Canady leaves practice with ‘not serious’ muscle strain
Cornerback leaves joint workout with Colts early; Cox a fan of new rules
WESTFIELD, IND. — About the only things the Ravens could’ve complained about after Friday’s joint practice with the host Indianapolis Colts was a passing rainstorm and a seemingly late hit on rookie running back De’Lance Turner.
But with Ravens cornerback Maurice Canady’s early exit, concern tends to persist, even if coach John Harbaugh called his injury “not serious.”
Canady left about 40 minutes into practice, flexing his right leg for a period after a one-on-one drill. Afterward, Harbaugh called it a muscle strain. The Ravens’ nearly barren injury report remained otherwise untouched.
“I think he had some kind of a strain of some sort, so we’ll just have to see how that responds right now,” Harbaugh said. “I don’t know exactly what happened, but that’s the only one we had.”
Canady has drawn praise in Baltimore and outside it through the preseason. About two weeks ago, Harbaugh said he thinks Canady’s a starter, and after the Ravens’ 33-7 win over the Los Angeles Rams last week, he made Pro Football Focus’ preseason Team of the Week.
But talent has never been the problem. As a rookie in 2016, the sixth-round draft pick was placed on injured reserve in early October with a hamstring injury. Early in training camp last year, after an impressive offseason, he suffered a knee injury that required surgery on a cartilage tear. He did not return until early November. Protecting long snappers: Besides birthdays and anniversaries, there are two dates that Morgan Cox can readily recite.
One is Dec. 26, 2010, when the Ravens long snapper tore the ACL in his left knee during a field-goal attempt against the Cleveland Browns.
The other is Oct. 19, 2014, when he tore the ACL in his right knee during a punt against the Atlanta Falcons.
There was nothing nefarious about either injury, but they stand out to Cox simply because, as a long snapper, he’s not usually in the line of fire. But at his position, he does have the unenviable task of trying to snap the ball while his head is between his legs.
So Cox was understandably heartened to learn that the NFL has made the protection of long snappers a point of emphasis this season. Along with quarterbacks and runners who give themselves up, snappers will be watched closely by officials, who have been instructed to be vigilant about hits to the head or neck.
According to the NFL’s Football Operations website, “While there is no rule change, the Officiating Department will emphasize in 2018 that fouls are called when defenders initiate contact to the head or neck area of the snapper.”
“There is a moment in time when our heads are between our legs,” said Cox, 32, who has been with the Ravens since joining them as an undrafted rookie in 2010. “It’s just the nature of the position. When I first got in the league, they made significant protections for us where guys just couldn’t tee off on you. That was the biggest improvement, and I’m happy with those guys widening out on the field goals, because that initially helps me in protection. I tore my ACL on a similar play where guys hit that A-gap, and it collapsed my knee. So I would say that from a personal aspect, I’m glad to get a little more protection that way.”
Special teams coordinator and associate head coach Jerry Rosburg lauded league officials for addressing coordinators’ concerns.
“My understanding is, there’s going to be less of a fine line for penalties,” he said. “Some of the things that were happening to our snappers, they’re not going to allow because they’re going to call the contact to the head on snap differently than they have before. It’s not just going to elbow-, shoulder- and helmet-to-helmet. It’s going to be any contact to the helmet that’s forceful. It’s going to be officiated more closely.”
Rosburg said it was not difficult for him and his coaching brethren to come to a consensus about protecting their long snappers. “We only have one,” he said. “So we’re all in favor of it.”
While Cox is grateful for the greater scrutiny from officials, he also half-joked that he does not want to be treated like a player wearing a red no-contact jersey.
“It’s football,” he said. “When I’m on the field, I’ve got a helmet and shoulder pads, and I know that on any given play, somebody’s going to try to hit me and I’m going to try to hit that other person. So I try to be ready and be aware on every play.” Midday drenching: The Ravens have faced Bears, Rams and solar radiation that can leave the fairer-skinned in Owings Mills burnt to a crisp. But not until Friday this preseason had the team been rained on. At least not like this. About 70 minutes into the team’s joint practice with the host Indianapolis Colts, the clouds overhead finally could take it no longer. Steady rainfall soaked the Grand Park Events Center’s fields for about 25 minutes, briefly scuttling seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 action between the teams.
The Ravens have trained during bad weather at the Under Armour Performance Center, but not necessarily in bad weather. When storms have threatened practice, they’ve moved inside to their indoor facility.
Friday’s precipitation, then, was unwelcome to most everyone in attendance but Harbaugh.
“The rain came down pretty hard at the end, which is good for you,” he said. “The heavy stuff’s not coming down for quite a while. But it was good for ball-handling. We got a couple balls knocked out there at the end, so for our guys to have that emphasis was good.”
The rain even inspired a quote from, appropriately enough, a legend who’d made his mark on the water.
“If you’re going to fight in the North Atlantic, you have to practice in the North Atlantic,” he said, paraphrasing Adm. William F. “Bull” Halsey Jr., the U.S. naval commander who presided over much of the country’s success in the Pacific theater during World War II. “This is a good thing for us to have. We really haven’t had a rain day yet. … So to get this kind of a day is good for us.”