NOTEBOOK: PRACTICE HIGHLIGHTS; OCEAN CITY BASH THIS WEEKEND

By Joe Platania

OWINGS MILLS -- With a confident stride, a bellicose voice and an authoritarian presence made for a football field, first-year Ravens defensive coordinator Dean Pees could definitely stand up to an elephant.

He'll need that kind of demeanor, too, for the biggest elephant in the Ravens' defensive room is one that won't even be there, at least for a few months.

The organized team activities (OTAs), if nothing else, are giving Pees the perfect opportunity to see how his unit will function without the league's reigning Defensive Player of the Year, weak-side linebacker Terrell Suggs.

Dean Pees and John Harbaugh

"T-Sizzle" will reportedly begin rehabilitation in the middle of next month after the scar from his partially torn Achilles heals and he makes another visit to the doctor.

In fact, Suggs was one of approximately two dozen players not participating in Wednesday afternoon's workout (see "Practice Report," below), the middle of the three practices scheduled for this week and the fifth of the 10 OTA days allowed under the new collective bargaining agreement.

But Pees really has no choice but to roll up his sleeves and take stock of his situation. He may not have wanted to, but this week's second set of OTAs has been a time to slow down the installation and check up on the comprehension.

"The installation (of the scheme) is going well," Pees said. "But we've kind of slowed things down and repeated what we did (Tuesday). For the rookies, we've put a lot in over a short period of time.

"All the outside linebackers have done a good job. Albert McClellan has done a good job, and we've seen great improvement from Sergio Kindle over last year because he's actually been on the field."

But Pees, the Ravens linebackers coach during the past two seasons, understands as well as anyone that when a star player like Suggs is missing, the team simply doesn't have the time to feel sorry for itself.

"Unfortunately, with the situation with Suggs, it makes a big difference," said Pees, who turns 63 one week before the regular season begins. "But it's not the first time we've had a good player miss some time.

"We still have to find out who the best players are who can play that position."

Pees got a fortunate break during his first Baltimore season, as the quartet of Suggs, Ray Lewis, Jameel McClain and Jarret Johnson made nearly every possible start; only Dannell Ellerbe's Week Three appearance in McClain's place broke the pattern.

But in 2011, only Suggs and Johnson answered every call, with Lewis missing four games because of a toe injury and Ellerbe filling in for McClain at the AFC Championship Game in New England.

Now, with Suggs missing; Johnson in San Diego; and the team counting on young players such as McClellan, Kindle, Ellerbe and Paul Kruger -- among others -- to step into the breach, Pees has a chance to mold the defense's second level into his own image.

But not even the self-assured Pees knows what that is going to look like. Frankly, he doesn't seem to care about comparisons with John Harbaugh-era predecessors such as Rex Ryan, Greg Mattison and Chuck Pagano.

"You are who you are," Pees said. "I've been around coaches who have not tried to be themselves. But we have a system in place, and it works."

He shouldn't get any argument from Harbaugh, who played under Pees at Miami (Ohio) as a young defensive back in 1983 when Pees was the defensive coordinator there.

"He was hard on me," Harbaugh said of Pees. "He had to be. ... But he has his own style and he's done a great job."

Before Johnson left town, he lavished high praise on Pees' experience and knowledge of the game.

"In our business, when you sit down and talk to somebody, you find out real quick their knowledge of football," Johnson said. "With Dean, you spend two minutes with him, [and you know] this is a football guy. He understands the sport. He knows a lot about the game. Anytime you have a conversation about the sport with him, you learn something about the game."

Jameel McClain, who was last year's "next man up" when Lewis went down, concurred.

"He is a great coach," McClain said. "He really fits the player's personality so well. He is a proven winner in this league. I have been around many coaches in my football career, and Dean Pees is as sharp and aware as they come.

"We are lucky to have him as our coordinator, and I expect great things from our defense."

If Pees can have his unit produce great things in Suggs' absence, the Ravens will feel like the luckiest team in the league ... without an elephant in the room or a monkey on their backs.

***

JOEY P'S TRIVIA TIME: Today's question:

Like many other members of the coaching profession, Pees has led a rather nomadic life, having coached at seven different colleges before landing with the Patriots and Ravens.

When Pees became the defensive coordinator at the University of Toledo in 1990, he was hired by that school's head coach, who also left the Rockets' program to go on to bigger and better things.

Who is he?

The answer will be revealed at the bottom of today's column.

***

TEAM NOTES: The roster underwent a minor adjustment before this week's OTA formally began Tuesday, with tryout kicker Justin Tucker (Texas) being signed to the 90-man list to compete with incumbent Billy Cundiff. Tucker, who has been assigned jersey No. 6, has a long-range field-goal leg, which reaches into the mid-50s.

