Damien Berry might have the longest hill to climb to earn the spot, but he isn’t backing down

DamienBerryRavens
Sooner or later, Ray Rice will return to running with the Ravens’ first-team offense. But until he does, rookie Bernard Pierce and second-year backs Anthony Allen and Damien Berry have their chance to stake their claim to the No. 2 running back job.

Pierce would seemingly have the inside track based on his status as a third-round draft pick. Then again, Allen boasts NFL experience, albeit limited, with three carries for 8 yards during an injury-played rookie season in 2011. Berry spent the 2011 season on the practice squad.

All three figure to get a long look with Rice sitting out the minicamps, and all three are going through the Ravens offseason program for the first time. Allen and Berry couldn’t take part in team activities last spring and summer because of the NFL lockout.

Speaking after the team’s OTA workout on Wednesday, offensive coordinator Cam Cameron said all three have impressed.

Pierce “is physical, smart and fast,” Cameron said. “Now, he just needs to keep learning the system, listen to what (running backs coach) Wilbert Montgomery is asking him to do, listen to the guys in the room.”

Allen, a seventh-round draft pick last year out of Georgia Tech who also spent two years at Louisville, was slowed much of his rookie season by a hamstring injury and appeared sparingly in five games.

At the NFL Combine in February, after Ricky Williams had abruptly announced his retirement, Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said, “We like Anthony Allen. We’re going to give him every opportunity to be that guy” who would fill Williams’ former role as Rice’s primary backup.

Cameron at this week’s OTA described Allen as “a guy that we think can play all three downs. I see nothing but upside.”

Ditto for Berry, who is getting his share of reps with the first team in Rice’s absence. Berry might have the longest hill to climb to earn the spot, but he isn’t backing down.

“I'm ready to come in and compete," Berry said, according to CBSSports.com. "Competition brings the best out of all of us. If you're going to be great, you have to compete."

Cameron said Berry, listed at 5-10 and 211 pounds, has gotten bigger and stronger since last season.

“You can tell that he has done a ton of work. He has done a great in our weight room,” Cameron said.

“I think he is primed to have a great preseason, and then we’ll go from there,” he added.


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(csnwashington.com)
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