Of the NFL’s 32 groups, 27 had at the very least an A- power workers final 12 months, in response to a survey from the NFL Players Association. Only one, nevertheless, acquired the bottom grade doable: the Ravens acquired an F-.
Its flunking grade — shocking given the membership’s usually applauded tradition — prompted some former Ravens gamers to criticize the staff’s former power coach, Steve Saunders, who was named within the report launched Wednesday. Saunders, who had been with the staff since 2016, was changed final week by assistant power coach Scott Elliott.
“At the core of these issues is the team’s former head strength coach, Steve Saunders (recently parted with); assessment of him by player respondents was markedly negative,” the NFLPA’s report said.
The NFLPA confidentially polled 1,300 gamers throughout the league in eight classes. It’s unknown what number of Ravens participated. Overall, Baltimore completed in the course of the pack (seventeenth), however its failing grade for power coaches stood out. Only 5 groups acquired an F- in any class.
Defensive lineman Carl Davis Jr., a third-round draft choose by the Ravens in 2015, battled accidents throughout his three seasons with the staff.
In a tweet Wednesday, Davis, a present New England Patriot, mentioned he was “[definitely] a victim of the strength coaches” in Baltimore, noting he had two labrum accidents and “multiple [pectoral muscle] strains.”
Linebacker Bam Bradley was signed by the Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2017 however rapidly suffered a torn ACL. He added Thursday to Davis’s comments, saying that 5 months after his ACL harm, he was “unsuccessfully doing the same leg workouts as people with healthy knees” and that it “ruined me.”
In response, former Ravens and present Patriots exterior linebacker Matthew Judon tweeted that he’d “told [the Ravens] to fire him,” seemingly referring to Saunders.
“Crazy part is that [Saunders] went and said I wasn’t working hard and I was being rebellious,” Davis wrote in response to Judon. “I’m like I ain’t tryna get hurt again.”
Wide receiver Quincy Adeboyejo signed with the Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2017 and appeared in a single recreation that season earlier than going through accidents and ultimately being launched in 2019. In response to a tweet about Saunders, Adeboyejo mentioned: “Definitely ruined my career” and added that he’d had three season-ending accidents “in a row after being healthy my entire career prior.”
Rashod Bateman, anticipated to be the Ravens’ prime broad receiver this season, additionally voiced criticisms of the staff Thursday in a since-deleted tweet. In reply to a put up about normal supervisor Eric DeCosta’s feedback on the staff’s broad receivers, Bateman defended the group, which is taken into account one of many staff’s weakest positions.
“Stop pointing the finger at us and [Lamar Jackson],” he wrote, referencing Baltimore’s star quarterback who stays locked in contract negotiations.
Bateman, who has been injured in each of his NFL seasons since being chosen within the first spherical of the 2021 NFL draft, additionally wrote: “keep us healthy … care about US & see what happen.” Former Ravens working again Mike Davis agreed, saying that Bateman was “100% right.”
Former defensive finish Derek Wolfe, who spent 2020 and 2021 with the Ravens earlier than being launched with an harm settlement in June and retiring a month later, additionally contributed to the onslaught of complaints.
“[I told] you the Ravens strength staff was [trash,]” he wrote, utilizing an emoji of a trash can.
Saunders couldn’t instantly be reached for remark and the Ravens didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
When requested about Saunders on Wednesday — earlier than the general public criticism from gamers rolled in — Ravens coach John Harbaugh credited Saunders with contributing to the staff’s sturdy file within the later months of current seasons.
“I’m excited for Scott Elliott,” Harbaugh mentioned of the staff’s new power coach, who spent the previous two years working below Saunders. “Scott Elliott and the whole group get an opportunity now to show what they can do.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com