Raven On Raven Violence Highlights John Harbaugh's First Minicamp

Filed under: Ravens, AFC North, BaltimoreAlong with misidentifying himself as an offensive genius, one of the biggest complaints about Brian Billick in Baltimore was that he ran easy camps and practices. Perhaps he was more concerned with how he came off on HBO documentaries than preparing his team for battle but, whatever the reason, the Ravens never had a reputation for intensity in the offseason. Today's practice session, then, was a sign that there's a new sheriff in town. John Harbaugh's boys spent a good chunk of Saturday fighting with each other during the team's minicamp. Defensive tackle Amon Gordon and rookie offensive lineman Oniel Cousins exchanged punches, touching off a brawl that included all 85 players and took two minutes to work itself out. Then defensive backs Corey Ivy and Frank Walker came to blows during a blocking drill. In neither case did the coaches appear to be too interested in breaking things up, reports the Associated Press. Rex Ryan, the defensive coordinator, was seen laughing, in fact, and Harbaugh didn't sound like he saw anything upsetting out on the field. "We had a good practice. Our guys are competitive, they like football, it's going to happen. I think as they realize the tempo of the practice is going to stay the same, it will probably happen less and less. They're a feisty bunch."Feisty's good but undisciplined attempts to show toughness aren't. The latter's been a problem for the Ravens, so maybe it's good they're getting it out of their system now.Permalink | Email this | Comments more...