Matt Schaub redeems himself in his Ravens debut

0
10

— The Baltimore Ravens kicked off the preseason against the New Orleans Saints at M&T Bank stadium on Thursday night. Head coach John Harbaugh has consistently shot down any talk about veteran backup quarterback Matt Schaub having a tough training camp. Schaub has thrown his share of interceptions but as Harbaugh pointed out earlier this week, he has made some really good throws also.

Schaub took most of the snaps for the Ravens against the Saints. He finished the game with 11 completions on 18 pass attempts for 134 yards and one touchdown. Schaub made some outstanding throws in his debut with the Ravens. The best throw was a perfectly placed pass to Michael Campanaro on a post route from the slot. The play resulted in a 45 yard touchdown.

The veteran quarterback was pleased with his performance and spoke about how playing well can help a player’s confidence. “I think so, but you have to play with confidence no matter what. It’s good to come out and operate efficiently,” Schaub said; “As the quarterback, whether a play goes the way you want it or not the way; you have to go back the next play and forget about it. You have to have amnesia, good or bad in this business or else it’s going to eat you alive.”

Schaub was glad to be able to maintain a fast tempo on offense but felt that the team needs to improve in the red zone. The Ravens scored touchdowns on two of their three trips inside the twenty yard line. It was clear that Schaub is confident but he feels that all players in the NFL have to go out and prove that they belong. “You have to go out and prove that you can continue to play in this league.” Schaub said; “I don’t care if you’re a rookie or a 20 year veteran. You have to prove that you deserve a spot.”

Coach Harbaugh and the Ravens staff had a game plan for Schaub. “We were going to play Matt a lot, and he played a lot. I thought he played well,” Harbaugh said. Schaub did throw one interception but wide receiver Jeremy Butler needed to work his way back to the ball more aggressively. This didn’t go unnoticed by Harbaugh. “The one miscue, probably could have had a little more help, in terms of the receiver coming back for the football. And that’s a young guy who’s going to learn that. But yes he played really well, and kind of proved himself, which is nice to see.”

Schaub did a solid job of leading the team according to Campanaro. This team understands the importance of having a veteran like Schaub. “You could see that from Day One, I think from everyone on the offense. He came in and he just has such command of the huddle and the offense.” Campanaro said; “It’s a big relief just having someone with experience. We all know what Matt’s done, taking teams to playoffs and things like that. It’s great being out there playing with a guy like that.”

The goal for the Ravens backup quarterback was to go out and just operate efficiently and take care of the football. That’s exactly what the team did as they won their first preseason game by a score of 30-27 over the Saints. Next week, the Ravens practice in Philadelphia against the Eagles for a few days; followed up by their second game of the preseason.