Training Camp 7/27: Notes and Pictures

The Ravens first training camp practice open to the public was held earlier this morning and it was nice to see the players out there on the field today. The pads were not on as all the players were in shorts, but the intensity was still there. Head coach John Harbaugh made sure that today's practice was up tempo and the players were hustling from drill to drill. Only rookies, QB's and select veterans were at the practice today and the rest of the team will report to camp Wednesday. Here is a list of the veterans I saw that were here today.

• Matt Birk
• Kelly Gregg
• Haloti Ngata
• Oniel Cousins
• Jarret Johnson
• Lardarius Webb
• Haruki Nakamura
  
• Fabian Washington
• Brendon Ayanbadejo

Judging by the selected veterans there today, it seems that the Ravens wanted to bring in all of the players who were hurt last year to give them a head start before the contact begins later in the week. Here are a few notes from today's practice

• Safety Haruki Nakamura looks to be back to form. He was flying around in the backfield and even tackled offensive consultant Al Saunders on one play. Good to see Ruki getting back to full health.
• Rookie RB Curtis Steele is very, very fast. This guy may have better acceleration than Ray Rice does. Steele caught a few dump off passes about 3-4 yards off the line of scrimmage and was up the field 20 yards in a split second. The guy is built for speed.
• WR David Reed made some very nice catches today. A few came in traffic and Reed had no problem turning it up field. He was also running a few special teams drills as the gunner and looked good doing that as well.
• Rookie tight ends Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta both looked solid today, but also looked like rookies. Pitta had a false start on one play that ended the series, this was not liked by the coaches. Pitta did however have some nice catches in the middle of the field and is built very nicely. Dickson is a big tight end. This guy is a 250+ pound WR out there and it shows. Elite athleticism and made a few nice catches out on the flats.
• Flacco is looking as good as ever. You can hear him commanding the offense and taking over. Passes looked good and is throwing a real nice ball. Added some bulk on there to and is really starting to come into his own.
• Newly acquired QB Marc Bulger looked okay today. Fumbled a snap on one play but his drop back looked fast and it seems he can still throw pretty well. Troy Smith was godlike as usual. John Beck had a rough morning.
• CB Lardarius Webb and Fabian Washington were doing drills off to the side and also after practice. Lardarius looks huge now, he definitely added some bulk to his upper body and he just has the build of an elite CB. Back peddle looked great but it is obvious that Webb is still hesitant when planting his foot and then changing direction.
  
• Ravens offensive consultant Al Saunders is officially the coolest coach on our staff. Man, this guy is in his 60's but you would never guess it by the way he acts on the field. Every, and I mean EVERY play Saunders is either covering a WR as a CB or is running routes. After each ball was caught by a WR or TE, you could find Saunders running over to that player and trying to swat the ball away. Tons of energy and really keeps the practice going. On one play, David Reed caught a pass and Saunders was running along side of him screaming to turn it up field, then out of no where Haruki Nakamura blindsides Saunders and put a good wrap up on him. Al Saunders is going to be a huge help in progressing our guys throughout training camp. It is so much fun to watch him coach.

Here are a few pictures I was able to take before and throughout the practice this morning.

DL Haloti Ngata

DL Brandon McKinney

LB Brendon Ayanbadejo

OL Ramon Harewood

NT Terrence Cody

CB Fabian Washington

OT Oniel Cousins and C Matt Birk

Head Coach John Harbaugh saying hi to the kids

WR David Reed making a catch against Nakamura and Gerrard

Al Saunders running with WR David Reed

TE Dennis Pitta turning up field after making a catch

QB Joe Flacco

QB Joe Flacco throwing a deep pass

QB Joe Flacco

RB Curtis Steele signing autographs for the kids