Ravens win first preseason game, but there’s still work to be done.
Speaking of the Ravens, they went on to win the preseason opener 22-19. (Call it fate, but it seems that 22 was the magic number last night.) No 28 must’ve been a hot number as well. Baltimore native Terrance West had an impressive game, running for 25 yards including a diving touchdown at the one-yard line and an exciting rushing touchdown on a reverse. (Read more about West in our upcoming September issue.) Buck Allen and rookie Kenneth Dixon were not to be ignored. Allen scored a touchdown at the end of the second half with a 19-yard catch and run and Dixon averaged 4.9 yards per carry.
Backup quarterback Ryan Mallett a bit less impressive. He went 11-for-15 in completions, yet ended the first half with the Ravens in the lead. As long as Joe Flacco remains healthy, we don’t anticipate Mallett hitting the field during the regular season. Ronnie Stanley—the Ravens 6th overall pick in the 2016 draft—surprised us all by starting the game at left tackle and staying in until the middle of the second quarter. Stanley left practice last week with a soft-tissue knee injury, se we didn’t expect to see him suit up. Mallett wasn’t under too much pressure in the pocket, so job well done.
The Ravens defense, however, was a little shaky. The secondary struggled to keep Carolina from marching up the field in the first series with reigning league MVP Newton leading the attack. The Ravens red-zone defense was ever reliable, but the secondary definitely needs some work before the regular season starts.
Oh, and by the way, Phelps beat a 2,000-year-old Olympic record.
Not to bury the lede, but upon that amazing performing in the 200-meter IM last night, Phelps became the greatest athlete in the world—both ancient and modern. More than 2,000 years ago, Leonidas of Rhodes competed in four successive Olympiads in 164BC, 160BC, 156BC, and 152BC and in each of these he won three different foot races. While Phelps has a total of 22 Olympic gold medals (which is record-breaking in itself), nine of those have come in relays. So, in terms of individual titles, Leonidas still had him beat. That was until last night, when Phelps won his 13th individual gold.
According to the BBC, Leonidas left quite the legacy, being worshipped as a deity after his death, venerated in Greek literature, and a statue of Rhodes was erected with this inscription: “He had the speed of a God.” Nothing against Leonidas, but we can think of a certain Towson native who more aptly fits that description.
Watch Phelps compete in his final Olympic race tonight, his signature 100-meter butterfly, at 9:12 p.m. on NBC.