- There are 26 Ravens on the roster that played in all 16 regular-season games in 2011, all but one with Baltimore; cornerback Corey Graham (Arizona) is the exception. Seven returning offensive players started all 16 games, while five are doing so on defense.

- Tucker is one of 39 players currently on the roster that were not with the Ravens last year (43.3 percent). Seven arrived via unrestricted free agency, eight were drafted and the other 24 were either street free agents or undrafted rookies.

- To make room for Tucker, the Ravens waived wideout Philip Livas, who was on the practice squad last year and was also a return option. The team now has 12 wideouts on the roster, six for the "X" position (split end, downfield) and six for "Z" (flanker, possession), but only four of the 12 have caught an NFL pass (Jacoby Jones, Torrey Smith, Anquan Boldin, LaQuan Williams).

- The Ravens currently have a 13-man linebacking corps, including Suggs. Six can play inside and six outside, with McClellan having the most flexibility to play either.

- The next organized team activity will run one day longer next week, beginning Monday, June 4 and concluding Thursday, June 7. That will complete the 10 OTA days mandated as part of the new collective bargaining agreement. A mandatory three-day minicamp will complete the offseason program June 12-14.

***

PRACTICE REPORT: Approximately two dozen Ravens were either not present or not participating in Wednesday afternoon's practice, held outdoors under partly cloudy skies and in muggy conditions.

Among the expected missing were veterans such as Suggs, out-of-contract running back Ray Rice, linebacker Ray Lewis, defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, free safety Ed Reed, wideout Anquan Boldin and guard Marshal Yanda.

Also out were fullback Vonta Leach, linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo, defensive end Pernell McPhee, tackle Bryant McKinnie, tackle/guard Jah Reid, safety Bernard Pollard and cornerback Jimmy Smith.

Cornerback Cary Williams (hip) and wideout/returner David Reed (knee) are still working through injury problems, and second-round pick Kelechi Osemele left practice early, returning without his uniform. Harbaugh would not elaborate on Osemele's problem, saying he merely had bumps and bruises.

Other practice highlights:

- The offensive line got a big boost when veteran center Matt Birk returned to the field. Harbaugh juggled his first-team rotation, getting a look at Michael Oher and Ramon Harewood at the tackles, with Justin Boren and Illinois product Jack Cornell at the guard spots.

- Early during the practice, Joe Flacco's slant throws seemed to be a bit behind his receivers, but he laid up a perfect pass in the corner of the end zone to LaQuan Williams (Poly, Maryland), who got behind Corey Graham.

- Williams was a constant target during the course of the practice, using his well-documented speed and better route-running ability to gather in several catches.

- Tight end Ed Dickson made two consecutive good plays, beating Sean Considine down the seam for a nice catch and hauling in another ball that had been tipped by linebacker Nigel Carr.

- Undrafted safety Cyhl Quarles tipped away a pass for tight end Matt Balasavage at the last possible second.

- A well-executed double stunt by linebackers McClain and Kruger resulted in a sack of Flacco by the former and a near-takedown by the latter.

- Backup nose tacke Ryan McBean, the former Denver Bronco who will miss the season's first three games because of a league-mandated suspension, got good penetration on several running plays.

- Wideout Jacoby Jones got free from cornerback Chykie Brown on a deep pass down the middle of the field, but the slightly overthrown ball slipped off his fingertips.

- Fourth-round pick Christian Thompson intercepted a Flacco pass in the middle of the end zone, then -- showing his acclimation to Baltimore -- lateraled the ball to Brown.

- A low shotgun snap from fourth-round pick Gino Gradkowski fouled up the timing on an end-zone pass that sailed over the end line.

- As expected, mistakes started to pile up toward the end of practice. Harewood was called for holding the onrushing Arthur Jones and Chester Stewart's sloppy option toss didn't reach Brandon Pendergrass, causing a fumble.
 
***

HE'S NO. 5!: Going into his fifth year working with quarterback Joe Flacco, head coach John Harbaugh now shares a number with his signal caller.

According to a recent Sporting News list, Harbaugh is considered the fifth-best head coach in the league, trailing only Tom Coughlin (NY Giants), Bill Belichick (New England), Mike McCarthy (Green Bay) and Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh), in that order.

Harbaugh is ranked just ahead of his brother Jim (San Francisco, sixth) -- the league's reigning Coach of the Year -- as well as former boss Andy Reid (Philadephia, eighth).

Among coaches with Baltimore ties, Marvin Lewis (Cincinnati) is listed as the 11th-best coach, Rex Ryan (NY Jets) is 13th, Ken Whisenhunt (Arizona) -- the Ravens' tight end coach in 1997 and 1998 -- is 14th, ex-Ravens linebackers coach Mike Smith (Atlanta) is 15th, and former Maryland and Ravens assistant (and Mount St. Joseph grad) Jim Schwartz (Detroit) is 17th.

