3 Questions after Day 10 of Ravens training camp: Was the offense wildly overhyped?
2. Nine intercepted passes? What if the offense is not as good as we thought?
On the flip side of the coin, the offense struggled mightily on Saturday's practice at The Castle.
Or did it? Well, most headlines will tell you that Lamar Jackson simply couldn't complete a pass and that he ended up throwing four interceptions on the day. The reality is different, or at least not entirely like those headlines will paint it.
The coaches ran some 11-on-11 plays in which the offense was mostly operating under three-and-long scenarios. That's always going to play in favor of the defensive side of the ball, and that's preciselly what happened yesterday afternoon.
Sure, Jackson could have done a better job, the same as Huntely and Johnson could, but it's not that they weren't put under an added stress by having to complete plays on extreme situations.
The offense completed a nine-interception, six-false-start outing. It was awful, no excuses allowed.
But again, Ryan Mink reported that "several of the interceptions came on deep shots down the field," and also that "Lamar Jackson started practice really hot. He was dealing, including a number of pinpoint throws while on the move and trying to escape pressure."
See what I am saying?
Mink explained it perfectly, writing that "These are the kinds of situations that make defenses lick their chops."
No need to panic, folks. This was a practice for the defense to enjoy and dominate, and that's precisely what they did. It would have been much more worrying had the opposite thing happened, so take the offensive loss for what it is: just another day at camp.