Passing Camp Has Begun
By Joe Barnes
As teams just start to recover from the Draft, well, they don’t really recover at all. OTAs (Organized Team Activities) have started this week all over the NFL, and the Ravens have turned their first OTA into a full-blown passing camp.
With players from every position at the OTA, not just QBs, receivers and DBs, you can bet that this OTA will hold a lot of weight with the coaching staff as to who will make the team and what their role might be.
Click “Continue Reading” to see how the Ravens are starting things off at Passing Camp
Getting to know their new teammates and reuniting with their old partners on the field during the team’s mandatory minicamp earlier this month, the Ravens are all business in their first OTA. Joe Flacco has been throwing with his new weapons like Anquan Boldin and Donte Stallworth throughout the offseason, but now they are in a much more official setting. The coaching staff is treating this like regular practice, and per reports, the players are hitting the ground running. All the rookies are there, the established veterans are there, and guys looking to rebound from injury like Lardarius Webb are there.
As always, Ryan Mink and Mike Duffy are leading the storm of coverage on their blogs at BaltimoreRavens.com, and here are a few good reads for today from them:
The one about the defense is particularly interesting, as we’re hoping that the secondary can step up this season with Webb and Fabian Washington recovering from their torn ACLs.
While we’re linking to material, we’ll head over to The Sun, where Jamison Hensley lists the absentees from the OTA. The guys that missed it just because were Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, Derrick Mason, Willis McGahee and Trevor Pryce. I understand Lewis’ absence, as he likes working on his own offseason regimen, but the rest of these guys, in my opinion, should be there. Suggs just last week said he’s committed to having a big year with the team, so he should be there. It’s a passing camp, so of course Mason, a guy hoping not to get dropped down the depth chart at receiver should be there. McGahee and Pryce are both guys who are looking to make impact seasons to bounce back from sub-par 2009 seasons, and also have had previous allegations of not getting in shape enough before the season starts.
More updates on the OTA will come throughout this week.