Baltimore Ravens: 3 Things to watch for in Preseason Week 1
By Bryce Pinson
After playing in the Hall of Fame Game, the Baltimore Ravens face the Rams in Week 1 of the preseason. Here’s what to watch for in this matchup.
On Thursday, Aug. 9, the Baltimore Ravens are at home against the Los Angeles Rams in what should be an exciting matchup. The Rams are coming off a great year. They had no expectations coming into last season, but they are not sneaking up on anyone this year.
However, it is preseason, so we don’t expect to see much of the starters. A lot of teams choose to sit high0profile running backs to extend their NFL lifespan, so don’t be surprised if we don’t see Todd Gurley at all.
Regardless, even without Gurley, the Ravens will have their hands full on Thursday night. The final score of these preseason games don’t matter, but what does matter is the improvement from one game to the next as we inch closer to the regular season.
And with that, here’s what to watch for from the Ravens in this game.
A Test for the Defense
The Ravens are going to face an early test for their defense and defensive scheme. The Ravens are going head-to-head against the quarterback whisperer. Rams head coach Sean McVay will pose a significant challenge for the Ravens, regardless of who is on the field at quarterback for L.A.
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Don “Wink” Martindale is the Ravens new defensive coordinator after he was promoted from linebacker coach by John Harbaugh. In his first game, Martindale threw in a few more blitz packages than usual for the team in the past — especially for a preseason game. Keep an eye on this trend going forward. Adding more pressure on the opposing quarterback should be a great thing for the Ravens. The secondary is strong, and pressure should boost sacks and turnovers.
Lamar Jackson
This is going to be a trend all preseason and season long. Every single time No. 8 suits up, all eyes are going to be on the former Heisman Trophy winner. His first showing against the Bears was dreadful. Jackson showed he would prefer to scramble rather than throw the ball down the field. In the NFL, coaches are going to exploit this.
Jackson better prove he can stand in the pocket and deliver the ball with accuracy, or his stint in the NFL will be short-lived. In his debut, he went just 4-of-10 on completions and telegraphed a pass to Jaleel Scott that was intercepted. Jackson did complete a touchdown pass to fellow rookie Hayden Hurst.
Keep an eye on Jackson when standing in the pocket. Watch for improvements in accuracy to all parts of the field. There has to be a lot of jitters walking into your first NFL game, so we should expect a lot of improvement from Jackson to keep the development heading in the right direction.
Jaleel Scott
Jaleel Scott didn’t catch a single pass in the Hall of Fame Game. The rookie out of New Mexico State could be a steal in the draft, but he is going to need meaningful reps. Maybe Scott didn’t catch a pass because he was not open. Chances are, he didn’t catch a pass because he was lined up on Lamar Jackson’s bad side, the left side of the field where Jackson didn’t complete a single pass and threw his lone interception on the night.
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Keep an eye on Scott. Watch where they line him up, and check to see who is playing quarterback while he is on the field. Hopefully, he can get some reps with RG3 or Joe Flacco so we can see what the Ravens have in this big-bodied rookie.