Baltimore Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome confident despite Dennis Pitta injury

The defending Super Bowl champions Baltimore Ravens suffered a major blow to their roster right at the start of training camp when tight end Dennis Pitta went down with what appears to be season-ending hip injury (there are reports of not only a fracture but also dislocation and possible ligament damage. Yikes). One person refusing to panic, however, is general manager Ozzie Newsome.

Newsome spoke about the situation to Sports Illustrated:

"You think San Francisco wants to be without (injured receiver) Michael Crabtreer ight now? These type of injuries happen in football. We’re not the only team that will lose a valuable guy. Nobody is going to feel sorry for us."

He continued:

"We have a history of making moves just a week or two before the season starts, to be able to put the final pieces together. We did that with (offensive tackle) Bryant McKinnie (in 2011). He came in just before the last preseason game. We did that with (offensive tackle) Willie Anderson, I think in (head coach) John Harbaugh’s first year (2008), and with (cornerback) Josh Wilson on defense (in 2010). It’s awfully early. We don’t play (season-opening opponent) Denver tomorrow, and the season is 16 games long. What you worry about is needing to play real good football going into November and December."

While Newsome’s confidence certainly demonstrates a good attitude, it will be difficult to replace Pitta, who was an integral cog in last year’s Super Bowl run. Our hopes and best-wishes go out to Pitta for a speedy recovery.

[Source: Sports Illustrated]