But getting there requires absorbing some hits.

Situational work didn't always go well for the offense Wednesday. One series of plays for the first-team offense against the No. 2 defense ended when TE Troy Fumagalli could not quite corral a fourth-and-4 pass from QB Joe Flacco, ending the series. But three plays later, the No. 2 offense delivered in its duel with the second-team defense, thanks to a diving catch from WR River Cracraft. Running a go route, Cracraft got past CB Horace Richardson, then lunged for Hogan's deep pass at the left pylon. He completed the catch for the touchdown, punctuating the score with a vigorous spike.

Finally, at the end of practice, Flacco was able to buy enough time in the pocket and scan the field well enough to cap a 30-yard touchdown march by finding Courtland Sutton in the back of the end zone. Flacco looked left, right, then left, then back to the right again, keeping his eyes on the end zone while moving his feet to buy time for Sutton, who eventually flashed open to Flacco's right.

The work in that period – with the offense starting its series at the defense's 30-yard line – mimics an adverse situation for the defense that arises often: overcoming a giveaway or a special-teams lapse that effectively makes holding the foe to a field goal a successful series.

"I kind of like to expose the players to a lot [at] this time of year, so hopefully by the middle of training camp, we figure out what we're going to be, rather than give them something new in training camp and have to learn it.