NOTES: PRACTICE REPORT; DROPS ON THE RISE; TRIBUTE TO OZZIE'S 35TH

By Joe Platania

OWINGS MILLS -- On the one hand, 25 players were injured, not participating or not even in the building as the Ravens conducted another organized team activity practice Wednesday afternoon.

On the other hand, there were only two of them that seemed to draw the brunt of media scrutiny, a pair that could have helped the Ravens bolster their pass rush even more and improve it at a similar rate to last year's 21-sack rise (27-48).

The Achilles tendon injuries to starting weak-side linebacker Terrell Suggs and promising second-year prospect Michael McAdoo -- the latter of which is sure to be a season-ending ailment -- gave rise to speculation that the team would hit the waiver wire and bring in yet another pocket-pushing presence to punish opposing signal-callers.

"We'll try to bring in the best players that we can, at any position," head coach John Harbaugh said. "(On the pass rush), our numbers are okay there."

As far as outside linebackers are concerned, the Ravens are well-equipped, with versatile prospect Albert McClellan -- who made last year's team as an undrafted free agent -- probable starters Paul Kruger and top draft pick Courtney Upshaw, 2010 top selection Sergio Kindle, and promising undrafted youngsters Chavis Williams and Nigel Carr.

Whether the in-house candidates rise to the occasion or some outside help is needed, the fact remains that the Ravens are facing a plethora of top-shelf quarterbacks on this year's schedule.

During the season's first month alone, Baltimore will have to take on Cincinnati's Andy Dalton, Philadelphia's Michael Vick and New England's Tom Brady.

As the campaign wears on, the Ravens will be staring down barrels brandished by Dallas' Tony Romo, Houston's Matt Schaub, Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger and San Diego's Philip Rivers.

The final month of 2012 offers rematches with Dalton and Roethlisberger, as well as matchups against brothers Peyton and Eli Manning in back-to-back home games against Denver Dec. 16 and the Super Bowl champion New York Giants Dec. 23.

Kruger seems to be prospering during OTAs (see "Practice Report," below), while Upshaw -- whom the coaching staff is confident can pick up the pass-rush scheme quickly -- is still learning the fine art of dropping back into coverage.

But the dominating presence that is Suggs and the potential that McAdoo has often carried will be missed in the meantime.

That's especially true for McAdoo, who was sidelined the past two years by the North Carolina benefits scandal, as well as by a September knee injury last season. But Harbaugh was adamant that the team would not give up on him.

"The fact that (McAdoo) got hurt, I'm disappointed for him," the coach said. "All year, he's been in the weight room, and all offseason he's been in the weight room. He hasn't played for two years, and now it'll be three years.

"But he's not a guy you give up on."

As for Suggs, Harbaugh would not address new reports that he was hurt playing basketball and not during a conditioning test, as Suggs has stridently claimed.

"It's not a concern," Harbaugh said. "It's not relevant to what we want to accomplish. He's got a doctor's appointment on Monday, and then he'll (start to) rehab it.

"But if I know him, he'll be back sooner than later."

Harbaugh can only hope that at least a handful of the players that have missed a portion of OTAs will return for next week's three-day mandatory full-team minicamp.

As expected, unsigned running back Ray Rice was not present, and neither were marquee veterans such as Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Haloti Ngata, Matt Birk and Anquan Boldin.

But younger players such as linebacker Jameel McClain, guard Jah Reid, defensive end Pernell McPhee, receivers David Reed and Tandon Doss, as well as rookie cornerback Asa Jackson (school in session) were also not present.

But the unflappable Harbaugh seemed nonplussed by it all as the current offseason phase ended and next week's critical one draws closer.

"The pace will be the same," Harbaugh said. "There are a few different rules as to meeting times and when the clock starts (on the field), but we'll work like we always do."

Harbaugh can only hope that as many pass rushers as possible -- indeed, as many players as can attend -- will come to work as well.

***

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

The 2012 season will mark the 35th consecutive year that Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome has been involved in the National Football League in either a playing or front-office capacity.

In which city has he worked longer, Baltimore or Cleveland?

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

***

ROSTER MOVE, BREAKDOWN: While working for head coach Andy Reid in Philadelphia, Harbaugh noticed how deep the Eagles' head coach liked to see his roster in both interior lines.

