Top five takeaways from the first training camp press conference of Ravens DC Don Martindale
Baltimore Ravens Defensive Coordinator Don ‘Wink’ Martindale met with members of the media for the first time since training camp opened up on Wednesday and gave some insight on several topics pertaining to his loaded unit entering the 2020 season. Here are the top five takeaways from his nearly 14-minute presser plus a couple of bonuses as well:
Early impressions of rookie inside linebackers in camp-
The rookies, all four quarterbacks, and players returning from injuries were the first to report to camp two weeks ago and hit the field first last week. Two of the most pivotal first-year players that are expected to play prominent roles for the Ravens of defense this year are inside linebackers Patrick Queen who was selected in the first round out of LSU and Malik Harrison who was taken in the third out of Ohio State.
Queen is expected to start from day one and become an immediate impact player in the middle of the defense at the MIKE linebacker position. Harrison will be competing to start or at least rotate with veteran LJ Fort and former undrafted free agents Otaro Alaka and Chris Board at the weakside/WILL spot. While Martindale and the rest of the staff can glean much until the pads come on, they haven’t been disappointed so far as the two rookies have looked as good as advertised.
“I think they’re exactly what we expected, said Martindale. “They’re young and they’re making some mistakes but for the most part, first of all, they’re great people. I’ve had some good conversations with both of them besides just football and we really haven’t gotten into the 11 on 11 pads where you can see their instincts but I think from all the film that we watched, I think they both have done a really nice job and haven’t disappointed anybody.”
Tavon Young is returning to form-
One reason that the Ravens secondary is being regarded as the top unit in the league that has flown under the radar nationally is the return of nickel back Tavon Young. The former fourth-round pick out of Temple in 2016 emerged as one of the best slot corners in the league in 2018 but a season-ending neck injury that he suffered last year in training camp prevented him from following up with an even better season in 2019. According to his play-caller, he’s looking like his old dangerous self.
“He’s moving well, he’s shaking any rust that he had off and he’s going to be back to being Tavon Young real quick and we’re excited about it,” said Martindale.
While slot corners aren’t technically listed as starters since so many teams utilize three-receiver sets in makes the requirement of having three starting-caliber corners essential. Young has experience playing outside as well and plays with the kind of quick-twitch and physicality to dominate in the slot. His return will allow 2019 Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro selection Marlon Humphrey to play more on the outside where he can lock down one side of the field.
“The way we look at it right now is we have three starting corners; they’d be No. 1 corners any place else, any other team that they’re on,” Martindale said. “It’s been a great combination, and it’s great getting those guys back.”
What makes Marcus Peters such a ball hawk-
He is the third member of the Ravens terrific trio of starting corners and possesses the best ball skills of the bunch by far. No player has recorded more interceptions or forced more turnovers than Peters since he entered the league in 2015 as the first-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs out of Washington. His 27 intercepted passes and 797 yards and six touchdowns off of them are the most by any defender by a wide margin.
Peters was acquired from the Los Angeles Rams midway through last season and brought a true ball-hawking presence to the Ravens’ secondary that they haven’t had since the great Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed patrolled the skies of M&T Bank Stadium as well as others when on the road. Reed is one of the most cerebral players to ever play the game and Martindale believes Peters’ best traits closely resemble those of the Ravens’ all-time great.
“I think there’s two things,” said Martindale. “There’s instincts and just ability itself and I’ve said this before, Marcus Peters is one of the smartest corners I’ve ever seen play the game. That’s his film study, his recognizing splits, not just his film study of splits and offense and all that stuff but individual guys as well. He’s just been a tremendous asset to our defense on the backend.”
If new additions will lead to more turnovers-
The Ravens reshaped and reinforced the interior of their defensive line with the additions of veterans Calais Campbell and Derek Wolfe. Both players are extremely proficient disrupters with their interior pass-rushing prowess and since pressure and pass coverage go hand in hand, the defense as a whole could be in store more turnovers if the new pieces produce the desired results. Count Martindale among the many that are optimistic that their arrival will lead to his unit getting the ball back into the hands of their explosive offense more often this season.
“Man, I hope so,” said Martindale. “You just don’t know. It’s year to year but I think takeaways are going to be a big priority for our defense just as well as anybody else. I think that with the changes we made upfront and the additions that we made, we’re big where we’re supposed to be big and we’re fast where we’re supposed to be fast and we’re really excited to see the product in this next month getting ready for Cleveland.”
Earl Thomas is going ‘100 miles an hour’-
The seven-time Pro Bowl safety had a great bounce-back year from the broken leg he suffered in his last season in Seattle with the Seahawks in his first year with the Ravens. However, it didn’t exactly start off that way. Early on in the year, he was still getting adjusted to the system before Chuck Clark was inserted as his running mate in the backend and the two finished the year as one of the top tandems in the league.
Now that he’s nearly two years removed from his injury, has a year in the Ravens’ defense under his belt, and is in terrific shape, Martindale believes that he is destined for greatness in 2020.
“Earl is just getting ready to add another year to his Hall-of-Fame career,” Martindale said. “He’s coming in great shape. Last year, he was coming in off of the leg injury, if you all remember, and it took him a little while to get going. Now, he’s going 100 miles an hour and he looks like he’s ready to go, to me.”
Bonus takeaways-
Jaylon Ferguson’s rookie year evaluation and expectations for 2020-
The Ravens are counting on the 2019 third-round pick out of Louisiana Tech to make a significant leap in year two. He started nine games as a rookie after his mentor and nine-year veteran Pernell McPhee was lost for the season due to a triceps injury. While Ferguson didn’t quite live up to his ‘Sack Daddy’ nickname that he earned in college after breaking Terrell Suggs career sack record with just 2.5 on the year, he got better with the more experienced he gained.
The transition from the college level to the pros can difficult especially for young players on the edge that are trying to impose their will on fully grown men with years of experience in the league. With a full offseason of building up his body even though he had to do it remotely due to COVID-19 and not having to fly around the country trying to sell himself to teams, Ferguson has is coach excited to see what he can do heading into his second season.
“He made tremendous strides last year,” said Martindale. “About halfway through the year is when he finally got in what he felt was the best shape that he’s been in and he’s come in this year in that type of condition. His body has changed, he’s a year older. All of those second- and third-year players start to get that old man dad strength.
“They’ve had a year away from college football and they can really train and focus on themselves and not the combine and not going to this visit or that visit and just focus on themselves. As far as the knowledge of the package, he’s right on time with everything right now. We’re really looking forward to some great things from him.”
The benefit of having so many versatile defenders-
The Ravens pride themselves on being a multidimensional team that can adjust and overcome any adversity. In order to do that they seek out players with diverse skillsets that can be used in a multitude of different ways. According to Martindale, the versatile veteran defenders on this year’s roster, specifically, will allow the defense to create, counteract, and exploit matchups.
“The versatility that we have with the veterans has been phenomenal,” said Martindale. “You look at different players and you can point out different guys. A guy like Chuck Clark for example, he played five different positions last year. Same thing with Anthony Levine.
“There’s other guys that can play at a bunch of different spots which help you in different packages. I always say that we’ll have the best 11 out there to play the game. The best 11 might be a different group. There might be six others that come out verses a different personnel. The NFL is just like the NBA has become, it’s all matchups and right now with the talent that we have, it’s a lot of fun.
