Freischaltung » Ravens coach John Harbaugh is reaping some health

OWINGS MILLS Will Grier Jersey , Md. (AP) — benefits with the return of Pro Bowl guard Marshal Yanda.“Seeing him out there doing individual drills was good for my blood pressure,” Harbaugh said.Yanda participated in individual drills during the team’s two-day, joint practices with the Los Angeles Rams. Yanda won’t play in the Ravens-Ravens preseason game Thursday night, saying it will likely take three weeks to get into game shape. He could be held out of the three preseason games as a precaution, but said he plans to be ready for Baltimore’s opener against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 9.When he does return, the Ravens will rely heavily on Yanda to anchor the offensive line after he missed the final 14 games last season with a fractured ankle. He also sat out the early part of training camp following shoulder surgery.“It’s exciting being back out there,” Yanda said Wednesday shortly after the teams concluded their final practice. “I definitely missed it last year. I’m just taking it one day at a time. But I am feeling great and am definitely on schedule.”One of the goals for the Ravens this offseason has been to solidify the offensive line. Quarterback Joe Flacco needs more time in pocket to be effective and he should benefit with Yanda back in the starting lineup, according to Harbaugh. Flacco was sacked 27 times last season and the Ravens had the 29th-ranked passing attack in the league.James Hurst had been filling in at right guard while Yanda has been sidelined.“Marshal makes a big difference in our offensive line Christian Miller Jersey ,” Harbaugh said. “What’s the exponential number? What’s the percentage better? A lot. . I’m happy to see it, and I just want to keep seeing him get better.”While Yanda has been durable throughout his career, he knew the ankle injury against Cleveland in Week 2 was going to have a long-term impact. He then injured his shoulder lifting weights in the offseason.“It was tough last year because I couldn’t fight through that one,” said Yanda, who is entering his 12th NFL season. “It was kind of a bang-bang injury and I was done for the year. Injuries are part of football. I’m excited to get back this year and I’m ready to roll.”Yanda, 33, has played in 146 games, including 135 starts Jordan Scarlett Jersey , which ranks as the second-most games played among offensive linemen in Ravens history behind Hall-of-Famer Jonathan Ogden (177). Yanda was named the league’s top offensive lineman in the league in 2016 by Pro Football Focus when he didn’t allow a sack or quarterback hit that entire season.Despite the recent spate of injuries, Yanda is confident he can still make a big impact with the team.“I definitely have a lot left in the tank and that fire is still there and burns,” Yanda said. “I want to get back out there and play. That desire to play definitely kept me rolling. I am definitely excited to play this fall.” NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)Tennessee’s new coordinators each saw opportunities by joining Mike Vrabel’s first Titans staff – though they looked at the situation from completely different vantage points.For offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur, 38, coming to the Titans from the Los Angeles Rams marks the next step in his coaching career.Meanwhile, 68-year-old defensive coordinator Dean Pees actually ended a two-week retirement from coaching to head up the Titans’ defense.”This is something when you get into the coaching profession, you’re always looking for the next step David Montgomery Jersey ,” said LaFleur, who served as the Rams’ offensive coordinator in 2017, as Los Angeles went from the NFL’s lowest-scoring offense in 2016 to the highest-scoring last season. ”In L.A., I think Sean McVey is one of the best play callers there is in the NFL, and I don’t see him giving that up anytime soon. To get this opportunity, I couldn’t be more excited.”LaFleur was allowed out of his Rams’ contract in part because he will get the chance to be a play-caller with the Titans. Head coach Sean McVey handled the play-calling duties in Los Angeles.LaFleur plans on opening up the Titans’ offense and trying to accentuate what quarterback Marcus Mariota does well as part of that.”He’s as coachable as they come,” LaFleur said. ”That really stood out to me. We’re still kind of going through and trying to evaluate what each one of these guys does well, and we’re going to try and tailor our offense to our guys’ abilities.”LaFleur said Mariota Riley Ridley Jersey , who struggled with 13 touchdown passes and 15 interceptions last year, has what he looks for in a quarterback.”You can see the talent he possesses. . Some of things that we’ll be working on with him – and you never know what a guy has been taught in the past – but we’re going to be extremely detailed with his fundamentals and his footwork, because I think that leads to more consistent quarterback play,” LaFleur said.Pees, a 45-year coaching veteran, had retired at season’s end as defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens. But he said he began to second-guess the decision and was encouraged by his family after Vrabel called and asked him to become his defensive coordinator. Pees was Vrabel’s linebackers coach and later his defensive coordinator when Vrabel played for New England.”When Mike called, it kind of got us reassessing where we were and did we really want to stay retired, and to be honest with you Greedy Williams Jersey , my kids and my wife were super excited about it,” Pees said.Joining the Titans marks the second time Pees will now work under a player he previously coached. Ravens coach John Harbaugh played for Pees in college”Mike convinced me. I felt very humbled that a guy that I coached would ask me to come back be persistent on me coming here,” Pees said. ”The other part of it was it was Nashville. We love this city. Whenever we’ve been here, we’ve loved this place. And also looking at the Titans and how they’ve been playing. The arrow is pointed very much up.”—