OWINGS MILLS – It wasn’t difficult for the Baltimore Ravens to convince cornerback and kick returner Bryan McCann to join them.
Cut by the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 20, McCann worked out for the St. Louis Rams and fielded interest from a few other teams.
All along, the Ravens displayed more of a need for McCann due to their injuries at cornerback and in the return game.
And the Ravens signed him last week to a two-year, $1 million contract that included base salaries of $450,000 and $540,000 and a $10,000 signing bonus.
“I was definitely excited,” McCann said. “The Ravens are a team that’s known for their defense, throughout the whole franchise’s history. For them to want me to be a part of that defense is definitely an honor.”
The Ravens have been playing without kick returner David Reed since the second game of the season when he separated his shoulder. And cornerbacks Chris Carr (left hamstring) and Jimmy Smith (left high ankle sprain) remain sidelined.
“They said I could come in and contribute on teams immediately whether it’s on the coverage units or return units,” McCann said. “Obviously, we’re banged up in the secondary. So, it was just a matter of learning the system. That will really be the key as far as how fast I can get on the field. Hopefully, my road to get on the field on defense won’t be as long as if we had everybody healthy.”
McCann returned kickoffs Monday.
McCann was briefly on the Ravens’ roster last season, but was waived after being inactive for one game.
“He’s obviously a corner who we’ve had interest in,” coach John Harbaugh said. “We had him here last year early on and he left and went back to Dallas, and whatever situation happened there, they let him go. We felt like there was an opportunity for us to bring him in.
“He brings us a developing young corner who has a lot of ability. He’s another year experienced than he was a year ago. He is a return guy also and a good special teams player.”
The Ravens have been using LaQuan Wiliams on kickoff returns lately and he has five returns for a 21.8 average. Reed led the NFL with a 29.3 kickoff return average last season and he had a 77-yard return against the Titans before hurting his shoulder.
All-Pro free safety Ed Reed returned punts against the New York Jets.
With the Cowboys last season, McCann returned a punt 97 yards for a touchdown against the Detroit Lions. He also returned an interception 101 yards for a score against the New York Giants.
For his career, McCann has a 22.2 kickoff return average and a 17.8 punt return average.
“I just try to be a playmaker wherever I’m at, whether it’s returning the ball or blocking for the guy who’s returning the ball or covering kicks and making tackles,” McCann said. “I want to come in and make an impact.”
DEFENDING FLACCO: Quarterback Joe Flacco struggled with his accuracy against the Jets, completing only 10 of 31 passes for 163 yards with no touchdowns and an interception return returned for a score.
He finished with a 37.4 passer rating.
For the season, Flacco has completed only 49.3 percent of his throws for 973 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions for a 79.8 passer rating.
Harbaugh prefers to focus on Flacco’s winning percentage, though.
“The only real way, in broad terms, to assess it probably is he’s 3-1,” Harbaugh said. “To me, he’s a 3-1 quarterback right now, which is pretty darn good. Can he be better, just like every guy on our team? The standard thing is always what we talk about, because we can all get better in everything we do. And Joe, just like everybody else, is going to tell you, ‘Hey, I can get better.’
“We were watching tape this morning, and he’s pointing out all the things that he thinks he can do better and all the things he was going to try to get accomplished today. So, that’s real. It’s not really exciting, but it’s really the fact of it. I think he’s got to get better, just like our whole team has to continue to get better. But I think he’s played well.”
Harbaugh noted that Flacco has done a good job in general of handling protections and improvising as well as striking deep more often, which is one reason why his percentage has fallen.
“He’s making big plays at a record clip – especially for us, since we’ve been here, probably historically if you look at the Ravens,” Harbaugh said. “That’s real. I mean, the big play part of it is big for us. I think he’s playing well enough to be 3-1, and I think our offense is more explosive than it has been in the past thanks to Joe and the other guys.
“I think we can attack you in more ways than we have been able to recently. We’ve got to keep building on that, we’ve got to become more consistent. Obviously, the completion percentage, that’s going to have to come up. We’ve got to all work on that together.”
PERFECTION: Under Harbaugh, the Ravens are 3-0 following bye weeks.
And the Ravens have won eight of their past 9 games after byes since 2002.
“We built both of our schemes for the first four games,” Harbaugh said. “So, we will have to kind of take a look now and see, ‘OK, what do we like, what don’t we like, what do we want to add?’”
Harbaugh said he spoke with the players Monday about the identity and goals of the team, using a Biblical verse to illustrate his point.
“We talked a little bit about Proverbs: ‘Where there is no vision, the people perish,’” Harbaugh said. “That is something that I think our guys, it resonates with them. Who are the Ravens? What are we going to be about?
“What do we stand for? How are we going to play? What can the people and the fans in Baltimore and across the country expect from us and be proud of? That’s important. It’s a good time to kind of talk about that.”
Harbaugh said he expects the Ravens to remain a physical, hard-hitting outfit.
“I think they love it,” he said. “I think that’s who they are, and that’s who they want to be. A lot of it is the type of people we bring in here, right? We are looking for that kind of personality. When we say, ‘Play like a Raven,’ some people get it, and some people don’t. For us, it is real. People who love football.
“Terrell Suggs is out there, and he loves practice. We like to get after people. We like players that like to get after it, who love football and like to play the game. We want to attack people in every way we can: offense, defense, special teams, down the field, at the point of attack, in all three phases. That’s what we’re about. That’s the way we’re going to try to play every week.”
Aaron Wilson covers the Baltimore Ravens for the Carroll County Times
