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Ravens news, notes and opinions on second-year players, Steve Smith, cornerbacks

Football pundits like to say that players make their biggest jump in terms of performance from their first to their second seasons.

With a full season under their belt, second-year players understand what kind of shape they have to be in to deal with the grind of an NFL campaign. They have a full offseason to attack their weaknesses and a better understanding of the playbook. They can be more assertive and less focused on fitting in and not standing out for the wrong reasons.

I’ve written repeatedly that reading too much into how players look and perform at voluntary organized team activities this early in the summer isn’t wise.