Carroll Helps Ease Ravens' Travels

NFL fans may be sick of hearing it, but that doesn't make it any less true – it is hard to win on the road.

Fans and pundits usually emphasize to the hostile environments that visiting teams have to deal with. But, players, coaches and others within NFL organizations point to the pattern-disrupting chaos of traveling as the largest obstacle to overcome with a winning result.

Picture this: when the Ravens' flight takes off to Pittsburgh Sunday afternoon, it will be carrying 53 players, more than a dozen coaches and scores of support staff. It will also be following a truck carrying 16,000 pounds of equipment to outfit those passengers for Monday night's divisional matchup with the Steelers.

With so much at stake in such a Herculean task, the Ravens rely on long-time equipment manager Ed Carroll, while refining their travel process tirelessly. Most think the efforts have paid off.

"The process is what it is, but I think the Ravens make it as easy on you as they can," defensive lineman Trevor Pryce said.

The Ravens - who fly to every NFL city except Washington, Philadelphia and New York - to which they take trains or buses) - and head coach Brian Billick have an acute understanding of the effects that air-travel can take on athletes' bodies.

"When you fly, you're losing altitude, gaining altitude, your blood gets thin, your blood gets thick, and that's something I never really realized until I came here," Pryce said. "Flying across the country takes a toll on you and Brian notices that, which is a good thing. Sometimes he'll say we're sluggish in practice because we just landed 24 hours ago."

Pryce also appreciates that the Ravens reserve the first class section of the team plane for players that have been in the league for 10 or more years, while in Denver the coaching staff sat in first class.

"That's huge for a guy like Jonathon Ogden, who is 6-foot-9, or me," Pryce said. "In Baltimore, they try to make it as comfortable as possible, especially for the older guys."

Moving the players is only half the battle, as Carroll can attest. With the organization for 19 years, Carroll's responsibility extends from making sure that an injured player is wearing the proper cap on the sideline to tying Ray Lewis's shoes.

Carroll, who has a full-time assistant and a seasonal intern, knows the impact his decisions can have on the outcome of a game and takes his tasks very seriously, particularly when it comes to avoiding a situation like the one that developed in Thursday night's Virginia Tech-Georgia Tech matchup where several Hokies had to play in white Georgia Tech practice jerseys.

As a result, he has a thorough process that starts on Monday and ends when the last truck carrying his equipment leaves – usually about 36 hours before game time.

Responsible for the player and personnel's uniforms, Carroll begins the week by filling a bag for each individual with socks, gloves, pants, jersey, and - in some players' case - multiple pairs of shoes.

"Every player gets a new pair of shoes and gloves every week," Carroll said. "It used to be that Ray Lewis would go through one pair of shoes each half, but they seem to be holding up better now."

In all, Carroll fills more than 30 crates and bins with things to be shipped, including two jerseys for every player and two more extras at the Ravens' training facility.

But Carroll's job doesn't end when the players' equipment reaches the road lockers.

Before the game, Carroll says he has to dress players who are taped up in braces and can't reach to tuck in their jerseys or pull up their socks. Then on the sideline, Carroll watches for the tell-tale signs that he needs to spring into action – tugging at a pad, gesturing to a chin strap, or calling a ref for an equipment timeout.

Carroll's occupation beckons the adage, "It's hard work, but somebody's got to do it," and he does it well, ironing out the finest details.

For instance, if a road game is more than 12 hours away by truck, he flies the equipment back to Baltimore because otherwise the stains set in the uniform and won't come out.

Carroll's consideration is precisely what helps the team focus on football, and not on their shoelaces.