For Ravens’ Ogden, the agony of de feet

By Darrell Laurant  |   Wednesday, September 12, 2007  |  Comments( 0 )

Baltimore Ravens
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It seems absurd, somehow -- a man with the towering size and awesome physical presence of Jonathan Ogden brought down by a big toe.

The mammoth (6-foot-9, 345) Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle missed all but one practice of the preseason with a hyperextension of his left big toe, an injury that has dogged him for two years. He played during the Ravens' 28-24 opening loss to Cincinnati, but had to come out of the game and probably won't play against the Jets this Sunday.

"He didn't reinjure it," Baltimore coach Brian Billick said to WBAL radio. "It's just the pain."

Billick then added gloomily, "I don't know if Jonathan will be able to come back from this or not."

A big toe. NFL studs like Ogden, a fixture in the Pro Bowl, are supposed to be brought down by ripped knee ligaments or broken ribs or a ruptured disc.

Nevertheless, however much iron an offensive lineman can hoist in the weight room, the greatest compliment that can be paid him is "He's got quick feet."

Ogden, aka The Dancing Bear, used to have very quick feet. Now, one of them hurts. A lot.

"I'm trying to keep a positive attitude," he said.

His replacement this week will be rookie Marshall Yanda, who will man right tackle while Adam Terry moves to the left side. Terry is as big as Ogden, but considerably less experienced. And that's worrisome when you consider QB Steve McNair hurt his groin against Cincinnati and will need his blind side protected even more than usual -- that is, unless backup Kyle Boller starts instead.

The backup tackle on both sides now becomes another rookie, Maryland product Jared Gaither.

Also worrisome for Billick is that the Ravens' O-line turned the Bengals' previously unheralded defensive end Robert Geathers into Reggie White. Geathers had a sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, two quarterback hurries, two deflected passes and an interception.

Ogden will continue to try and treat his injury with ice and ultrasound. He couldn't get a consensus during the offseason on whether to have surgery, so he decided to see if the toe got better on its own.

Obviously not.
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