4:06 p.m. — With Harbaugh not revealing any plans on which injured players will suit up and play on Thursday, here are some thoughts on the players in question.
Demetrius Williams will play if he feels good during the team walk-through tomorrow. He’s pushed through a hamstring issue for most of camp.
Todd Heap’s lower back has tightened up over the last couple days, but there’s still a chance he’ll play. Heap had not missed a practice before sitting out yesterday.
Jared Gaither is still bothered by the shoulder/neck issue, but he took part in plenty of live reps yesterday morning. He wants to play on Thursday, but it’ll depend how he feels during the walk-through.
Derrick Mason suffered a dislocated finger this morning during practice. I’d be surprised if he plays, and if he does, I’ll predict he’s nothing more than a decoy.
Ben Grubbs continues to battle an ankle issue dating back to the offseason. He participated in the early portion of practice today, but David Hale took his place at left guard. He’s questionable.
Marshal Yanda was given the day off today and is far ahead of schedule compared to where most people predicted he’d be at this point. However, the team has emphasized they want to take it slow with Yanda. He’s questionable.
Trevor Pryce has a foot issue, and his status is unknown. It did not appear serious, so we’ll see how the veteran defensive end is feeling by Thursday.
Terrell Suggs (heel) and Mark Clayton (hamstring) will not play and have not practiced since Aug. 2. Clayton has been on the field the past two days doing some light conditioning work.
Honestly, the only injury to really be concerned with at this point is Clayton’s. As much as Ravens fans want to beat Washington, a preseason game on Aug. 13—even against the hated Redskins—is meaningless in terms of wins and losses. The goal is to get these players ready for Sept. 13.
I suspect that most of these players would be playing if it were the regular season.
4:00 p.m. — In preparation for their preseason opener against the Washington Redskins on Thursday night, the Ravens will hold their walk-through on Wednesday. The walk-through is closed to both the media and general public.
3:30 p.m. — Chris Carr is still listed as the No. 1 punt and kick returner and looks very fluid while returning kicks. After watching him work in Westminster, it’s easy to see how he became the Oakland Raiders’ all-time leader in kickoff returns.
3:27 p.m. — The special teams practice lasted an hour and 15 minutes, and the focus of the afternoon was the punt and kick return teams.
Sam Koch was booming his punts and looks to be in mid-season form. He continues to use the rugby-style kick for placing punts inside the 20-yard line.
Steve Hauschka did an outstanding job kicking off, consistently kicking the ball inside the 5 with great hang time.
Rookie Paul Kruger received praise from John Harbaugh on several occasions. It looks like the second-round pick will be a major part of the special teams units this season.
1:56 p.m. — As expected, Derrick Mason’s injury appears to be a dislocation and not a broken finger. He’s probably doubtful for Thursday night at this point and it looked painful when it happened.
1:46 p.m. — Today was Baltimore football alumni day at training camp, and we saw a number of Baltimore Colts including Art Donovan, Lenny Moore, Jim Mutscheller, and John Mackey.
Among the former Ravens was wide receiver Michael Jackson (taking us back to the early days of the purple!) and future Hall of Famer Jonathan Ogden. We had a chance to chat with J.O. for a short time, and you can check that out in the WNST.net audio vault.
Ogden spent some time catching up with his former teammates on the sideline during practice.
1:38 p.m. — It’s been a very quiet camp for Ray Lewis, but the 34-year-old linebacker has been very active on the field, talking to the offense and competing as he always does. Lewis came into camp trimmer this season, wanting to maintain his speed as he begins his 14th season with the Ravens (hard to believe, isn’t it?).
Here’s a shot of No. 52 working on his hands at the jugs machine.
12:51 p.m. — Graham Gano appeared to have a much stronger leg this morning and kicked with much more confidence. Unofficially (there were no officials underneath the goalpost, so it was difficult to confirm a few), Gano hit field goals from 35, 43, 47, and 51 yards. He did appear to miss one from 38 yards, but it was very close—again, no official underneath the goalpost.
Steve Hauschka appeared to have the morning off after taking most of the reps yesterday.
12:48 p.m. — With the finger injury to Derrick Mason, there’s a good chance Harper will be starting on Thursday night, and the young receiver made another long catch this morning. Troy Smith lofted a 30-yard pass to Harper who beat Walker on the play.
12:31 p.m. — Despite all of the injury updates, there were some highlights this morning I wanted to share. Domonique Foxworth had an impressive pass breakup in the end zone as Mason tried to make the catch. Foxworth has been very steady in the secondary, and I am eager to see him play on Thursday night.
