The Ravens held their second full-contact practice of training camp on a steamy Sunday afternoon.
The team practiced for two-and-a-half hours on a muggy day with temperatures in the low 90s, and Head Coach John Harbaugh was impressed with how sharp his team looked.
"Guys did a great job; there were very few repeated plays," Harbaugh said. "Assignments were the best of camp so far. I'm sure we had some missed assignments, but very, very few. I've never seen so few missed assignments at this stage of training camp."
It was a competitive, physical practice, and tempers flared at times. Linebacker Josh Bynes and left guard Kelechi Osemele got into a scuffle during practice, and several other players then jumped into the fray to help break it up. The two players cooled off and* *continued practice without any other incidents.
Here were some of the other highlights from the practice session:
- Harbaugh gave a handful of veterans the day off, which is common throughout training camp. Linebacker Daryl Smith, wide receivers Steve Smith Sr. and Torrey Smith, defensive lineman Chris Canty and tight end Owen Daniels all watched practice in shorts.
- Cornerbacks Lardarius Webb and Chykie Brown also didn't practice. Webb hasn't practiced since leaving Friday's practice early, and Brown was also held out after tweaking his hamstring, Harbaugh said.
- The other injury issue is to veteran offensive lineman Will Rackley, who missed practice to be evaluated for a concussion, Harbaugh said.
- The Ravens did get a little help for their secondary as cornerback Dominique Franks joined the team for his first practice of camp after passing his conditioning test. Franks will compete for a roster spot after the Ravens signed him following a minicamp tryout last month.
- Putting on the pads makes practice much more physical. There were a few big hits on the day, with the most notable coming from Pro Bowl outside linebacker Terrell Suggs. He delivered a big hit on running back Justin Forsett out of the backfield, knocking Forsett off his feet. Bynes also had a few big hits and running back Bernard Pierce showed no hesitation to lower his shoulder as he plowed into piles at the line of scrimmage.
- The Ravens practice fast, and that tempo is set by Harbaugh. He was constantly challenging players to run from drill-to-drill, and there is no down time during practice.
- Tight end Dennis Pitta made a nice touchdown catch in the back corner of the end zone on a lofted pass from quarterback Joe Flacco. Pitta beat safety Matt Elam on the play.
- Fullback Kyle Juszczyk showed off his hands a few times by catching passes out of the backfield. His nicest catch of the day was a touchdown snag where he managed to keep both feet in bounds on the side of the end zone.
- The offensive line did a nice job protecting Flacco in the pocket. Improving the line was a huge priority of the offseason, and they have looked solid in the early part of training camp.
