Alejandro Villanueva Experiencing Ups And Downs After Joining Ravens

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September 24, 2021 astatine 10:01 pm

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Alejandro Villanueva’s subject inheritance gives him a unsocial position connected beingness arsenic an violative tackle.

It’s beauteous intense.

“I deliberation that violative linemen are precise acheronian radical successful a batch of ways,” Villanueva said Thursday. “I deliberation it’s a presumption wherever erstwhile you adjacent your eyes earlier the play, each sorts of atrocious things are happening, and you’re hoping that they don’t, due to the fact that a batch of things are extracurricular of your control.

“It’s precise akin to erstwhile I was jumping retired of airplanes. … A strategy of shoelaces and integrative bags catches maine up successful the aerial and avoids definite death. Then you get these benignant of feelings that there’s not a batch of upside to jumping, not a batch of upside to playing tackle.”

Villanueva, who was an progressive subordinate of the U.S. Army earlier his NFL career, offered up that examination aft experiencing the highs and lows of the violative enactment successful his archetypal 2 games this season. When his Baltimore Ravens mislaid astatine Las Vegas successful their opener, helium allowed 2 sacks and 10 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. The pursuing weekend, helium allowed nary of either arsenic the Ravens bushed Kansas City.

Villanueva has been nether scrutiny successful portion due to the fact that Baltimore’s violative enactment hasn’t wholly travel unneurotic arsenic planned. The Ravens signed him distant from rival Pittsburgh this past offseason. Then Baltimore traded near tackle Orlando Brown to the Chiefs for draught picks.

The reasoning was that Ronnie Stanley, whose 2020 play ended aboriginal due to the fact that of an ankle injury, would beryllium back—and helium did commencement the opener astatine near tackle, with Villanueva connected the right. But that was a unsmooth crippled for the enactment arsenic a whole, and Stanley didn’t play the pursuing weekend. Villanueva moved from the close broadside to the left.

“I conscionable deliberation he’s getting much comfy with what we’re doing, however we’re doing it and whatnot,” violative coordinator Greg Roman said. “The assemblage sound had a small origin for him successful that archetypal game, but I truly deliberation arsenic I watch, he’s truly getting much comfy with things. I deliberation helium looked astatine that archetypal crippled and conscionable said, ‘That’s not going to hap again.’ So, that’s a recognition to him.”

Lamar Jackson was sacked 3 times against the Raiders but lone erstwhile against the Chiefs, and the Baltimore violative enactment has blocked good capable for the squad to scope its accustomed spot atop the NFL successful rushing. For a subordinate who is inactive caller to the Ravens, this has been an eventful commencement for Villanueva.

“It’s not conscionable myself learning astir him, I anticipation a batch of radical did. He took the archetypal crippled seriously. A batch of radical doubted him (and) were saying each benignant of worldly astir him,” Jackson said. “He moved from close tackle successful the archetypal crippled to near tackle to support my unsighted side, and helium aced it. He did a large job.”

That benignant of enactment means a batch to Villanueva, who, though helium compared playing tackle to jumping retired of a plane, is plentifulness susceptible of looking connected the agleam broadside of things.

“It’s relying connected the radical successful the gathering that are going to enactment you — coaches, players — and effort to bash the champion with the adjacent snap,” helium said. “That’s the lone happening that matters. There’s ever the adjacent snap.”

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