Getty Ravens OLBs Tyus Bowser and David Ojabo are practicing for the first time since suffering a torn Achilles.
The Baltimore Ravens took a major step toward getting to full strength on Wednesday, October 12, 2022, when outside linebackers Tyus Bowser and David Ojabo took part in a football practice for the first time since suffering their respective torn Achilles tendon injuries earlier this year.
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Bowser suffered his injury in the final game of the 2021 regular season on January 9, 2022. He led the team in sacks last season in his first year as a full-time starter with a career-high seven and also had established himself as one the league-best coverage linebackers in the entire league prior to his injury. He will remain on the Physically Unable to Perform List until he is ready to play.
.@tbowser23 and @DavidOjabo doing drills ‼️
Ojabo was projected to be a lock to be selected in the first 15 picks in the first round of this year’s draft before he tore his Achilles on the last rep in a drill at Michigan back in March. He fell the second round where the Ravens stopped his free fall when they took the former Wolverine at No. 45 overall knowing that he would miss a portion if not most of his rookie season recovering. The first-year pro was optimistic that he’d be able to return sooner than expected and it looks like he is on the right track to be available for the second half of the year. He will remain on the Non-Football Injury List until he is ready to play.
.@DavidOjabo at practice ‼️
While this extremely positive development, it doesn’t mean that both or either will be making their 2022 debut in the coming weeks. The Ravens are currently tied for the 12th most sacks in the league with 11 in five games. They are led by veteran outside linebacker Justin Houston who has two.
The four-time Pro Bowler has missed the past two games with a groin injury that held him out of Wednesday’s practice as well but they have eight different players that have recorded a sack and outside linebackers, Odafe Oweh and Jason Pierre-Paul have come on strong the past two weeks in Houston’s absence.
Patrick Queen Continues to Make Strides in Pass Coverage
After producing the most dominant and complete performance of his career in the regular season opener in Week 1, the third-year inside linebacker had struggled with consistency in the three games that followed. However, against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 5, Queen had a great bounce-back game in which he led the team in both solo and total tackles, recorded his first interception of the season, and finished as the Ravens’ highest-graded player according to Pro Football Focus in their 19-17 win with an overall of 81.9.
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@Patrickqueen_ gets the INT
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Even though this past week marked the first time he finally hauled in an interception, Queen has been in the position to make those plays on the ball in pass coverage far more often this year than he has in his first two years in the league.
“I just thought he was really disciplined, in terms of being in the right spots,” Harbaugh said in a press conference on October 10, 2022. “There are different types of split-safety coverage, in terms of who has what, and so, at different times, he’s in the flat, other times he’s back there in that hook area, sometimes you’ve got to be a little deeper in play-action – there are different things. I thought he just managed all that stuff really well and was just kind of in the right spots pretty much the entire game – and on that one, obviously, in exactly the right spot to make that play.”
Run Defense Will Be Tested Against Giants
The Ravens will face one of their toughest challenges of the season thus far when they travel up to MetLife Stadium for the second and final time this season in Week 6. They’ll be facing the 4-1 New York Giants who are led by Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley who is off to one of his best seasons in years coming off back-to-back years that were marred by injuries.
He currently leads the league in yards from scrimmage with 676 and ranks second in rushing with a team-leading 533 yards on the ground. Harbaugh praised the former second overall in the 2018 NFL Draft for his “strength, balance, change of direction”.
“He’s just a really tough guy to tackle. [He’s] good out of the backfield, catches passes. [He’s] a good all-around – great all-around – running back [and] a heart and soul of their offense.
As much of a dangerous threat as Barley is, he isn’t the only skill position player on the Giants’ offense that presents a challenge in the ground game. Their fourth-year signal-caller is one of the more underrated dual-threat quarterbacks in the league and has been stepping his game up as of late.
“It’s just not him; Daniel Jones is playing really well, and he’s a tough tackle,” Harbaugh said. “He’s been making plays out of the pocket that I didn’t really expect to see, and he’s really made a big difference for them – throwing and running around.
He also praised New York’s offensive line for its high level of play during the team’s strong start. The unit is “playing well” in his eyes and features former Ravens interior offensive lineman Ben Bredeson, who they selected in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Michigan and traded to the Giants on August 31, 2021.
“He’s doing a nice job for them,” Harbaugh said. “They’re doing a good job on offense, obviously, and winning games.”
According to Pro Football Reference, the Ravens’ defense is only giving up an average of just 108 rushing yards per game and just 540 in total which is the 12th fewest in the league but opposing teams are averaging the sixth most yards per attempt against them with an average of five yards per carry. They’ll need to tighten up their run defense which finished No. 1 in the league last season if they want to give themselves the best chance at stopping what the Giants do best and notch a victory in consecutive weeks for the first time this season.