Could WR Devin Duvernay be used more like Deebo Samuel? Answers are in the Ravens’ ‘vault.’ | NOTES

Wide receiver Devin Duvernay has been one of the Ravens’ most electric playmakers when he gets the ball in his hands. The problem is, that hasn’t happened too often this season.

As a punt returner, Duvernay is leading the NFL with 15.1 yards per return on 23 returns. As a receiver, Duvernay has 24 catches on 33 targets for 205 yards (8.5 yards per reception) and two touchdowns. As a runner, he has four carries for 41 yards (10.3 yards per attempt).

But with the Ravens’ ground game struggling, offensive coordinator Greg Roman was asked Thursday whether Duvernay could be used more like the San Francisco 49ers’ Deebo Samuel and Atlanta Falcons’ Cordarrelle Patterson have been. Samuel is fourth in the NFL in receiving yardage this season (1,006) but also has 25 carries for 203 yards and five touchdowns. Patterson, a wide receiver turned running back, has 93 carries for 411 yards and 41 catches for 500 yards.

“That’s already been thought about, and we’ve got tons of stuff sitting in the vault, you know what I mean?” Roman said. “Whether or not we choose to unlock the vault — it’s a long season, and the thing you’ll probably notice is, teams that go crazy with that stuff, it dries up after a little bit, and now what do I have? So I like to space things out throughout the course of a season.”

It’s not as if the Ravens have ignored Duvernay’s field-stretching speed. According to Sports Info Solutions, he has three jet sweep runs this season, tied for second most in the NFL, for a league-leading 43 yards. Duvernay also has three catches on jet sweep passes, tied for third most in the NFL, for 11 yards.

More conventional carries have been elusive, however, and Duvernay’s six routes on screen passes lag behind wide receiver wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown’s 11 this season in Baltimore.

Fake punt mistake?

Ravens special teams coordinator Chris Horton said Thursday that officials told him that the fake punt that was called back Sunday “should’ve been officiated a little bit better.”

The unit’s successful first-quarter run fake against the Cleveland Browns was blown dead because of how quickly the ball was snapped. Coach John Harbaugh said after the game that the call was handled correctly — “You have to wait until they blow it in play, and we’ll have to be more aware of that in the future” — and Horton called it a teaching opportunity.

“Now that that play has happened, there’s things that I’ll be teaching our guys that we can look for,” he said. “But normally, when that umpire’s out of there, the play’s ready to go in. Obviously, the play wasn’t blown in. We executed a good play, and it didn’t count. So there’s always teachable moments, and I’ve got ways in which we’ll teach our guys how to make sure that those things don’t happen again, if it’s not right.”

The Ravens ultimately converted the fourth-and-2 after Cleveland was called for having too many men on the field on Sam Koch’s subsequent punt.

Extra points

• Roman said quarterback Lamar Jackson was “definitely ticked off” after his four-interception performance Sunday and that “those plays were addressed.” There was no common denominator, however, Roman said. “Each one’s a little bit different. Like, one of them the other day was not nearly his fault. Somebody else did something to cause it. But they’re all a little bit different but very, very correctable.”
• Defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale pointed to a simple explanation for inside linebacker Patrick Queen’s improved play: “He’s been practicing better, and that’s a boring answer that nobody wants to hear. They want to hear that I got out my magic dust and sprinkled it on top of his head. But he’s just been practicing better. When you practice hard, you play hard. And that’s what he’s been doing.”
• Defensive tackle Brandon Williams said he took Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin calling him and other Ravens defensive linemen a “goon” as a compliment. “We’ve got a bunch of guys on the defensive line who are about that life,” Williams said, “and they’re ready to put it all on the field.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3lvGLih