Chris Carr picked off Troy Smith this morning during passing drills. Carr continues to work as the Ravens’ nickleback in passing situations. He’s only 5-10, but he tends to play with a pretty physical style—a good thing as long as it’s within the rules of the game.
Yamon Figurs beat Evan Oglesby for a long completion from John Beck. In order for Figurs to make the 53-man roster, he will need to show the same playmaking ability in the four preseason games.
Figurs also got into an altercation with Frank Walker on the sideline during 11-on-11 drills. Figurs hauled in the pass and was then thrown to the ground by Walker. The two players took swings at one another, but the fight was quickly separated and cooler heads prevailed.
12:29 p.m. — Ed Reed once again tossed away the red jersey this morning and was sporting the white one like his fellow defensive mates, but don’t read too much into it. When asked about it, Harbaugh said Reed wears the white during non-contact days, so quarterback Joe Flacco cannot pick him out in the secondary as easily as he does in the red shirt.
Harbaugh would not reveal any new information on Reed’s status, so it’s a mystery whether he’ll play against Washington on Thursday night.
12:24 p.m. — The Ravens continue to run single-back sets with Le’Ron McClain lined up on the wing as a tight end and often going in motion. I imagine we’ll see this look on Thursday night, especially with Heap’s uncertain status. McClain has also shown an improved ability to catch passes coming out of the backfield so far this summer.
12:17 p.m. — Harbaugh was very tight-lipped when asked which injured players would play on Thursday night, saying the media could probably figure it out. With that being said, I would predict we’ll see an offensive line (going left to right) of Oniel Cousins, David Hale, Matt Birk, Chris Chester, and Michael Oher. Gaither had returned to practice yesterday, but it appears the shoulder/neck is still bothering him, and the team will also bring Yanda along very slowly. Grubbs may see some reps, but I would think Hale gets most of the time with the starting unit at left guard.
Defensively, we’ll have to wait and see on Pryce’s status, but Dwan Edwards took his place on the defensive line today. Rookie Paul Kruger will take Terrell Suggs’ spot in the starting lineup, but we’ll see Antwan Barnes get some time at the position.
12:15 p.m. — Despite several players missing practice this morning, linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo once again practiced and took reps with the second-team defense. He has been slowed by a toe injury since the beginning of camp and just recently began working out with the team. While he’s still not 100 percent, he looks much better moving around on the field than he did last week.
12:11 p.m. — Ravens fans will continue to hold their collective breaths as we wait for further news on Derrick Mason. Harbaugh did not sound too concerned, but Mason will have an x-ray taken on the finger, and I’ve heard some rumblings about it possibly being dislocated.
If Mason and Williams cannot play on Thursday, the Ravens would likely start Kelley Washington and Justin Harper at wide receiver—a scary proposition if it were the regular season.
12:00 p.m. — If Tuesday’s practice is any indication of who will be suiting up for the Ravens on Thursday night, quite a few players will be missing from the starting lineup. Jared Gaither, Marshal Yanda, Trevor Pryce, Todd Heap, and Demetrius Williams did not practice this morning. Heap and Williams were dressed to practice, but they did not participate in any team drills and observed most of the practice from the sidelines.
Cornerback Fabian Washington sat out the latter portion of practice with Frank Walker taking his place in the lineup. Washington has battled tendinitis in his knee for the last week.
Left guard Ben Grubbs practice and took reps in the early portion of practice, but David Hale took his place on the line, and Grubbs was not present at the end of practice. It will be interesting to see if Grubbs plays on Thursday night, as he continues to deal with the same ankle issue that landed him on the PUP list at the start of training camp.
11:04 a.m. — John Harbaugh just met with the media and said that Derrick Mason will get his hand X-rayed but he didn’t seem too concerned. More to come…
10:15 a.m. — Derrick Mason just left the field with trainer Bill Tessendorf. He appears to have jammed some fingers on his right hand. More to come…
10:01 a.m. — David Hale also getting reps at left guard. Ravens are going to be careful with Ben Grubbs’ ankle.
9:53 a.m. — Yamon Figurs and Frank Walker get into a little altercation on the sideline after the catch.
9:31 a.m. — Art Donovan, Lenny Moore and some other Baltimore Colts are at camp today. Jonathan Ogden also!
9:18 a.m. — L.J. Smith is taking the first team reps. Todd Heap is dressed to practice but not doing much.
9:10 a.m. — Demetrius Williams is not doing much so far.
