BALTIMORE--  Busting aggressively into the backfield with a constant barrage of sacks and also snatching four interceptions in the secondary, the Baltimore Ravens’ defense displayed their unending supremacy over their offensive counterparts.

During an open practice Saturday before 24,078 at M&T Bank Stadium, the defense dominated again.

When quarterback Joe Flacco overthrew rookie wide receiver Tandon Doss, the football was intercepted by All-Pro free safety Ed Reed. Reed scampered up the sidelines, resisting the urge to lateral the football.

Rookie quarterback Tyrod Taylor threw the bulk of the interceptions, including one deflected to safety Haruki Nakamura. Strong safety Tom Zbikowski and cornerback Cary Williams both intercepted throws.

Taylor was constantly harassed by pass rushers. During one sequence, rookie running back Anthony Allen got launched airborne by linebacker Albert McClellan on a bull rush. Allen went careening through the air into the quarterback, who fell to the ground for one of the defense's double-figure total of sacks.

“We come in here and we light it up,” said Pro Bowl outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, a difficult blocking assignment for left tackle Michael Oher. “We like to have a little bit of fun. The offense has got a lot of new guys. They don’t know what it’s like to actually come in here and play in our stadium in front of our fans.

“Once they get a taste of it, they’re going to be like, ‘Wow. They weren’t sure what to expect, but we did. We tried to put on a show for our fans.”

The offense also struggled with penalties, including Oher and Oniel Cousins jumping offsides.

It was a case of the defense being way ahead of the offense at this early stage of the preseason.

“Always in the beginning, the defense can just go where they want to, that’s always the case,” Flacco said. “We have a lot of young guys trying to get up to speed. We still have some time to go.”  

An offense, especially one in flux with tight end Todd Heap, wide receiver Derrick Mason and running back Willis McGahee no longer on the roster, takes time to build its timing. Especially so after a four-month lockout that erased the NFL offseason.

“There’s a lot more experience on the defense,” cornerback Chris Carr said. “It’s not as technical as the offense. You should expect that we would be ahead of them right now.”

This marked the first time fans could watch new defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano’s schemes.

The Ravens’ defense played with a lot of energy and nastiness.

“It’s never going to be perfect and communication could be a little bit better,” Pagano said. “We flew around. We had fun. We executed, we were physical, everything we talked about we were going to be. We have great leaders who raise the level of everybody out there.”

Despite getting knocked around, Taylor wasn’t intimidated by the Ravens’ veteran-laden defense.

He displayed his elusiveness and improvisational skills, escaping the pocket and scrambling for several first downs.

“We had a little bit of fun with Tyrod, but he’s a phenomenal talent,” Suggs said. “He’s going to be a great quarterback in this league sooner rather than later, and I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do. I think he’s going to have an awesome preseason and I think he’s going to do a good job additionally backing up Joe.”

Drafted in the sixth round out of Virginia Tech, Taylor also lobbed a deep touchdown pass to leaping former University of Maryland wide receiver LaQuan Williams in the back of the end zone toward the end of the practice.

“Yeah, we got after them a little bit early,” linebacker Jarret Johnson said. “And they came back later and made some big plays on us.”

The practice was intended as a treat for fans accustomed to watching the Ravens at McDaniel College each summer. However, training camp was shifted to the team’s training complex due to the NFL lockout.

“That was a lot of fun, great environment,” coach John Harbaugh said. “They were loud, they were excited, the guys were excited. This is one of the better things that we do as an organization. The other thing that showed up is the fact that it’s different.

“I talked to the team about communicating. You get in an environment like this and you realize it’s tough. There’s a lot of distractions by design. That’s part of the idea, to deal with that.”

Aaron Wilson covers the Baltimore Ravens for the Carroll County Times