Yardbarker: Damien Linson

So, you want to be a rookie in the NFL?

Sun, 19 Aug 2007 17:15:08 -0500

Are you certain you are ready for pro football? Can you handle the heat, humidity, braving on through double sessions? Can your brain handle not only learning the plays and schemes of your team, but also run them when tasked with running the scout team? Oh, one more thing, wecome to the NFL rookie... As the coaches left the huddle to sign autographs on the last day of training camp, the veteran players stuck around. Several of the rookie players tried to be sneaky by stripping off their jerseys and slinking off to the autograph line to avoid the ritual indoctrination that was about to ensue. To set the stage, Justin Bannan took control of one golf cart, with Kelly Gregg riding shotgun, while Jarret Johnson rode in the back. The three men rode circles around the field, herding rookies to other veteran players. The sight of the three large men testing the tensile strength of the cart as they encircled the field, looked like something out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Clarence Moore and Mark Clayton tried to corral their fellow receiver Damien Linson, but the rookie was too quick. He easily got away, leaving his jersey behind and heading over to sign autographs for the fans alongside coach Billick. Trevor Pryce stalked the field continually shouting, "Get another one [player]! Tie his hands, bind his feet!" The fastest man on the team, Figurs, wasn't fast enough to elude Clayton or Moore and subsequently became the annual training camps hazing ritual's first victim. More here...

Baltimore demolished Phili in a meaningless game, but what about Troy Smith

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 15:00:03 -0500

Ok, I promised an up-date on Troy for those Buckeye & Smith fans out there unable to see the game. Yes, by now you have looked up his stats (27.27 completion rate and a passer rating of -gulp-39.9, but was he that bad? I'm not going to sugar this, out side of two nice swing passes and a very headsie scramble up the middle to gain 10 yards and extend a drive, if you saw him play at THE Ohio State, you would not have thought this was the same player. While Smith (three of 11 for 34 yards) was harassed most of his time in the game, didn't have the best blockers in front of him, there is no denying that he looked too pumped up. Aside from two swing passes with good touch, most every other pass was rocketed to his intended receiver, making catches, near impossible. There were occasions when he moved well in the pocket to find a clear passing lane, bought time and had open men. Yet he would rocket the ball, leading to high passes. His rookie counter part on the Eagles, Kevin Kolb, looked more like the former Heisman Trophy winner than Smith did and Kolb had purple bodies flying all around, from all angles. Smith did have a nice scramble up the middle to pick up a much needed first down, but he rarely showed composure. Frankly, I expected a little more out o him, based on his improvement over the past two weeks in camp. Perhaps it was the lights, the cameras, the 65,000+ fans cheering that "forced" him to replicate the plays at THE Ohio State, be all, do all, all the time. Yes, he was victimized by a drop pass, one, and even that one was thrown too hard and behind the receiver. Yes, it was a pass Damien Linson could have caught, maybe should have caught, but that that is another story and does not take away from his poor play. Even so, it was just one game, a learning experience for Troy and every other player on both teams. If they can fix the mistakes and play better in the next game, that shows just as much to the coaches as a person who plays well in every game. Learning, the ability to learn and not repeat the same mistakes is part of growing, in life and in the NFL. If we don't make mistakes, it is difficult to learn. Me, I'm more afraid of the person who has never made a mistake, there is a first time for everything and his or her first mistake could be a fumbled snap on a game winning field goal...The horror! Yes, Drew Olson had one poor play where he was flushed from the pocket, sacked and fumbled (recovered by the Ravens). Other than that, he looked calm, poised, in control, maneuvering inside the pocket to get clean looks, touch on passes and velocity as warranted. He completed seven of nine passes for 84 yards and one score, a passer rating of 142.6. Yes, it was in the fourth quarter of the first preseason game against players who may or may not be in the league in two weeks. However, he also had the same level of talent on his team as he played against, so it evens out. Troy had his first taste of NFL action, the key is not necessarily how well he did, rather how well he learns from this game, how he handles the hard criticism from his coaches, the local media and the fans until he can re-take the field and erase his play from this game. For now, a couple of much needed days off, then back to the grind....We ares till uploading videos from the past two weeks of camp, but there are close to 300 up now, I hope you enjoy-

Baltimore Ravens Training Camp: Day 3

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 19:51:42 -0500

Fans arrived to McDaniel College with yet another beautiful day in store. Throughout the course of practice, their numbers reached beyond the estimated 3,500 mark, including a group of youngsters from the Police Athletic League sponsored by Daniel Wilcox. As the sun began to rise, several players came out as early as 30 minutes to work on drills and get ready for the day's events. Defensive back Evan Oglesby was joined by receiver Matt Willis to work on catching the ball. The pair traded off sharing the ball machine, which rifled passes at chest level to the players ten feet away. Soon thereafter, the pair was joined by Clarence Moore, Devard Darling and Damien Linson, all well before the eight o'clock hour. Jared Gaither also came out early to work on the blocking sled to perfect his hand technique. As players filtered out to begin their warm up drills, there was a quiet, workman-like atmosphere about them. Even the crowd seemed to sense that something wicked this way comes.