Here are a couple of my thoughts as it relates to some of the Ravens key players who have not practiced:

 

-          Ed Reed – I have been saying for several weeks and will continue to say that I do not think you will be seeing Ed Reed to start the season. I find it interesting from the point that Ed has still not had contact in any of the team drills, and has not been seen during the media portion of practice the last couple of days. Now could Ed be coming out after the media goes in, sure, but I do not know that Coach Harbaugh would try and pull one over like that. I am still sticking to what I have said all along; there is more to this Ed Reed injury than what we are hearing. If I was a gambling man, the only #20 you will see week 1 versus Cincinnati will be someone wearing it in the stands.

 

-          Kelly Gregg -is another injury that has really had me interested the last couple of weeks. Kelly has been out for the majority of training camp and all of the preseason games with a knee injury. Coach Harbaugh said yesterday that he is optimistic that Kelly will be ready to start the season. I do not think Kelly will be ready to start the season. I do think you will see him at some point during the season, but for how long? Kelly not practicing and not playing just makes me wonder how is he going to be ready for September 7? Again I just have questions about his availability to start the season. (*UPDATE: The signings of Marques Douglas makes me think that there are questions about Kelly Gregg for the season)

 

 

-          Kyle Boller – early indications are that Kyle has a shoulder issue on his throwing arm that could be severe.  If that is the case, this could be a huge blow to the offense, as crazy as I know that may sound to people. I think Kyle is a very good backup, and regardless of who started this year, would be needed at some point in time. I am not very optimistic we will see Kyle.

 

-          Todd Heap – I have no concerns that Todd will be ready to start the season. I think some people are out of their minds for calling him injury prone like he has missed a ton of time due to injuries every year. He has played in every game 4 out of the last 6 years.

 

 

-          Willis McGahee – I am not sure what to think about him. Some days you see Willis and he looks like he could go out and play that day, yesterday he had more of a limp than I have seen him with all of camp. If I had to say right now, I would say that Willis does not play in week 1.

 

-          Chris McAlister – Again, much like Willis, McAlister makes you wonder almost every time you see him. One day he looks like he is ready then a day later he doesn’t, then next think you know he is out at practice. I will say I think McAlister is ready to start the season, but have concerns about how his knee holds up throughout the year.

 

 

-          Dan Cody – I know this might sound like a broken record, but I think this year is the year Dan Cody makes it. I had a chance to catch up with him yesterday for a pretty lengthy 1 on 1 which you can find in the audio vault.

 

-          Derrick Martin –Derrick suffered a shoulder injury during the Vikings game and has been out ever since. Derrick has not been in the practices with the team since the injury, and I think has to be a concern going into the regular season. Derrick I felt really solidified his place on the team with a solid camp and preseason. Now he still has a little incident at an airport to get cleared up, but the league will handle that.

It has been news worthy day here at Ravens training camp;

 

-          Prescott Burgess and P.J. Daniels were both place on injured reserve today. Burgess, who missed eight games with a hip injury, is out with a broken wrist.  P.J. Daniels is out due to a separated shoulder. P.J. was on 53 man roster all of 2006, but was inactive for every game. He also missed the 2007 season with a hamstring injury.

 

-          The Ravens parted ways today with 2005 5^th round draft pick Justin Green. Justin never scored a touchdown with the Ravens while totaling 4yds rushing in 39 games while having 13 catches for 65 yards.

 

 

-          Ed Reed discussed his shoulder injury today when he meet with the media and said that there is more to the injury than what is being told. I have said all along that there is more to Ed’s injury than what is being told, and Ed basically said the same thing today. You can listen to the audio in the audio vault on the website

 

-          Willis McGahee is in Florida to have his left knee scoped to “clean it out” as Coach Harbaugh put it and to see exactly what is going on with his knee. There is no word as to when Willis will return to practice.

 

-          The Ravens also added two new players this morning in defensive lineman Darrell Campbell and linebacker Terrence Melton.

 

-          The offensive line took another hit this morning when Mike Kracalik left the field with a trainer while holding his left hand.

 

 

-          Adam Terry, Haloti Ngata, Dan Cody, Dan Wilcox, and Chris McAlister were all working out on the side today during practice and look like they could be getting closer to returning to practice with the team.

 

-          The Ravens will end training camp as it relates to fans and media on Thursday. Friday is closed to the public and media as it is a walk thru for the players

Since the Ravens are closed to the public and media for a walk thru/ travel day, I thought today would be another good opportunity for a Ravens questions and answers blog.

So today the discussion of when Terrell Suggs will return to camp came up among members of the media. Several people said next week some said the last week of the preseason. So here is my prediction, August 18^th.

 

I pick that day, because the Ravens will have just finished playing their second preseason game versus the Vikings and will have ended camp that Friday, Aug. 15^th. That is the day that makes sense to me. Suggs would have missed all the fun and not so fun things that comes with training camp, yet be back in time to play in the last two preseason games and be at the facility in Owings Mills everyday.

 

So there is my prediction Monday Aug 18^th, I think Terrell Suggs will return to the Ravens.

