OWINGS MILLS — The Ravens defense spent the first week of training camp pressuring the offense.
Linebacker Odafe Oweh has been consistently in the backfield and the secondary has close to 10 interceptions in five days.
That’s a good test as far as Ravens offensive line Joe D’Alessandris is concerned. The team is trying to sort out its offensive line for the season and D’Alessandris wants to see how the players respond to the challenge posed by the defense.
“It’s great – the more they give us I’m happy, I like it,” D’Alessandris said. “It tests me too as a coach, where I have to try and come up and problem solve fast to help them and give them a solution, and they have to adhere to what they see, and then communicate and be able to get their bodies in position to block – because today, it happened one time I saw two – it looked like a jailbreak – I saw two coming free. Well, that was all movement, and now [it’s] adjusting to movement, ‘How am I [going to] adjust to the movement?’”
Left tackle Ronnie Stanley and center Tyler Linderbaum are the only returning starters, which means the Ravens have to fill both guard positions and right tackle to protect quarterback Lamar Jackson and create openings for the running game.
The main competition is between Josh Jones and Andrew Vorhees at left guard. Ben Cleveland and Sala Aumavae-Laulu are battling at right guard. Daniel Faalele, Pat Mekari, and rookie Roger Rosengarten are the top candidates to become the starter at right tackle. Faalele also has been moved to the guard positions, so he is also an option at either of those spots.
Linderbaum said the Ravens’ defense is helping make those decisions by their play.
“We’ve got a talented ‘D-Line group – they certainly give us challenges [and] make us work,” Linderbaum said. [The defensive line] is big, strong and athletic. From Day One, we’re making each other better. I like the group that we have on both sides because I think a lot of improvement is going to happen.”
Ravens coach John Harbaugh wants to find his starters on the offensive line going into the first preseason game on August 9th, but that might be ambitious. There is still a lot of evaluation remaining.
“Is that unrealistic? I don’t know, maybe, but that’s the best-case scenario,” Harbaugh said about the timeline. “I don’t necessarily expect it to be the case – the game is a big deal. So, if you go into that first week with a good idea, and the game confirms everything, then you’d feel great, and you’re in a good spot. If you don’t, then you’re OK. You just keep working the guys in as you go. If one guy establishes himself, then the next guy then the next guy, then you have a line and you have your depth chart.”