SPARTANBURG, S.C. — The Ravens were in Spartanburg, South Carolina Wednesday, on the campus of Wofford College, to hold the first of two joint practices with the Carolina Panthers.
"Today was extremely fun," said Ravens tight end Mark Andrews. "I think these joint practices are great for you just to be able to feel the game speed."
"Good practice, spirited, hard fought. We got a lot out of it," said Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh.
Harbaugh and his players believe these practices and scrimmages against another team are more productive than the actual preseason games.
"I think this is even better, though. Because you get a little bit more realistic series," said Ravens defensive end Calais Campbell. "You put yourself in situations to be able to really fine-tune your tools versus in a preseason game you get, what, two drives? So you don’t really get enough."
With these joint practices usually comes a dust-up or two. A scuffle broke out between the Ravens offense and Panthers defense after receiver Binjimen Victor was hit hard after a catch. Marcus Peters had words with Carolina’s Jaycee Horn.
"Obviously it’s an emotional game," said Campbell. "You are going to get a little bit worked up and stuff. But I think we had a great day."
"I think it was someone went low a little bit and I forget who came up and gave a little shove. But, that’s part of it. Emotions are flying and being competitive. Things like that are going to happen," added Andrews.
"Tempers are going to flare at some point in time," said Harbaugh. "It was a good practice. I thought both teams took care of one another, tried to do a good job with that. That’s it. We’re moving on."
The Ravens and Panthers will hold one more joint practice on Thursday before hitting the field for preseason game number two on Saturday in Charlotte.
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