So, when tailback Brandon Pendergrass was waived last week, it was another offensive lineman that was brought in, bringing that position unit total to 15. The Ravens are expected to keep eight or nine of them on the 53-man roster.

The new man in town is 26-year-old rookie Paul Madsen, a 6-foot-4, 310-pound guard/tackle from Colorado State. He went on a Mormon mission to Lubbock, Texas, before playing for the Rams, where he was a second-team all-conference selection.

Madsen, who was waived by the Buffalo Bills and therefore available, has the kind of flexibility Harbaugh and offensive line coach Andy Moeller like as they try to piece together a unit still reeling from the free-agent loss of Ben Grubbs.

Even though the Ravens already have a player wearing jersey No. 79 -- rookie defensive end Terrence Moore -- Madsen will also wear that number, but in the customary purple jersey offensive players wear in practice.

The roster stands at 89 players, not including unsigned running back Ray Rice.

Currently, the Ravens have 15 offensive linemen, five quarterbacks, four running backs, two fullbacks, 12 receivers (six flankers, six split ends), five tight ends, 12 defensive linemen, 14 linebackers (seven inside, seven outside), 15 defensive backs (eight corners, seven safeties), one punter, two kickers and two long snappers.

***

PRACTICE REPORT: A few highlights from Wednesday's practice, the third during this week's four-day organized team activity (OTA):

- Cloudy skies and calm conditions greeted the 65 players that took the field in shorts and shells for the ninth of 10 OTA practices, the maximum the new collective bargaining agreement allows.

- Billy Cundiff got in most of his kicking without a defensive unit rushing him, booming a 55-yarder in the process, while Justin Tucker was 6-for-6 during the pre-practice period, including strongly hit kicks from 51 and 52 yards.

- Sub-package cornerback Danny Gorrer drifted toward the middle of the field and smartly knocked a pass away from Jacoby Jones, who came back shortly after that to catch a pass in front of Gorrer.

- Lardarius Webb knocked away a ball Joe Flacco threw sharply over the middle for Deonte Thompson.

- Highly touted running back Damien Berry ran into a stone wall posing as backup nose tackle Ryan McBean.

- An unidentified receiver had trouble holding on to backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor's laser-like slant pass.

- Linebacker Nigel Carr tipped away a quick out-pass toward the sideline.

- Tackle Ramon Harewood, who played at guard during practice, was flagged early during the session for a false start.

- Fullback Jamison Berryhill alertly tipped a too-high pass to himself and made the catch. Tight end Ed Dickson also made a nice fingertip catch in the flat.

- Linebacker Paul Kruger was completely unblocked as he rushed Flacco from the edge; he then beat Gino Gradkowski on an inside stunt and reached the pocket again.

- During 7-on-7 pass drills, linebacker Albert McClellan neatly tipped away a seam pass. Later in team drills, safety Sean Considine intercepted a pass that bounced off Devin Goda's hands.

- Next up for the Ravens is next week's three-day, full-team mandatory minicamp, slated for June 12-14.

After that, it's five weeks off until training camp starts for rookies, quarterbacks and injured veterans July 21; the rest of the team reports the following week.

***

CASE OF THE DROPS: Many Ravens fans, mindful of receiver/returner Jacoby Jones' occasional ball-handling troubles when he played with Houston, point to dropped passes as one reason why the receiving corps has almost never been one of the team's strong points.

Truth be told, it's the timing of some of the drops, rather than the quantity, that seems to linger in fans' memories.

Who can forget Mark Clayton's fourth-down drop at New England in 2009, Anquan Boldin's and T.J. Houshmandzadeh's ill-timed misadventures during the 2010 Divisional Playoff loss at Pittsburgh, Ed Dickson's late-first-half drop during the AFC title game against the Patriots and Lee Evans' failure to hold on in the end zone that same night?

But for the most part, the Ravens have ranked among the NFL's best in holding on to passes for the better part of their history ... until last year, that is.

In 2010, Baltimore ranked last in the league with a mere 14 dropped passes, which is closer to the norm.

That season, running back Ray Rice led the team, but with only four miscues in the passing attack. Derrick Mason couldn't find the handle just three times, while Houshmandzadeh, Boldin and then-rookie Dickson dropped just two each.

