OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg wants quarterback Ryan Mallett to play at a high level consistently and feels the backup quarterback will benefit from more starters suiting up in Thursday's preseason game in Miami.
In the preseason opener, Mallett completed half of his passes (9 of 18) and averaged a woeful 3.2 yards per attempt. His supporting cast didn't include all three starting wide receivers (Jeremy Maclin, Mike Wallace and Breshad Perriman), his most experienced tight end (Ben Watson) and his best pass-catcher out of the backfield (Danny Woodhead).
"He did some really good things in the ballgame, and some other things we missed a little bit," Mornhinweg said of Mallett on Monday. "It was several people's problems there. And hopefully, we've gotten that straightened out."
Asked how many of the incompletions can be put on Mallett and how many can be placed on miscommunication with younger players, Mornhinweg said, "As quarterbacks, everything is our responsibility, period. The ball is coming out of our hand, done. That's the way we approach things. There are some details with it that we have to clean up. That's how we mentally go about our position and our game."
Mallett will start the second and third preseason games because Baltimore is sitting out Joe Flacco, who is still expected to be ready for the beginning of the regular season. A back issue has sidelined Flacco for all of camp.
Mornhinweg believes holding out Flacco for the preseason won't hurt him because this is his 10th NFL season.
"I sure would love to have him here," Mornhinweg said. "There is no substitute for experience, especially in this situation. It looks like we'll have just enough time there to get him ready as long as he keeps progressing. By all accounts, he's progressing pretty well."
The Ravens signed journeyman Thad Lewis on Monday, but that was likely a move to upgrade the No. 3 spot. Dustin Vaughan, who joined the Ravens' practice squad late last year, struggled in the preseason opener and dropped to the bottom of the depth chart.
Mallett is looking to regain his form from December 2015, when he led Baltimore to an upset victory over Pittsburgh just 12 days after signing with the team. In training camp, Mallett has struggled with wild throws to his outside receivers and passes getting batted down at the line. In Thursday's preseason opener, Mallett didn't complete a pass longer than 11 yards and finished with a 57.2 passer rating.
"He's proven he can play at that high level," Mornhinweg said. "Now, let's play at that high level consistently. It looks like some more players playing [on Thursday], so that'll be a good thing for him."