Ravens linebacker Dan Cody still thinks about the injuries that forced him to miss most of the past three seasons.
And that?s exactly what sparked the fight between Cody and rookie offensive tackle Oniel Cousins at the team?s mini camp in Owings Mills on Wednesday.
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“It?s the last day and he kind of fell on me and I have been working too much the past few years to have someone falling down on me the last day of mini camp,” Cody said. “That?s how it goes, tempers fly a little bit.”
Cody was expected to be a key contributor to one of the league?s top defenses in 2005 when the Ravens selected him in the second round out of Oklahoma. But the 6-foot-5, 225-pounder missed all of his rookie season with a knee injury sustained on his first day of training camp. He played in just two games in 2006 and missed all of last year with an injured right knee.
“He?s really come a long way and overcome a lot of adversity,” cornerback Corey Ivy said. “He is showing what he can do when he is out there and healthy.”
The Ravens? defense, however, can use all the help it can get. The unit finished fifth-overall in yards allowed per game (301.6), but yielded an average of 24 points and recorded just 32 sacks, 19th-best in the league, en route to a 5-11 season. The team also was a league-worst minus-17 in turnover differential.
But a skilled pass rusher like Cody, who made 117 tackles with 25 sacks in 42 games at Oklahoma, could go a long way toward improving those numbers. There is, however, a relearning curve with so much time away from the game. Cody has played in just two games ? both in 2006 ? during which he made only two assisted tackles.
“You kind of got to learn the game over a bit to a certain degree but we have been practicing so much, seven, eight weeks now, I feel like I am back to my old self,” Cody said. “It teaches you a lot of patience but once you get back in the game it seems like that time when by so quickly, the last three years have just gone by like that.”
And his coaches also are noticing a difference.
“When he?s healthy, this guy can really play,” defensive coordinator Rex Ryan said. “It?s been tough, too, because we have had great expectations for Baltimore in Dan, and it?s unfortunate because with injuries he hasn?t been able to get on the field to really show everyone what he?s got. But right now, we have him with his hand on the dirt rushing the passer and he looks great to make.”
