The Ravens have other injured players, such as Haloti Ngata and Justin Bannan, but sprains, muscle pulls and bruises are as common in training camp as Gatorade and mouthpieces.
If there were more serious injuries to players such as Ray Lewis, Todd Heap, Derrick Mason, Willis McGahee, Chris McAlister and Kelly Gregg that forced them to miss extensive playing time, then I would be concerned, but that's not happening.
Part of the reason is that the older players, such as Lewis and Trevor Pryce, take care of themselves and are in great shape. Lewis is always running around in practice, putting himself in position to make tackles, but he stays away from unnecessary contact.
And then there are veterans who fake injuries to get out of practice. They won't get hurt unless they slip on their way to the whirlpool.
But with so many young players on offense, Harbaugh has had to simulate playing conditions as much as possible, and that's through a lot of contact in practice.
It's the smart thing to do. And if he changed direction now, it would appear as if he caved in. No one knows whether Harbaugh will become a successful coach, but apparently Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti thinks so, and he gave his blessing to Harbaugh and his way of doing things by making him the new coach.
As with any new coach, Harbaugh deserves time to install his own system. Those with realistic expectations know the Ravens probably aren't a playoff-bound team in 2008.
It is a team in transition with a coach trying to lay a foundation with hard-nosed players, and he wants to weed out those on the roster who aren't.
Is his way the right way? We'll find out in a couple of years, but at least he deserves some time. The honeymoon can't be over because it has only just begun.
mike.preston@baltsun.com
