Mike Florio On Raven OTA's: "...No Reason Not To Be There"
Mike Florio of the website Pro Football Talk and NBC Sports called into The Norris and Davis Show to talk about the Raven's organized team activities, the Detroit Lion's offseason, the Pro Bowl, Jim Harbaugh, and the Mike Wallace contract situation in Pittsburgh.
Florio said there was no reason for so many Ravens player so skip the OTA's last week.
"There's so much installation, play books, and schemes that get done. With limited opportunities in training camp relative to past years, and limited off-season work relative to the past years, there is no reason not to be there," he said.
Florio continued in saying if John Harbaugh was disappointed in the lack of participation in the voluntary work outs, he could not publicly express it without the NFLPA 'getting in your business'.
Florio also talked about Jim Harbaugh and his recent comments that, in spite of numerous reports, the San Francisco 49'ers never pursued Peyton Manning back in March. Florio said Harbaugh is making the situation worse by bringing up the topic.
"My first thought was , "Wow. Jim Harbaugh must think his football players are pretty stupid.' Maybe some of them are; I don't think Alex Smith is, and I think Alex Smith looks at that and rolls his eyes and says, 'Come on man, you're making it worse.' And i really do think he's just making it worse," he said.
The NFL recently announced the Pro Bowl will still be played next year, and Florio believes that the NFL has to do something to make players want to play hard in the game.
"The thought I had was to give the winning team a heck of a lot more money than you give the loser and create the incentive that way. But for some guys it would have to be a whole lot money to offset what you're risking by playing hard in a game and subjecting yourself to injury," he said.
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In terms of the Detroit Lions, whose players have made headlines recently by getting into trouble with the law, Florio said veteran players really need to step up in that situation.
"They need Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson, Ndamukong Suh, they need guys like that to really hold these players accountable. That's the only way they can get out of this mess," he said.
Florio also expressed his surprised that NFL teams haven't show more interest in Mike Wallace, a Wide Receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers, whose a Restricted Free Agent with the team.
"You sign him to the tender sheet and you give a a low first round draft pick. It amazes me that no one did it.There was some stuff out there about him wanting too much money but still, for no one to seriously pursue him, he's got to be frustrated about that and now he's got to get through one more season unscathed before he can really cash in," he said.
-Sarah Davis
