Six Bold Predictions For The Ravens Preseason Debut

Ravens football is back. Finally.

And, yeah, I am fired up to watch this preseason spectacle, the first without John Harbaugh in charge for nearly two decades. And then rewatch it and dissect it. We only get so many games a year, and with so many new pieces and coaches and philosophies and concepts, this is the most excited I’ve been about August games in quite some time.

We’ve already pointed out the position groups most under the spotlight in this game – the major questions about this football team are on offense – and I’ve voiced my concerns about the lack of any real depth at the quarterback position and how that might significantly impact the quality of this game, especially in the second half (losing No. 3 QB Skylar Thompson at the time they lost him will take a toll tonight against the Eagles).

Even with the results of this game insignificant, there is much this new Ravens operation could accomplish, first and foremost the very young coaches in charge learning how to handle and delegate and assume new gameday duties and get a feel for the chain of command and processes involved. And we have some ideas about how this might play out and a six pack of predictions (some more bold than others) about how things will transpire at M&T Bank Stadium:

TJ Tampa Is Tested

Eagles back-up quarterback Tanner McKee loves him some preseason football. This kid is fearless and he slings it in August and a few years back he went right after Ravens top corner Nate Wiggins when he was a first-round pick. With so many Ravens corners injured, and Tampa fighting for depth chart positioning, I expect him to get a real run here. He almost has to.

And I expect him to get ample opportunities to make plays on the ball. McKee’s numbers might not wow you in every outing but I’ve seen a lot of him in exhibition ball and he’s been let down by drops. The Ravens front office really wants everyone to know that other teams are interested in trading for Tampa, but they might need him to play more for them than ever here because Marlon Humphrey might be cooked, and their paying him $19.25M and ain’t no one trading for him.

Adam Randall Shows Out

The fifth-round pick had Broncos head coach Sean Payton, mentor to Ravens offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, dreaming about his potential as a Joker In Denver’s offense this spring. And he’s done nothing but look the part in camp thus far, running, blocking and catching the football.

I didn’t think he’d be getting the ball put in his gut much in camp, but it’s happened and he should be a real opportunity to flex his entire skillet Saturday. I’m most interested, frankly, in how the pass protection looks because that is the area he did the least of at Clemson.

Loop Gets His Licks In, Er Kicks In

Have a hunch this coaching staff is going to want to have young kicker Tyler Loop try longer field goals whenever possible. The opportunities just didn’t come up much in his rookie season and with the way that campaign ended, and even with some of his rough days in camp so far, I would think they lean into it.

Now, it’s complicated by the fact the punter is as green as they come, having just drafted Ryan Eckley. But I don’t think No. 2 QB Snoop Huntley plays all that long here, the offense won’t move much without him so there will be punts and I’d suggest letting Loop launch from 55 or whatever whenever you can.

Breakout LB

Trenton Simpson is in a now-or-never type camp. He is athletic and he has some pass-rush potential, and he is out to prove his first few (largely lost) seasons in the NFL won’t define him. Roquan Smith isn’t going to play and last year’s breakout linebacker, Teddy Buchanan isn’t back from knee surgery yet, and Simpson is a versatile piece that could be moved around some here and put into positions to impact the ball carrier and the quarterback.

Yeah, preseason is generally vanilla but rookie head coach Jesse Minter is going to unleash a lil somethin’ somethin’ and Simpson could be the beneficiary.

Rookie WR Flashes

Ja’Kobe Lane, the third-round pick out of USC, has been the story of Ravens camp this far and rightfully so. But do we think we are getting back-shoulder fades and perfectly lobbed passes to high-point that ball and opportunities like that with an un-drafted QB from UCONN (Joe Fagnano) playing a bulk of the game? I just don’t see it.

Now, fellow rookie WR Elijah Sarratt catching a five-yard pass in traffic and breaking tackles, or turning nothing into something underneath? I’m kind of feeling that a little bit more given how the personnel is shaping up here and the realities of the surroundings.

Second-Half Fire Drill

If you set expectations low enough you can’t be disappointed. I’m setting the over/under at 5.5 procedural penalties for the Ravens offensive line in this game. I am expecting infinite punts. There will be moments where no one looks like they know what’s going on.

A lot of that is just the nature of preseason football, but we have the potential for some absurd stuff to go down in this one. I’m here for it. Bring it on. Get it out of your system.

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