The Ravens had another hot, full-padded practice Sunday afternoon to finish up the weekend.
All week there has been plenty of jawing back and forth amongst the offense and defense between drills, and that continued Sunday.
"Practice was good – spirited coming out," Head Coach John Harbaugh said. "It was a good, physical practice."
Here were some of the highlights from Day 4 of training camp practice:
- Left tackle Bryant McKininie looks much better than he did his first day on the field. He's more active and effective in drills, and he made it through nearly all of practice on a very hot afternoon. He's headed in the right direction.
- The offensive line was without Kelechi Osemele for the third-straight day after he suffered a leg strain on the second day of practice. It's a minor leg strain, but the Ravens are being cautious with Osemele. Ramon Harewood also missed practice, but his injury was not disclosed.
- Wide receiver Tommy Streeter left practice early because of the heat, Harbaugh said. Linebacker Daryl Smith also tweaked his groin. Smith missed nearly all of last season with a groin injury, but Harbaugh said Sunday's tweak was not serious. Full Kyle Juszczyk also sat out some of practice after having his foot stepped on, and wide receiver LaQuan Williams missed his second day of practice with an unknown injury.
- Wide receiver Jacoby Jones had the catch of the day with a fully-outstretched grab across the middle of the field. Jones cut in front of cornerback Jimmy Smith and then hauled in an impressive diving grab to bring out big cheers from the fans.
- Veteran tight end Billy Bajema ran with Ed Dickson and the first-team offense in two tight end sets now that Dennis Pitta is out for the season. Bajema will compete with recently-signed veteran Visanthe Shiancoe for that No. 2 spot.
- Undrafted rookie tight end Matt Furstenburg is trying to put his name in the ring for some looks at tight end, as he made a nice over the shoulder grab down the field on a pass from Tyrod Taylor. He has good hands, which he's displayed in the early part of practice.
- Tandon Doss loves to show off his hands during individual drills. He routinely makes highlight-reel one-handed catches during warmups, and he has the potential to bring those skills into the games.
- Fourth-year receiver David Reed showed off his hands by holding onto a catch over the middle of the field when he was hit by two defenders. Reed shook off the defenders and kept running upfield even after the play was blown dead.
- Second-year safety Omar Brown has switched his number from No. 38 to No. 31, which was Bernard Pollard's old number.
- Joe Flacco showed off his wheels during a goal-line drill, as he rolled to the right and then scrambled into the end zone for what would have been a touchdown. The officials blew the ball dead inside the one-yard line, but Flacco didn't buy the call. He kept shouting, "Are you kidding me?" Flacco's frustration riled up the defense, especially Terrell Suggs and Haloti Ngata, who kept talking trash in Flacco's direction.
- Even though Lardarius Webb is still working his way back, he appears to have a quick step in coverage. He's able to run step-for-step with any receiver he's matched up against during drills.
- These padded practices definitely aren't easy. While some teams have steered away from the hard-nosed nature of training camp, Harbaugh continues to run a tough practice. The hitting is full-go, and the players are clearly fighting for roster spots and starting jobs on every play.
- Ngata addressed the team in the huddle after practice. It's unknown what his message was, but all eyes were on the Pro Bowl defender as he stood in the middle of the circle and talked to his teammates.
