Ravens coach John Harbaugh wanted to make sure his team was ready for every possible situation against the Rams in St. Louis on Saturday.
So he held practice indoors at the team’s Owings Mills complex and blared artificial crowd noise through several speakers lining the field, as he tried to simulate conditions inside Edward Jones Dome.
“I think it’s better than going out there Saturday, hearing the crowd noises and being shocked by it,” he said. “It helped us. We had a few issues that we improved on.”
HEARING THE CALLS
The NFL is allowing teams to let one defensive player wear a helmet with a radio communicator on the field so coaches can call plays to prevent the opposition from stealing their play calls.
Harbaugh said the Ravens had trouble with their helmet, worn by linebacker Ray Lewis, in their 23-15 loss last week against the Minnesota Vikings.
“It’s a big concern,” Harbaugh said. “They need to be able to hear the radio. Is it us operating it? Is it the signal not coming through? We’re studying that right now and making sure we have it right because when we don’t get the call, then we’re not on the same page.”
FLYNN TO PATS
Former Ravens center Mike Flynn is not ready to retire.
The 11-year veteran appeared to be done with professional football after the Ravens waived him during the offseason.
But Flynn, who started 15 games at center last season for the Ravens, signed a one-year deal with the New England Patriots on Thursday. Flynn, 34, played 10 seasons with the Ravens, starting 115 of his 134 games.
The Patriots signed Flynn to deal with several injuries to their offensive line.
Starting right guard Stephen Neal remains on the physically unable to perform list, and reserve guard/center Russ Hochstein was hurt in the Patriots’ 16-15 preseason loss to the Ravens on Aug. 7. Backup lineman Billy Yates suffered a pinched nerve in his necks in the team’s 27-10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
