John Harbaugh is a head coach who likes fast, physical practices, but it might have cost him one of his key players.
Strong safety and 2013 first-round pick Matt Elam has incurred a torn biceps in his arm and could possibly miss the rest of the season.
"I haven't heard [about] the MRI yet, but I'm not real optimistic," Harbaugh said. "It wasn't very optimistic, talking to the doctors.
"He was reaching ... a receiver ran by him, he kind of reached for him, and it caught him."
Elam has started 26 of his 32 regular-season games, but lost his starting job after the secondary was torched for six touchdown passes by Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger Nov. 2, 2014.
The kind of playmaking hits and tackles for which Elam became known for at the University of Florida have been largely absent at the pro level.
However, Harbaugh does like to see his team being aggressive, especially during padded practice sessions.
"I saw a bunch of guys getting after it out here," Harbaugh said. "It's been very aggressive, a lot of banging, wrapping up. We've had a lot of live periods, a lot of tackling to the ground.
"It's been very physical, very good. ... I'm pleased. I'm excited about the way we work and the way our guys practice."
Here are a few more highlights from practice Aug. 2:
- The secondary has been further diminished with cornerback Rashaan Melvin's tweaked hamstring, which kept him out of practice. During the session, rookie cornerback Tray Walker incurred the same injury.
"Whenever we have a hamstring, we pretty much get them out of there," Harbaugh said.
- Wideout Breshad Perriman missed his third consecutive practice with a knee injury suffered on the first day of camp.
"It was a sprain, bruise, tendon or whatever, so it shouldn't be too long," Harbaugh said. "He's going through the [low-speed] walkthrough [periods]."
- Wideout Marlon Brown (back) returned to practice, as did center Jeremy Zuttah and right tackle Rick Wagner.
- As for attendance, linebacker Elvis Dumervil (tendinitis) sat out another day, but even if healthy, he could have joined several of his over-30 teammates who were given a day off, along with other veterans, such as running back Justin Forsett and left guard Kelechi Osemele. The Ravens have 10 players 30 years old or older, but that number will grow to 12 in October, when Forsett and cornerback Lardarius Webb reach that milestone.
- Plenty of practice time was spent on special teams drills, with receivers Michael Campanaro and DeAndre Carter, running back Fitzgerald Toussaint and ex-Army quarterback Trent Steelman getting their shot at returning.
- Rookie linebacker Za'Darius Smith seems to be as big as he is fast, forcing Campanaro to the sidelines on one of his returns.
- During an early team period, left tackle Eugene Monroe put on a nice seal block, then turned quickly to his left to pick off another defender.
- Even though there have been no large-scale brawls during camp, tight end Allen Reisner's hard double-block on pass rusher Steven Means could have led to a tussle. However, cooler heads prevailed.
- Third-round draft pick Carl Davis, a stout defensive lineman from the University of Iowa, made a smooth, knifing inside run to stuff a running play.
- During a seven-on-seven period that wasn't supposed to feature hard hitting, linebacker Andrew Bose leveled recently signed wideout and converted safety Tom Nelson, who later beat cornerback Quinton Porter for a touchdown. Porter got his revenge soon after that, Carter to catch a ball before tackling him at the 1-yard line.
- Wideout Kamar Aiken outdid himself with another spectacular play, beating Webb on a slant over the middle, hauling in a well-thrown ball and racing all the way for a score.
- Linebacker Courtney Upshaw has apparently had enough of rookie tight end Nick Boyle, knocking him to the ground and hitting him again when he was down.
- Defenders continue to have the upper hand on the offense. Cornerback Kyle Arrington broke up a couple of long downfield passes, and second-year defensive end Brent Urban tipped a pass at the line of scrimmage.
- Cornerback Asa Jackson tried a tackle on running back Terrence Magee that was much too high, allowing him to slip away.
- Wideout Marlon Brown fooled a few reserve defensive backs who were in zone coverage and got open for a touchdown, and rookie receiver Robert Waller made a nice hands catch in the back of the end zone, but didn?t get both feet down inbounds.
