Ravens' Harbaugh is cool with the heat
July, 27, 2012
7/27/12
11:00
AM ET
By
Jamison Hensley | ESPN.com
OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Ravens training camp got off to a hot start Thursday, and that's just the way that coach John Harbaugh likes it.
The high temperature in the Baltimore area on Thursday was 99 degrees with a heat index of 106 degrees. The heat index is expected to be 105 degrees on Friday.
“That’s what it’s all about,” he said. “That’s why guys need to be in great shape. That’s why you need to prepare in the offseason and to get yourself ready in the interim period before training camp. Camp is tough. Anybody that has played the game understands -- training camp is tough. You start off in 95-degree weather, 95-percent humidity, and you end up with the snow blowing all around you. It’s one of the beauties of the game.”
Harbaugh is in the right AFC North town for it. According to weather.com, the Ravens ranked No. 8 for worst-weather training camps.
On the first day of Ravens camp, two players dealt with leg cramps and safety Ed Reed wondered aloud where the I.V. drips were.
“It’s good to have hot weather,” Harbaugh said. “It’s good to get yourself out there and get acclimated to it. All the doctors will tell you that you have to be in it to get used to it. It takes about a week to a week-and-a-half to get used to it. But you don’t want to be out here every day in it because that can be debilitating. So if we get a long period of hot weather, we’ll go in there and turn the air on and be smart about it.”
The Ravens were the only AFC North team to have their camp rank in the top 10 on the worst-weather list. Here's what weather.com had to say about the heat at Ravens camp:
The Cincinnati Bengals (No. 14), Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 15) and Cleveland Browns (No. 21) were in the middle of the pack.
The high temperature in the Baltimore area on Thursday was 99 degrees with a heat index of 106 degrees. The heat index is expected to be 105 degrees on Friday.
“That’s what it’s all about,” he said. “That’s why guys need to be in great shape. That’s why you need to prepare in the offseason and to get yourself ready in the interim period before training camp. Camp is tough. Anybody that has played the game understands -- training camp is tough. You start off in 95-degree weather, 95-percent humidity, and you end up with the snow blowing all around you. It’s one of the beauties of the game.”
Harbaugh is in the right AFC North town for it. According to weather.com, the Ravens ranked No. 8 for worst-weather training camps.
On the first day of Ravens camp, two players dealt with leg cramps and safety Ed Reed wondered aloud where the I.V. drips were.
“It’s good to have hot weather,” Harbaugh said. “It’s good to get yourself out there and get acclimated to it. All the doctors will tell you that you have to be in it to get used to it. It takes about a week to a week-and-a-half to get used to it. But you don’t want to be out here every day in it because that can be debilitating. So if we get a long period of hot weather, we’ll go in there and turn the air on and be smart about it.”
The Ravens were the only AFC North team to have their camp rank in the top 10 on the worst-weather list. Here's what weather.com had to say about the heat at Ravens camp:
The combination of the Bermuda High and proximity to the Chesapeake Bay gives credence of why this camp ranks in 8th. It is not unusual for the dew point to be near 70 degrees with a light southerly flow off the Chesapeake Bay in late July and the first week of August. Owings Mills is not known for its summertime breeze which makes it a contributing factor for cracking our top 10 besides its high heat and humidity.
The Cincinnati Bengals (No. 14), Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 15) and Cleveland Browns (No. 21) were in the middle of the pack.
- ESPN AFC North Blogger
- A University of Maryland graduate
- Lives in the Baltimore area with his wife
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Jamison Hensley
Hensley joined ESPN.com in 2011 after covering the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun for 11 years. A graduate of the University of Maryland, he lives in the Baltimore area with his wife and son.
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