But that number jumped to an alarming 31 drops last year, seventh-best (worst?) in the league and only 12 drops behind the league-leading and cellar-dwelling Cleveland Browns. Rice and Boldin were the team co-leaders with seven drops each and Torrey Smith had five.

But, as coaches often say, it's how you respond to adversity that counts.

The New York Giants, with a defense ranked much worse than that of the Ravens' and with 30 dropped passes among their players, went on to win Super Bowl XLVI.

***

TWITTER CHATTER: As regular Ravens Report readers may have already guessed by now, we're not into the whole Twitter thing.

We have two main reasons: it has a too-confining 140-character limit, and most people that use it either have nothing constructive to say or merely provide links to something else that many of us have already read or seen.

But during the past few days, according to the Ravens' Web site, a couple of interesting tidbits regarding Ravens players have popped up on the popular social-networking tool.

For one thing, undrafted rookie wide receiver Dorian Graham already has enough working against him, being part of a 12-man position unit and being undersized at 5-foot-8 and 188 pounds.

But while attending Lardarius Webb's softball event last Sunday in Aberdeen, Graham tweeted that he cut his right thumb while eating crabs. That could make his road to the 53-man roster that much longer -- he wore a small bandage at practice, but seemed unencumbered -- but Graham had another concern.

"Painful, especially trying to use the iPhone," he tweeted.

Also, second-round draft pick and left-guard candidate Kelechi Osemele is on the horns of a dilemma.

Osemele's sister is getting married June 30, and the 6-foot-5, 333-pounder is expected to be quite the presence as he is slated to walk her down the aisle. But that is also the last day of the annual week-long NFL rookie symposium in Aurora, Ohio, which all 253 drafted players are expected to attend or face a fine from the league.

"Tough decision," Osemele tweeted.

***

BROADCAST BOOT CAMP: The league's annual Broadcast Boot Camp will be held at NFL Films headquarters in Mount Laurel, New Jersey from June 18-21.

The yearly seminars are designed to help current and former players that wish to pursue broadcasting careers after their playing days are done. Roughly half of the players that have gone through this program since 2007 have landed jobs in the industry.

This year, the 23-player student body includes former Ravens tackle Tony Pashos and ex-Baltimore placekicker Shayne Graham, as well as ex-Maryland defensive tackle Kris Jenkins, who played in the NFL with the New York Jets and Carolina.

The teaching faculty includes many national broadcast luminaries, such as CBS' James Brown and Fox's Kenny Albert. Also lending a hand is the radio voice of the Ravens, WBAL-TV's Gerry Sandusky.

***

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Harbaugh was asked about the ongoing dispute between the league and its game officials, who are essentially being locked out while the NFL hires replacements, as it did in 2001.

"I'm committed to silence on that," Harbaugh said. "I'm sure (the negotiators) will do the best they can. I support them ... both sides."

***

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

The 2012 season will mark the 35th consecutive year that Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome has been involved in the National Football League in either a playing or front-office capacity.

In which city has he worked longer, Baltimore or Cleveland?

ANSWER:

It's a close call, but Newsome spent 18 years by the shores of Lake Erie as one of the best tight ends the game has ever known, as well as a special assignment scout, assistant to head coach Bill Belichick and pro personnel director.

The 2012 season will mark Newsome's 17th in Baltimore.

The Hall of Fame tight end began the Charm City portion of his career as the player personnel vice president at the invitation of then-majority owner Art Modell, as the phrase and office of general manager did not truly exist within the organization at that time.

But Newsome was the de facto GM, pulling the trigger on draft picks and free-agent signings in an impressive flurry that eventually landed him NFL Executive of the Year honors in 2000, the year the Ravens won Super Bowl XXXV.

In the midst of that run, Newsome was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (1999) for his 13-year playing career, which began when he was the Cleveland Browns' top draft pick in 1978 (23rd overall).

Two years after winning the executive award, Newsome was officially named general manager, the first African-American to hold such a post in the NFL. In 2004, Newsome was presented with the Horrigan Award by the Pro Football Writers Association for his cooperation with the media.

Newsome is currently a member of the league's Competition Committee, which recommends yearly rule changes, as well as its Diversity Committee.

Posted June 6, 2012