 

 

- Tomorrow’s morning session of practice is closed the public, as it will only be open for special invited guest. They will however have an afternoon session starting at 2:45.

With today being a day at training camp that is off limits to fans and media, I thought this would be an opportunity for readers to submit questions and I will answer them as they regard the Ravens. This again will be a weekly and sometimes twice a week blog I will have here on the website.

 

Here are a couple of notes from late yesterday evening:

 

-          Willis McGahee appeared to be in better shape than what he was when he was in town for the mandatory camps.

 

-          Chris McAlister may be the happiest guy to be back at camp. Chris was smiling and joking with the media about how much he loves us, saying hello to everyone that works for the Ravens or the Best Western that was within 100 feet of him.

 

 

-          Ray Lewis was wearing a new shirt he came up with. Ray usually has shirts that say Team 52 on the front. In the past on the back slogans such as Prayed up have been on there. Yesterday it said T52 on the front and Heart of a Lion on the back.

 

-          As was predicted and I wrote last week, Terrell Suggs did not report to camp yesterday.

 

 

-          Although it is called an Administrative Day today, the Ravens will have meetings most of the morning than a practice this afternoon. Reminder today is closed to the media.

 

-          People at S.A.F.E. might want to learn what Ravens coaches and players look like. I can not count the amount of times over the last two days that coaches, players, and even veterans reporting have complained about getting interrogated by the security at the team hotel. The fact that someone had to verify John Harbaugh was the coach to let him into the hotel is crazy. Several of the coaches either walk or run from practice back to hotel and a couple of gotten stopped by security asking them for identification.

 

 

-          John Harbaugh is so much about the team and not letting one person have the spot light, I wonder if he will allow the usual King Ugly contest to take place this year?

 

-          Tomorrow morning will be the first time fans and media will get a chance to see the entire 2008 Ravens team on the field at 8:45 a.m. Of course Terrell Suggs will not be there as well as Samari Rolle as he prepares for his fathers funeral.

 

-          It was funny yesterday to see several of the defensive veteran players walk in and run into Dan Cody and ask him what the practices have been like and have then been hitting and trying to get the details on what to expect. They were reminded that there was only 25 players there so there was not a lot that they could do.

 

-           

-          If I was taking a prediction, I think Dan Wilcox and Demetrius Williams, both start out on the physically unable to perform list (p.u.p.). I don’t think they will stay on it long, but it will allow them a week or so to recover to get back onto the field.

 

So fire away with any questions you might have.

 

7:53 a.m.

 

Today is the last day of the rookies, quarterbacks, and injured veterans camp here at Westminster. Throughout the day, the veterans of the Ravens will begin to report here to the Best Western in Westminster to begin the full team portion of camp. As I mentioned late last week and has been confirmed through several other sources, Terrell Suggs is not expected here today as well as Samari Rolle who has been given approval from the team to miss due to the death of his father.

 

Last night NFL Network ran a story on O.J. Brigance of the Ravens. If you did not get a chance to watch it on television last night, here is the video from the NFL website. O.J. is an inspirational person and makes you really think about how precious life is. Having seen and got to know O.J. over the last 3 or 4 years, he is always positive and upbeat, even now here at training camp as he comes passing by the lobby in his motorized wheelchair, he always has a smile on his face and says hello to everyone.

 

As of right now, the plans are still for practice to get going as planned at 8:45 a.m.

 

8:11

 

So a quick blog before heading to practice, I was a little late this morning after the top notch SAFE security thought media were not allowed at the team hotel although I have a parking pass and a credential with my name and all camp written on it, but it is what it is.

Its S.A.F.E. management, what can you expect? They even stopped a Ravens employee and questioned if they were suppose to be here.

 

When the players get ready to walk out of the doors here at the hotel there is a friendly reminder waiting on them. There is a note on the door that reminds players to sign autographs after practice and to show appreciation to the fans who come out to support them during camp. Also on the flyer is a note to tell players to not leave a teammate alone signings autographs.

 

Well off to watch the first practice of 2008 training camp with rookies and some injured vets. I will be doing updates every hour on the radio, but not on blog till later this afternoon.

With the Ravens getting ready to start to report to camp on Monday, here are a couple of quick thoughts heading into camp:

 

-          There is no doubt that Joe Flacco is the quarterback of the future, I still think that Troy Smith will be under center to start the season. The more interesting conversation to me will be who will be the number 2 quarterback. Troy has the players respect and will not be afraid to get in someone’s face that might need it. If you are Troy, this is your shot to prove what you can do, I mean let’s be honest he is smart enough to see that Flacco is the guy for the future.

 

-          If I am a betting man, I say Terrell Suggs does not show up to camp. Now interesting enough, Suggs is scheduled to talk to the media this week at camp, but I have a strong feeling he will not be there. Now who knows if this will be a whole camp holdout or week long hold out, but I say he will not be there.

 

 

-          Speaking of Suggs when people say he had a bad year last year, they are basing that on his sack total being down and he had no interceptions. Suggs had a career high in tackles, solo tackles, and assisted tackles.

