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While the Redskins hit hard at training camp, the Ravens literally pound on each other at theirs.

After wrapping up with the Redskins Monday afternoon, Mario and I took the scenic drive through rural Virginia and on into rural Maryland. Destination Westminster, Md., home to the Ravens training camp.

After checking into the "luxurious" Days Inn, Mario and I had dinner at the Texas Road House. It is the only place that puts gravy even on their vegetables. After a quick breakfast at Bob Evans, Mario and I made our way to the campus of McDaniel College, the summer home of the Ravens. It is hard to adequately describe the total Ravens love-in that is going on in Westminster during training camp but the whole town is purple.

The Redskins hit hard at their camp, but the Ravens literally pound on each other. It’s no wonder there have been so many Ravens players getting hurt in camp considering how hard they go at it in their 11-on-11 drills. Sure enough, receiver Derrick Mason was just rocked as he was heading to the end zone. Next thing you know he has two trainers helping him off the field and into the locker room.

The early diagnosis is a sprained right ankle. Head coach John Harbaugh said they have no idea when Mason will be back on the field. Considering what happened to cornerback Domonique Foxworth last week, it could have been a lot worse.

Now I have seen some big football players in my travels, but few can compare to the Ravens’ six-foot-four, 350-pound nose tackle Haloti Ngata. With the massive Ngata clogging up the middle, it allows Ravens linebackers like Ray Lewis the time and space to seek and destroy.

Other than the intensity of the hitting, the other thing that jumps out at you at Ravens camp is their newfound vertical passing game. Even with Mason’s ankle injury, Joe Flacco still had a field day going downfield to his newest weapons, Donte’ Stallworth and Anquan Boldin. Stallworth displayed great hands and vertical and he went up pulled down a few nice catches. Boldin has made an immediate impact on the Ravens passing game. There’s little doubt that Flacco will be looking to Boldin early and often when he needs to make a throw. Having another downfield threat like Stallworth in the mix gives offensive coordinator Cam Cameron so many more options with which to work.

Even running back Ray [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] is heavily involved in the Ravens passing game. That’s what makes [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] such a dynamic offensive player and such a valuable weapon for Harbaugh. He’s strong enough and tough enough to pick up the tough yards between the tackles running the football. But he’s also quick enough and has good enough hands to make plays out of the backfield.

After their second practice of the day, I had a chance to have an extended one-on-one interview with [link widoczny dla zalogowanych]. For such a young and talented up-and-coming NFL star, [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] could not have been more well grounded or more pleasant to speak with. If you are looking for an athlete to be a role model, you could do a lot worse than [link widoczny dla zalogowanych].

I know Lewis has a bad reputation and there are a lot of people who have a certain image of the man. All I know is what I saw and how the man treated me. After a punishing two-and-a-half hour practice, Lewis stood there in 90 degree weather and signed autographs for over 900 kids. A middle-aged woman said it best when she screamed, “We love you Ray!” at the top of her lungs. To Ravens fans, Lewis is a rock star, an absolute god. John Harbaugh might be the coach, but the Ravens belong to Ray.

After signing all those autographs in the hot sun I asked him if he wouldn’t mind answering a few questions for the Ray[link widoczny dla zalogowanych] feature I was working on. Lewis was extremely gracious and gave me two amazing answers for my story. That is what I call a class act.

The Push-up King -- The Ravens have a rule on defence: Any player who drops a potential interception has to drop and pump out 10 push-ups. I lost count of how many times I saw safety Haruki Nakamura down on the ground pounding out the push-ups. Late in practice he finally hung onto the ball and received a huge cheer from the D.

Up next, Mario and I are off to Bethlehem, Pa.,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], as Wednesday morning we will be at the Eagles training camp. Ray [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] Black jersey