Courtney Upshaw Passes Conditioning Drill

The only reason that the title of this story is important is that while Baltimore Ravens rookie OLB Courtney Upshaw passed his conditioning drill, it was because he originally failed it the first time he took it. Upshaw was on the field, working one-on-one with the coaching staff, as well as participating in drills.

After today's opening practice that included quarterbacks, rookies and injured veterans, head coach John Harbaugh spoke to the media and described what is involved in the conditioning drill, although he did not specifically address Upshaw's performance or the previous lack thereof.

Apparently, the drill involves six 150-yards runs, in 25-yard intervals, with the player's time, position and weight taken into account in determining whether a player has passed or failed. What Upshaw did or failed to do that resulted in the initial failure remains unclear although it is obvious he did not complete it in time. Hopefully, this was not a true conditioning issue and will not slow down his learning curve towards the 2012 NFL season.