Getting what amounts to incomplete grades are former Ravens defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano (Indianapolis), who ranks 29th, and Towson State graduate Joe Vitt (New Orleans), an interim coach who will be suspended for the season's first six games. He ranks 32nd and last.

***

THE FAST SIDE: Right tackle Michael Oher -- whose 26th birthday was noted here in our "This Week In Baltimore Football History" feature -- spent his big day in style.

Oher, accompanied by adoptive parents Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, attended one of NASCAR's biggest races, the Coca-Cola 600, at the Charlotte Motor Speedway on Monday night. Also there to introduce the drivers was country music star Tim McGraw, who played Sean Tuohy in the highly-acclaimed movie of Oher's life, "The Blind Side."

Not in attendance was Best Actress Oscar winner Sandra Bullock, who played Leigh Anne Tuohy in the movie.

It's probably just as well; according to the portion of the league's annual Kickoff Weekend release that lists the favorite NFL teams of various celebrities, Bullock is reportedly a Washington Redskins fan.

***

PURPLE SAND CASTLES: It's no secret to anyone that has ever attended the annual Ravens Roost Convention and Parade in Ocean City -- the 48th edition of which takes place this weekend, stretching back to the group's days as the Colts Corrals -- that Ravens players and cheerleaders have ridden in the parade before.

But for the first time on an official basis, the Ravens' organization will jump into the Atlantic Ocean water with both feet, as it puts on its inaugural "Ocean City Beach Bash," running from Thursday until Sunday.

(The names of this year's participating players have yet to be announced.)

"I'm looking forward to it," Ravens Roosts convention chairman Sue Draper told the team's Web site. "We've had a very good relationship with the Ravens and the convention.

"The Beach Bash is going to benefit us. It's going to bring a lot more Ravens fans into town. It's going to help us with expanding our organization."

The Roosts' membership -- which usually numbers in the thousands at this event -- will again be mainly headquartered at the Castle In The Sand Hotel (37th Street), while the team-sponsored festivities are set to take place at the Clarion Resort Fontainebleau just north of 100th Street. Check baltimoreravens.com or councilrr.com for details.

The Roosts' parade theme this year is "Attack Of The Purple And Black." It begins at 10 a.m. Saturday and usually runs for two hours, starting at 19th Street and Baltimore Avenue and terminating at the reviewing stand at Baltimore and 26th Street.

At that point, public-address commentary will be provided for a seventh straight year by Ravens Report blogger Joe Platania and PressBox publisher/founder Stan "The Fan" Charles.

Ravens Report will have an entry posted at approximately mid-afternoon Saturday to tell you all about it.

***

QUOTE OF THE DAY: NFL Players Association president Domonique Foxworth, who played at Western Tech (Catonsville), the University of Maryland and with the Ravens before retiring this year, is up in arms about an alleged secret salary cap agreement among the NFL owners during the 2010 uncapped year.

Upon the recent filing of the NFLPA's lawsuit, Foxworth had this to say:

"It's the way it is. You can set up rules and parameters, and laws in that case -- and you expect and you hope people follow them -- but we have police in this country for a reason.

"We've been building a better relationship with the league, building more and more trust and working cooperatively, but if we assume for one second that the billionaires that own the team and the people that run the league aren't going to take advantage of opportunities, then shame on us.

"We wouldn't do that, and our responsibility is protecting our players, so we'll continue to do so."

***

JOEY P'S TRIVIA TIME ANSWER: Here's the question we asked you earlier in this column:

Like many other members of the coaching profession, Pees has led a rather nomadic life, having coached at seven different colleges before landing with the Patriots and Ravens.

When Pees became the defensive coordinator at the University of Toledo in 1990, he was hired by that school's head coach, who also left the Rockets' program to go on to bigger and better things.

Who is he?

ANSWER:

A bright defensive mind like Pees' was going to be noticed by some of the game's better-known coaching entities sooner or later, and Nick Saban was no exception.

The present-day national-championship coach at the University of Alabama brought Pees on to his Toledo staff, and the results were almost immediate.

In 1992, his third year there, Pees fielded a Rockets defense that allowed less than 14 points per game as the school posted an 8-3 record, including two shutouts. During eight Mid-American Conference games, Toledo did not allow a second-half touchdown.

Saban knew a good thing when he had it, so when he moved on to Michigan State, he brought Pees with him. Pees stayed in East Lansing for three years (1995-97), helping the Spartans get to a bowl game during each of those seasons and culminating his tenure with the nation's 13th-ranked defense in 1997.

Pees and Saban split in 1998 when the former was named Kent State head coach, but he got to tutor a pair of future AFC North Division stars in receiver/returner Josh Cribbs and pass-rusher extraordinaire James Harrison.

Posted May 30, 2012