Michael Oher’s first preseason contest didn’t begin quite the way he might have planned.
The starting left tackle had his fair share of peaks and valleys in the Ravens’ 13-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the preseason opener for both teams on Thursday night.
On eight of the first offense’s 12 plays, Oher played solidly. But he also allowed defensive end Trent Cole to sack Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco once, he got pushed back by Cole to limit running back Ray Rice to gains of 1 and -6 yards, and he was cited for illegal formation which was declined when Flacco couldn’t connect with wide receiver Anquan Boldin on third down-and-16 from the Eagles’ 35-yard line.
“I’ve just got to get better from week to week,”
Oher said in the locker room beneath Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. “… You have to build on it and learn from it and go get better from week to week.”
Oher said it was too early to assess where he is, but he conceded that he will be able to chart his development after each preseason contest.
“The first preseason game, the second preseason game, you tend to know where you are game-by-game by seeing different opponents,”
he said. “Next week, you’ll know a little bit better.”
Via Twitter, Oher responded to a follower’s criticism by writing, “[People] will say anything!!! I’m glad I have skin like an armadillo.”
Coach John Harbaugh didn’t single out Oher, but he said the offensive line as a whole has room for improvement.
“I think we did OK out there,”
Harbaugh said. “The pass protection was pretty good. … A couple of the false starts were a problem, and that’s got to be corrected. I thought they did pretty well for themselves for their first time out there.”
