Daniel Faalele has strictly been a right tackle during his football career. That’s what he played in high school. That’s where he stayed in college. The Ravens gave him some training camp reps at left tackle – just in case – this summer, but they drafted him to play right tackle.
The dire situation arose Sunday at Gillette Stadium after Patrick Mekari suffered an ankle injury six snaps into the game. Ja’Wuan James was lost to a torn Achilles in Week 1 and Ronnie Stanley isn’t ready for game action yet in his return from ankle surgery.
That left Faalele grinding it out in a tough environment against Matthew Judon and a strong Patriots pass rush. Faalele had some tough reps early on and was credited with two sacks allowed, but finished with a very respectable grade of 59.8 from Pro Football Focus.
“As the game went on, he really settled in,” Head Coach John Harbaugh said. “The two rushers they had, obviously coming off the edges, were both very good football players. It just seemed to me that once we kind of got settled down … A loud stadium, silent count – [he] really hadn’t been practicing the silent count all week with the ones.
“Once he kind of got the timing of that down and got a feel for the speed of the game, he seemed to get his confidence into the second half where I think he felt like he belonged out there, and started playing really well. So, that was a big plus for us. The whole offensive line played extremely well, and he’s a good example of that.”
Faalele could be the starter in Sunday’s big Week 4 game against the Bills, too. It’s unknown when Stanley will feel ready to play and Mekari is dealing with a sprained ankle. According to reports, it doesn’t sound like Mekari will be sidelined for too long.
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