Happy belated Fourth, Flock. I hope you and yours enjoyed some sunshine, barbeques, and good company. There were fireworks aplenty this year, but I’d be lying if I said that the Ravens didn’t make me feel nostalgic for THESE fireworks with yesterday’s Twitter post.
Happy 4th of July to the #RavensFlock! pic.twitter.com/Y1HTyXyewt
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) July 4, 2022
Unfortunately, we still have a long way to go before not only those fireworks but also the team accompanying them return to The Bank. We’re also entering a time of the calendar that my dad calls “The Blight.” As a former federal government worker, my dad’s leave schedule following the Fourth of July didn’t feature another holiday until early September, meaning he had to give himself landmarks on the calendar to look forward to. That’s why I’m taking a page out of his book and choosing to count down the days until Training Camp returns.
Two weeks from today, Baltimore’s rookie class will be back at The Castle, and the full roster will be in the building for Training Camp the following week. Fans will be able to attend from July 27th through August 17th, with an open stadium practice at M&T on July 30th. Here’s the link to register.
I’m sure I’ll see many of you there, and we can all sweat it out together in the new afternoon time slot.
The Ravens are moving their training camp practices to the afternoon. Most sessions in Owings Mills will start at 1:35 p.m. — aka when the Maryland sun turns into a blast furnace.
For the past few years, most camp practices started at 9 a.m. or earlier. 🙃🙃🙃 pic.twitter.com/soqbA5HaQL
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) June 28, 2022
For those of you who can’t make it, or if you just prefer your air conditioning, I’m confident you’ll be able to enjoy the Training Camp experience with some of the fantastic work put together by the Ravens media team. I acknowledge that there’s probably some bias in this opinion, but I think our fan base is truly lucky to have this organization’s media staff. The access we get to the players and staff through the team’s social media content is consistently some of the best anywhere in the NFL, and the deserving Ravens Productions crew was recently recognized at the Capital Emmy Awards.
Congratulations to our Ravens Production crew on taking home three Emmys at this year's Capital Emmy Awards. 🏆 https://t.co/kX1u0pFzm2
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) June 30, 2022
The crew received nine nominations and took home three awards. They definitely haven’t been resting on their laurels this offseason either, as we’ve been treated to top-notch behind-the-scenes content like this.
Learning from a legend.@Sam_Koch4 watches practice film with @JORDANSTOUT92.
Wired from Minicamp premieres tonight ➡️ https://t.co/JqQHMs90Ox pic.twitter.com/d8Di4uHg6u
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) June 29, 2022
Fourth-round selection Jordan Stout is essentially “running unopposed’ as the team’s next punter, and the Ravens are committing plenty of resources to help Stout develop into an NFL-caliber player. With Sam Koch’s retirement, the bar is insanely high for Stout, but conversations like this one where Koch and Special Teams coach Randy Brown help him dissect his mechanics will definitely be to his benefit.
There’s another clip in the most recent episode of “Ravens Wired” around the 16:30 mark where Koch, who is simulating snapping the ball to Stout on the hold for a field goal, has Stout make an adjustment to the mechanics of the transition between catching the ball and the placing in on its mark. The result ends up being a faster setup on the hold and that extra fraction of a second could make all the difference when live game action rolls around.
My favorite bit of nuance to these interactions is that Stout adjusts well to the advice and critiques of coaches while still maintaining his own voice about his instincts and comfort level. I get the sense that this give-and-take and mutual respect will be huge in Stout’s development as Koch’s heir. The changing of the guard will be interesting to watch going through camp, as it’s the most significant shake-up to the Special Teams unit in nearly a decade for the Ravens. That consistency was a huge bright spot for the team, and, even with the personnel change, I’m confident that they’ll continue firing on all cylinders.
You can read a more detailed breakdown of Stout’s adjustment to the pros in this piece from The Baltimore Sun’s Matt Cohen.
As a parting thought, a guy who was in the building not long ago sees the potential for greatness that we’re all hoping for in the season to come.
"They were good last year, even though they were banged up."
Put @RGIII on the spot today with a Sleeper Team pick heading into the #NFL summer but his logic and reasoning make sense for whom he chose:#RavensFlock pic.twitter.com/igIlfhPd1X
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) July 1, 2022
I can’t say I’m always in lockstep with Robert Griffin III as an analyst, but I appreciate him advocating on the team’s behalf during his recent guest spot on The Rich Eisen Show. I have a ton of respect for Eisen, but his top 5 “Sleeper Teams” for the coming season featured both the Steelers and Bengals while omitting the Ravens, and, frankly, that irked me. Luckily, RGIII argued the case for Baltimore and did a pretty good job of it.
Maintain your excitement, Flock. We’ll make it through “The Blight” together, checking off one block at a time on our calendars. Give yourselves things to look forward to, and I’ll see y’all in a few weeks.
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