COURTESY OF BALTIMORE RAVENS MEDIA RELATIONS DEPARTMENT
Since I don't believe we are talking to Coach Harbaugh today, I wanted to ask if you could comment on the absence of S Earl Thomas III and QB Lamar Jackson at practice? (Aaron Kasinitz) "With Earl [Thomas III], that's an organizational decision that [head coach] John [Harbaugh] will address. With Lamar [Jackson], during training camp, what he's getting right now is a day that he normally gets. He's been throwing the ball beautifully all training camp, and the arm gets a little tired every now and then. So, this is just part of the rest that he gets – as he has gotten in previous training camps."
I wanted to get your thoughts on WR Marquise Brown. He's talked a lot about the work he did with his body and getting a little bit bigger and a little bit stronger. What have you seen from him in the early weeks of camp? (Luke Jones) "He's definitely gotten stronger. The big thing about camp is that he's come back in, and all the speed and quickness that we saw when we drafted him from Oklahoma – prior to him getting injured – you see those things now. As you know, last year he played with that injury all year long; it wasn't quite 100%. Not only during the offseason did he get a little stronger and a little bigger … He was always an explosive guy prior to that, and we're starting to see that now, because of the health, because of his strength, and the stuff that he's done during this offseason. I like where he's at right now."
How would you evaluate WR Devin Duvernay and WR James Proche II so far? (Childs Walker) "It's been so good just to finally get them [Duvernay and Proche] on the field, and we Zoomed with those guys for like three months, and we basically [got] Zoomed-out. I knew with those two guys, with the programs that they come from … They're very good football players, [and] they're very eager. Obviously, they're two different types [of] guys, but they both are what we call … They're 'Ravens.' They have the great work ethic, they're both tough, they both understand that winning is more important than numbers, and they've fit right in well with this group that we've had here – both of those guys. I like where they're at also."
WR Miles Boykin talked a lot about playing faster. What are the keys to getting young receivers specifically, to play fast and not think as much? As a coach, how do you address that? (Jeff Zrebiec) "The big thing with him [Miles Boykin], as a rookie last year, there were things that he really wasn't quite sure about at times, and it basically shows up. And it shows up with all rookies. Now that he's a year into [being] with us, he's playing faster, because he knows what he's doing. He's not thinking, just like you just mentioned. He's just reacting to things right now. He's a 6'3", 225-pound guy who's very strong and powerful and can run. And basically, I'm starting to see right now – we as a franchise are starting to see on offense – that he's starting show his 6'3", 225, because he's comfortable in our system, he knows what we're doing right now, he's playing much faster, and he's playing stronger."
Wide receiver is notoriously a difficult position to transfer from, from the college game. So, what kind of challenges have been there with WR James Proche II and WR Devin Duvernay so far in camp? (Andrew Gillis) "They came from offenses that basically threw the ball all the time. So, from a passing-game standpoint, those guys have had a lot of reps at a lot different routes [and] a lot of different techniques that they teach with doing a lot of the no-huddle offense they do there; and we do some of that here also. I think they have both come in and adjusted very well, simply because … We're a little different than what they came from, from the standpoint of, they know we're going to run the ball, [and] they know that when we throw the ball, we throw the ball down the field. And those guys have adapted very well to what we're doing. And I say that simply because, these two guys right here, I look at those guys just the same way as I looked at Marquise [Brown] and Miles [Boykin] when we brought them in. These guys are football players first, not just receivers. And the point I'm making there is that whatever we need them to do in our offense – whether it's run-blocking, whether its passing or whatnot – those guys have bought in to our way, and they've adjusted very well to it."