It's the right approach: hard, smart and fair. The Ravens took advantage of predecessor Brian Billick's Club Med approach to training camp. If it was too hot, the Ravens practiced in the air-conditioned facility at Owings Mills. If it was too cold or it rained, they went inside, too.
That won't happen now.
Under the old regime, there was limited hitting at training camp and players were allowed to go home after practice and sleep in their own beds after a few days. Not anymore.
It's a good thing. Teams really do develop chemistry in training camp, because you have to learn to live with your teammates. All the outside forces and extracurricular activities are cut off. You live together, eat together and sleep together and basically develop the same mentality as those who serve in the military.
And you forge relationships because it's the most miserable, painful, boring time in your life, and the only people who really understand are those living with you in the same conditions.
Harbaugh can't help but run a tough camp, because that's the way he was raised. Harbaugh's dad, Jack, coached football for 41 years and won the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA championship at Western Kentucky.
He learned the game from coaches he hung around in his younger days, like Bo Schembechler and Sam Wyche. He was mentored by the legendary Sid Gillman and later tutored by current Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid, who is as no-nonsense as they come.
Harbaugh wants to change the Ravens' image and culture. So, expect to see some changes, like less trash-talking and taunting. He'll demand some subtle things, like players keeping their shirttails in during practice.
Harbaugh has removed benches from the sidelines, so no players are allowed to sit when they're not on the field. He canceled the team-produced Ravens Wired, a television show that miked up a player every week. Harbaugh thought it promoted individual, not team, play.
And Harbaugh doesn't mind a fight now and then during training camp, much like New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick. He wants intensity full time, and he wants to keep his players on the edge.
During two of the past three years, the Ravens had serious locker-room problems. If they lose early, some trouble might surface again. There are going to be off-the-field incidents in which players get arrested and times when players come late to meetings or practices.
It's all part of the game. These will be more times when Harbaugh is tested, and the Ravens will want to see how the coach reacts. But he can do a lot to ease future problems in the next 25 days.
Training camp is the time for him to send a message and set a tone for the future.
mike.preston@baltsun.com
