Granted, it was the first preseason game, the ‘Skins can claim their defense was rusty and Haynesworth wasn’t active for the game. But there is still no better feeling than seeing the hard work of Ozzie Newsome’s dedication to the draft finally start to pay off. He has focused on stocking up on offensive linemen to turn the constant weakness of this Ravens organization into something to be proud of. While setbacks have become somewhat of a common occurence, whether it’s career threatening injuries to Jonathon Ogden

or injury-prone players like Adam Terry, hope was never lost and the plan was never strayed from.

If one can judge from a single preseason game, it looks as if all of that bad luck may finally start to turn around this year. Michael Oher, the rookie right tackle, looked like a veteran during the first drive. Only once, his first play from scrimmage as a professional football player, did he allow anybody through. He lost his helmet twice, both times finishing the play with no head protection. It’s hard to not like that kind of dedication.

The Ravens offensive line allowed only one sack, and not a single player with rushing stats, including Joe Flacco, finished with negative yardage on the ground. John Beck, a pocket quarterback, looked comfortable not having to scramble, and had more than enough time to find receivers down-field.

Beck, a free agent quarterback who played under Cam Cameron as a Miami Dolphin, was by far the most impressive quarterback on the field. Despite only nine passing attempts, he finished with over 100 yards and a completion percentage of 55.7%. The competition between Troy Smith and Beck will be a very interesting storyline to follow as the preseason progresses.

Troy Smith looked improved from last year as well. While his statistics looked to be par with any backup quarterback, Smith’s mechanics were obviously the main focus during the off-season. Smith came out of school with a Heisman Trophy on his repertoire, but was not highly touted as a good NFL prospect because of his arm motion. He threw with a short, side armed motion that scouts were skeptical of. On the left is a picture of Troy Smith two years ago when he was first drafted by the Ravens. You can see how his arm hung to the side as he threw the ball, allowing it to be easily stripped by an opposing defense. With an elevated arm motion, Smith can now avoid that problem as well as put the pass over players that, last year, would have been able to knock it down.

Justin Harper, another rookie, stole the show as the top wide receiver. While it was quite obvious that John Harbaugh and Cam Cameron wanted to see what this kid was made of by getting him the ball on several occasions, Harper did as much as he could with the opportunity, catching four receptions for 57 yards and a touchdown. While he did show some signs that he has of learning to do, Harper was a bright spot in a receiving corp that was surrounded with doubt coming into the preseason. With Mark Clayton likely to be out for the next three games, Baltimore is looking for players to step up as targets for Flacco.