The absences continue to outshine those in attendance at the Ravens voluntary OTAs. The Sun’s Matt Vensel counted 19 players on Baltimore’s 90 man roster that decided to skip out on the workouts/drills/training/whatever else they do at OTAs.
Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, Ray Rice, Bernard Pollard, Haloti Ngata, Anquan Boldin, Marshal Yanda, Bryant McKinnie, Jah Reid, Jimmy Smith, Cody Glenn, Rodney Bradley, Brendon Ayanbadejo, Asa Jackson, Pernell McPhee, Bryan Hall, David Reed and Vonta Leach all had better things to do than show up at Owings Mills.
As I mentioned last go-around, veterans skipping voluntary workouts is nothing new, but second-year players Jimmy Smith and Jah Reid’s absences are a bit more concerning. Both Smith and Reed are expecting to be competing for starting spots in their respective positions. I can’t imagine playing hooky will help their chances.
As for the vets, for a team that was one play away from the Super Bowl you would hope that these guys would be eager to get back to work to take that next step to get to the big game. The least they could do would be some mentoring for the Ravens rookies in their first camp and help set the tone of locker room early.
I’ve heard that ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio was critical of the Ravens no-shows in a radio appearance on 105.7 The Fan this morning. I cannot confirm this as I am asleep during the Norris and Davis Show and for whatever reason the interview hasn’t been posted on the station’s website. Can anyone out there verify or give a brief synopsis?
Paolantonio said that he had visited OTAs for DC, Philly, the Giants and the Pats, and that most of their stars and veterans were in attendance. He was especially critical of Ray and Ed, saying that they had missed an opportunity to set a standard for the rookies to live up to. He inferred a lack of leadership on their part.
Yea, I heard it too, around 0800, but the mainstream media is so far up the Ravens’ ass you’ll never hear anything more about it.
Asa Jackson is still in School. Cannot practice till his schools semester is over. He gets a break. But everybody else….. specially those fighting for starting jobs, you would think would be there.
But remeber these players negotiated shorter restricted practices for training camp, so they are not inclined to practice now. The old guys I do not care about. They need all the rest they can get. Our Schedule is brutal next year. Do not risk a Suggs like injury in May. Veterens do there job and please stay in Shape. The coaches set the tone, not the players.
Think about it,,,,,,,,,if you had the option to be around Harbaugh or not be around Harbaugh , which option would you choose,,,,,,,,,,,,no brainer , I still think Bisciotti made a mistake by hiring this pretender of a COACH,,,,,,,,,,I think savvy players know how limited he is and also see the window has closed a bit and are showing a bit of displeasure…………..Go Ravens………
Asa Jackson cannot workout until his school holds its graduation. Check out the NCAA rules before casting judgement…as for the rest, check out what they are doing and why before labeling. If the coach is upset, then you be upset…he is intense enough to know when to speak out.
MGW the national media has enough hate for the Ravens, once again people continue to overreact to the Ravens, what if the Ravens weren’t here? By the way spy that pretend coach you hate so much was just regarded as a top 5 coach according to Sporting News. I’m glad that a majority of the people in Baltimore love the Ravens enough to drown out the small amount of crazy haters.
I love the Ravens but that doesn’t change the fact they are weak in a few areas such as GM……….oh yea and a head coach that can’t win the big one………….
Harbaugh and Ozzie aren’t going anywhere, you can bring in a new coach and GM but it’s no guarantee that the Ravens are going to win a Superbowl, hell they could be worse. Spy how would you feel if the Ravens fired Harbaugh and Ozzie, hired a new coach and GM and the results were the same or worse? I request that you give me a straight answer, no avoiding the question.
@ Daniel , I will honor your request ;
If they were replaced and the outcome was the same or worse , I would admit being wrong but I really believe I’m right,,,,,,,,,I think both are over-rated , Ozzie by his consistent ‘panic pickups’ and lack of quality attention given to the O-line , aren’t you sick and tired of the pocket collapsing on poor Joe all the time ? If Birk gets pushed back any more you might as well just hand the ball off to him,,,,,,,,,,,,,,What can I say about the pretender Harbaugh , he just wasn’t ready to lead the Ravens to a super bowl , Biscoitti made a terrible mistake and I think he knows it now ,this team was ready for a super bowl run to the finish line and they had a corporate type to lead them into the ring of fire , you know how that turned out,,,,,,,,,,,and now the window is just about closed and no ring is in the Ravens future,,,,,,,,,,,,,I’m upset about it and think they should have done better with the defense they had , I just believe it was wasted by poor leadership and panic acquisitions……………I hope you understand………..
Spy I understand your frustration but it’s not easy to find a coach and GM who will help the Ravens automatically win a Superbowl. I agree that Ozzie has made some questionable moves that were panic moves but the man is still one of the best GMs in the league and it’s not always easy to find a good GM let alone a GM that is capable of building a Superbowl dynasty. Far as Harbaugh I agree that sometimes he frustrates me with his coaching decisions (AFC Title game) but the Ravens didn’t just make the playoffs 4 years in a row by accident, yes they have a strong defense but that defense wasn’t good enough to help the Ravens to 4 straight playoff appearances before Harbaugh got here and Sporting News just named him among the top 5 coaches in the league. The window hasn’t closed (by the way that concept is overrated) because the Ravens have a 27 year old QB who came of age in the AFC Title game. I will say this though if the Ravens have a losing season then I think Harbaugh won’t be in a comfortable position, as long as the Ravens are winning and remain in the hunt for a Superbowl Harbaugh and Ozzie aren’t going anywhere. I’m not a huge Harbaugh fan but I do respect him and what he’s done for the Ravens. I’m not going to be blind and ignore the good things Harbaugh has done, I’m not going to treat him like Skip Bayless treats Lebron James (focusing solely on the negatives).