You gotta be here to believe it, but the Ravens are dropping like flies in the Harbaugh era of training camp. It begs the question of whether pro football training camps need to be so lengthy, in tandem with a four game pre-season schedule.
But for the Ravens, the injuries may pay off big in the latter stages of the season. Despite bad shoulders and sprained ankles dotting the defensive units and the offensive line, none of the injuries appear to be serious enough to miss regular season time.
And that could bode well for veterans needing the extra rehab for the [...]

The word out of camp is that a sprained MCL is what sidelined Haloti Ngata, and that Kelly Gregg is favoring what appears to be a knee injury.
So what does it mean when you two defensive tackles have bum wheels ?
A. Shorten training camp.
B. Avoid contact drills as much as possible ?
C. Maybe Brian Billick was onto something with Camp Cream Puff for veterans?
Could be a little of all three. Most players around the league agree that training camp is far to long and far to arduous for a sport they have been playing all of their lives. To an [...]

There’s much talk in the city regarding the Baltimore Ravens’ quarterback situation, and rightfully so. A town that’s never boasted a reliable starting quarterback deserves to clamor about regarding the new age movement at the position.
But at some point, that question will be answered and a new question will take its place; who will be the team’s go-to receiver? The obvious answer would be a tested veteran, and quickly lends itself to the portfolio of Todd Heap.
But while he’s been one of the most talented tight ends in the NFL, he’s also been among its most injured. There are no [...]

Trevor Pryce, one of the stars of the Ravens’ defensive line before injuries slowed him down in 2007, is in camp and looking better than ever.
The defensive end looked trim and didn’t seem to be carrying extra weight on his 6-foot-5, 286-pound frame. After practicing with mostly rookies in the morning at McDaniel College in Westminster, Pryce ran sprints on an empty football field, finishing the last one by backpedaling the entire way.
The Ravens gotta have this guy this season. Not only is he among the team’s veteran leadership, but any subdued performance on the part of Terrell Suggs missing [...]

The Baltimore Sun’s Jamison Hensley reports from Ravens camp that Troy Smith took the first team’s snaps today.
And struggled.
In six plays, he was 1-for-5 passing with three interceptions and a fumbled snap. One of the interceptions was made by secondary coach Chuck Pagano, who was filling in as a defensive back.
Kyle Boller was 4-for-4 in the same drill but threw all short passes. Joe Flacco was 1-for-3, but his one completion was a tough pass over the middle to Patrick Carter.
A pick by the defensive backs coach? Not good, TS.

Michael Strahan did it to perfection last year, and the hope is that Terrell Suggs’ contract situation and resulting absence from training camp will reap the same results.
The bottom line: why go to camp if its not necessary? Why suffer through hot days when you’ve already proven yourself as an elite player, have the respect of teammates, and have the leverage of contractually not being obligated to come?
Would you come to work if you didn’t have to?
Thought not.
There will be some ornery sportswriters wh omight stir the pot on this one, but there’s really no soup to the story. It’s [...]

With the big fish finally into the fryer, the Baltimore Ravens still have a few more rookies to attend to prior to training camp on Monday. From the Baltimore Sun article:
The Ravens’ eight unsigned draft picks are running back Ray Rice (second round), linebacker Tavares Gooden (third), safety Tom Zbikowski (third), wide receiver Marcus Smith (fourth), offensive tackle David Hale (fourth), safety Haruki Nakamura (sixth), wide receiver Justin Harper (seventh) and running back Allen Patrick (seventh).
Obviously, Ray Rice, Marcus Smith and Tavares Gooden are the rookies that could have an impact on this season. Getting everyone into camp on time [...]

Five years and $30 million. That’s how long and how much it will take for Joe Flacco to become the face of the Baltimore Ravens franchise.
There’s been no secret that Flacco will play understudy for as long as possible. With Brett Favre rumors to the side, that means he has, at the most, this season to prepare while Kyle Boller or Troy Smith gets the nod for opening day.
Which may or may not be a good thing for Flacco and the Ravens.
Fans expect him to make an appearance this season, for better or for worse. He’s the quarterback they’ve been [...]

Okay, no need to panic about the Baltimore Ravens missing the Tuesday deadline to ink franchise tagged Terrell Suggs to a deal. No need to worry, right?
Or is there?
Ravens’ GM Ozzie Newsome says they’ll have a deal in place, and Suggs has said he wants to be in Baltimore, but what about when other big time players come up for renegotiation? It’s a question Newsome himself subconsciously entertained:
“We view him like Ed Reed, Todd Heap, Ray Lewis and Jonathan Ogden,” Newsome said. “He is one of those guys that we want to keep a Raven.”
Exactly. And that’s the exact reason [...]

The Baltimore Sun is reporting that officials for the Baltimore Ravens and the representative for Joe Flacco will be meeting in the coming days to bring contract negotiations to completion. They are aiming for a two-day window, and preferably before the July 22 start of training camp.
Nice work by the Ravens to not only show commitment to their first round draft pick and presumed future of the franchise, but to also stifle those pesky Brett Favre rumors.