 

-          This could be a huge pro bowl caliber year for Todd Heap. Todd has battled injuries the last couple of years, but has looked good during the camps so far. Now granted he has not been hit or has not run up and down the field at game speed, but under Cam Cameron’s offense, Todd could have a huge year.

 

-          It will be interesting to see how the veterans handle not being able to go home at night after camp starts. Coach Harbaugh has made it perfectly clear that there will be no more going home at night after practice. Now on the surface that might sound like a silly thing, but it could be something to see if a player speaks out about it this year.

 

-          I am interested to see how Coach Harbaugh handles running a camp and the dealing with a media on a daily basis. I have been very impressed with everything that I have seen and both heard as to how he has been doing things since taking over as the head coach, but this will be a interesting thing to watch develop. How does he handle the media? How does he handle the heat and injuries that happen at camp? How does he handle the daily questions about when Terrell Suggs might report to camp?

 

-          This and many other things will be what I will be talking about here on WNST with blogs and also with audio. We will have some weekly segments and features each week as the Ravens begin the Coach John Harbaugh era.

Here are some notes from manager Dave Trembley’s meeting with the media:

 

-          As the revolving door at short stop continues, the team is out looking for options outside of the organization for that position. Trembley said that Brandon Fahey and Freddie Bynum will play depending on who does what. I think the problem will be that there is not much out there on the free agent market or in trade.

 

-          Matt Albers will go to visit with the famous surgeon Dr Andrews in Alabama tomorrow. Albers is going to get a second opinion on his torn labrum and whether surgery or rehab is the best option. I think having Albers go ahead and have the surgery would be the best for him and the team for the future.

 

-          If the opportunity arises tonight, Trembley said he would go to George Sherill again in a save situation. Sherill is a very competitive guy and said it does not take him long to forget what happens. As for his glove that he tossed in the stands last night, he says he does not want it back and that it is not the first time he has done that.

 

-          Jamie Walker did something last night that he has not done since 1999. Jamie sat in the dugout to watch a game as he is currently on the disabled list. Jamie told Dave Trembley it is a whole different game to see from the dugout compared to from the bullpen. There is some deal that Walker has with Chad Bradford and George Sherrill where if they come into the game, he goes out to the bullpen. My take is that Jamie could be a nice veteran asset to have for the young guys in the bullpen. He can talk to them about situations and different things. Trembley commented on how sharp and knowledgeable Jamie is and said that not much gets by him. Trembley pointed out that Walker could also help young guys like Liz, Olson, and other pitchers while they are sitting in the dugout.

So the end has officially come for Jonathan Ogden. WNST was reporting it early this morning and it has been confirmed by everyone including the Ravens that Ogden will officially end his career tomorrow at 11:30.

When I was leaving the Ravens complex this evening, Ogden had just arrived and was headed upstairs to speak with Ozzie Newsome. It appears that Edwin Mulitalo is flying into Baltimore to be here for Ogden tomorrow and there are possibly other former players that will be in attendance.

 

I only had the pleasure of covering J.O. for the last couple of years. He was one of the more interesting guys in that locker room. He was the guy who was not the biggest fan of having to deal with the media, but would give you what you were looking for and the sooner he could say it and be done with it the better.

You would be hard to find anyone in the building at 1 Winning Drive or anyone who ever played with Ogden to say a bad word about him. Everyone speaks very highly of him and have the utmost respect for him not only for what he did for the Ravens, but how he will go down in the history books as one of the greatest to ever play the position.

 

I wrote earlier that one of the final images I will remember of Ogden is of him on the sidelines holding his son in his arms and watching the final moments of his career tick off the clock.

Let’s be honest, Ogden had a lot of great moments on the field, but a lot of people will remember his Gebco commercials.

There are a lot of battles that he had with guys like Michael Strahan, Shawne Merriman, and many, many others. The way he used to laugh at guys like Joey Porter when all they did was talk trash the whole game. Ogden would just smile and laugh at him.

I consider myself fortunate to have seem him interact with his teammates and watch him walk to his locker and grab a book or two and want to go somewhere where he could go and read his books and be alone.

Listening to how guys like Mike Flynn and Orlando Brown talk about how tight Ogden was with his money and how he would take them out to eat and then tell them he need money from each one of them to help pay for the bill was classic.

All the times he would come out and do a show every season with Nestor on a Monday night and the times getting to sit and just talk with him about a Cover 2 defense or how he liked Lionel Richie’s music were fun.

It was a lot of fun getting a chance to sit and talk with him this past Super Bowl in Arizona as well. The videos are in wnsTV’s vault under Super Bowl.

 

Although the NFL is not that big on retiring player’s numbers any more, I don’t think we will ever see anyone else wear the number 75 in Baltimore. I am sure that at some point this year he will be inducted into the Ravens Ring of Honor. It was a joy to cover Ogden the last couple of years and will look forward to seeing him head to Canton in five years.

 

I’m innterested to hear what your favorite memories of Jonathan Ogden memories are…

Post them and I’ll get them up here…