Strong safety and 2013 first-round pick Matt Elam has incurred a torn biceps in his arm and could possibly miss the rest of the season.
"I haven't heard [about] the MRI yet, but I'm not real optimistic," Harbaugh said. "It wasn't very optimistic, talking to the doctors.
"He was reaching ... a receiver ran by him, he kind of reached for him, and it caught him."
Elam has started 26 of his 32 regular-season games, but lost his starting job after the secondary was torched for six touchdown passes by Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger Nov. 2, 2014.
The kind of playmaking hits and tackles for which Elam became known for at the University of Florida have been largely absent at the pro level.
However, Harbaugh does like to see his team being aggressive, especially during padded practice sessions.
"I saw a bunch of guys getting after it out here," Harbaugh said. "It's been very aggressive, a lot of banging, wrapping up. We've had a lot of live periods, a lot of tackling to the ground.
"It's been very physical, very good. ... I'm pleased. I'm excited about the way we work and the way our guys practice."
Here are a few more highlights from practice Aug. 2:
- The secondary has been further diminished with cornerback Rashaan Melvin's tweaked hamstring, which kept him out of practice. During the session, rookie cornerback Tray Walker incurred the same injury.
"Whenever we have a hamstring, we pretty much get them out of there," Harbaugh said.
- Wideout Breshad Perriman missed his third consecutive practice with a knee injury suffered on the first day of camp.
"It was a sprain, bruise, tendon or whatever, so it shouldn't be too long," Harbaugh said. "He's going through the [low-speed] walkthrough [periods]."
- Wideout Marlon Brown (back) returned to practice, as did center Jeremy Zuttah and right tackle Rick Wagner.
- As for attendance, linebacker Elvis Dumervil (tendinitis) sat out another day, but even if healthy, he could have joined several of his over-30 teammates who were given a day off, along with other veterans, such as running back Justin Forsett and left guard Kelechi Osemele. The Ravens have 10 players 30 years old or older, but that number will grow to 12 in October, when Forsett and cornerback Lardarius Webb reach that milestone.
- Plenty of practice time was spent on special teams drills, with receivers Michael Campanaro and DeAndre Carter, running back Fitzgerald Toussaint and ex-Army quarterback Trent Steelman getting their shot at returning.
- Rookie linebacker Za'Darius Smith seems to be as big as he is fast, forcing Campanaro to the sidelines on one of his returns.
- During an early team period, left tackle Eugene Monroe put on a nice seal block, then turned quickly to his left to pick off another defender.
- Even though there have been no large-scale brawls during camp, tight end Allen Reisner's hard double-block on pass rusher Steven Means could have led to a tussle. However, cooler heads prevailed.
- Third-round draft pick Carl Davis, a stout defensive lineman from the University of Iowa, made a smooth, knifing inside run to stuff a running play.
- During a seven-on-seven period that wasn't supposed to feature hard hitting, linebacker Andrew Bose leveled recently signed wideout and converted safety Tom Nelson, who later beat cornerback Quinton Porter for a touchdown. Porter got his revenge soon after that, Carter to catch a ball before tackling him at the 1-yard line.
- Wideout Kamar Aiken outdid himself with another spectacular play, beating Webb on a slant over the middle, hauling in a well-thrown ball and racing all the way for a score.
- Linebacker Courtney Upshaw has apparently had enough of rookie tight end Nick Boyle, knocking him to the ground and hitting him again when he was down.
- Defenders continue to have the upper hand on the offense. Cornerback Kyle Arrington broke up a couple of long downfield passes, and second-year defensive end Brent Urban tipped a pass at the line of scrimmage.
- Cornerback Asa Jackson tried a tackle on running back Terrence Magee that was much too high, allowing him to slip away.
- Wideout Marlon Brown fooled a few reserve defensive backs who were in zone coverage and got open for a touchdown, and rookie receiver Robert Waller made a nice hands catch in the back of the end zone, but didn?t get both feet down inbounds.
