady, Anthony Averett, and rookie Iman Marshall trying to make an impact on this roster in a loaded depth chart. The defense as a whole was dominating throughout; whether it was the pass rush and/or the secondary, as the Jaguars could not score any points in this game.
Although there are question marks about who will be the starter opposite Matt Judon (who had half a sack), Baltimore will most likely use a committee with the guys they have or added. Both Tim Williams and Tyus Bowser had a few nice plays and showed off their speed off the edge while Shane Ray and Jaylon Ferguson made some plays themselves. Both Bowser and Williams had half a sack along with Ray and Ferguson had his first tackle for loss as a rookie.
But the player that led the Ravens in sacks was fullback/ defensive lineman, Patrick Ricard. Ricard had two sacks and a tackle for loss, while Chris Wormley had one tackle for loss as well. Both look to play meaningful snaps and contributors on the defensive line, along with Daylon Mack as he had his first tackle as a rookie.
Even though Chris Board seems to be leading the number two inside linebacker job, Kenny Young made the hit of the day as he had a tackle for loss. Even though he is not the best in coverage, he excels when he can run around and hit the ball carrier so he should still be in the linebacker rotation with Patrick “Peanut” Onwuasor starting in the middle.
Write about all things football; including the Baltimore Ravens (my favorite team), College Football, the NFL Draft, and other football related content.
