On Wednesday after practice, I met up with Keydrick Vincent.  Despite just having finished a 2 hour practice in the August heat and humidity, Vincent asked if I could wait until he did some work with the blocking sled.  Afterwards, he enthusiastically greeted me with a big smile, a huge hand and a heavily sweat-beaded forehead.

TL: Keydrick, talk about this training camp so far, your first as a Raven and then compare it to those that you experienced as a Steeler.

KV: Coach Billick does a great job of taking care of players.  In Pittsburgh you’ve got a whole lot of yelling and fighting and it’s just a different mindset.  But here he really knows – they’ve won the Super Bowl so you respect his style.  From the other side looking in, in Pittsburgh we put in a lot of time and hard work but we never won a ring.  The Ravens won a ring and I respect that so much because you don’t have to overwork yourself sometimes.  I think that in Pittsburgh, that’s the mentality.  But here Coach Billick puts you in different situations to make you a better player and I’m very excited about this season.

TL: Do you think the pace of this camp v. that of the Steelers helps you at the end of the season?

KV: I really do because later in the season I’m so banged up.  Your technique isn’t as good because you are so tired and sore but here you get enough rest and [Billick] puts you in good situations.  You play situational football and that’s rare.  He sets up practices where you play a third and five and you know when it second and ten.  That’s good to practice because that is what you will have in the game.  At Pittsburgh it’s just hit, hit, hit and fight, fight, fight.  I just like knowing what I’m going to get into before I get into [game situations].

TL: Do you think your buddies in Pittsburgh might like to follow your path to Baltimore?

KV: I was talking to one of their linemen the other day (Keydrick preferred to leave names out) and he was like, “I’m happy for you.”  He knows the different situations and he knows what goes on there.  I was telling him how it is over here and he was like, “Damn, I wish it was me.”  And I said hey, they are paying you too much money to leave.

TL: Talk about the Ravens v. Steelers rivalry.  Is it as heated for the players as it is for the fans?

KV: We can be out of pads and when we are getting ready to play the Ravens, you are gonna put on those pads and have some 9 on 7’s and put in a very physical week of practice.  Both teams hate each other and there are a lot of things that go on behind closed doors that people don’t know about that adds fuel to the fire.  So it’s pretty heated.

TL: Care to discuss any of the specifics?

KV: No not really (laughs).

TL: Tell us a bit about your relationship with Zeus.  The two of you seem to be bonding both on and off the field.

KV: Coming in, I heard all these crazy stories about Zeus but now, he’s like my big brother.  We room together, we do a lot of things and he’s just so protective of me.  I almost got in a fight and he was right there to help me out like a big brother.  I have so much respect for him.  From the outside looking in, I didn’t know what to expect with all these stories but he’s really just like a big teddy bear.

TL: He’s Zeus on the field and Orlando off the field.  Keydrick, let’s discuss the blocking techniques taught here in Baltimore v. those in Pittsburgh.

KV: It’s basically the same scheme the difference is blocking for Jerome v. Jamal.  It’s all about me getting the reps with these guys but basically it is the same only different terminology and a different guy running the ball.

TL: Last year you really had it going on in Pittsburgh.  You were 15-1 and the offensive line was dominant.  Talk about the running game last year, the offensive line play and how that translated into a very productive rookie season for Ben Roethlisberger.

KV: I think that the biggest thing last year was that the previous season we were 6-10 and when the coordinator put in the game plan, they called things that we didn’t rehearse or practice.  But last year, whatever the coaches discussed they brought into the individual meeting rooms.  We knew the game plan.  I knew what the coordinator was thinking.  So once you have a group of guys all on the same page and you know what he’s going to call and how he’s going to call it, it’s a big difference.

TL: You’ve had a full season with Roethlisberger and with Kyle, you’ve had a week and a half of camp and a couple of mini-camps.  What are some of the similarities and differences between the two?

KV: Both are very confident young men.  The thing with Ben, he came into a great situation.  We were a hungry team.  The same thing with Kyle.  We went 6-10 the year before, a hungry team.  In Pittsburgh, you aren’t used to not going to the playoffs.  So Ben falls into the right place at the right time.  Now Kyle, this team didn’t go to the playoffs last year.  They are a hungry group of men and a great defense.  I’m really excited for [Kyle].

TL: Last year, it was widely reported that the Ravens had some chemistry issues in the locker room.  There’s no evidence of that here at training camp.  Do you think that the so-called chemistry problems were really nothing more than the frustrations of losing?

KV: These guys are fun – they’re funny.  In Pittsburgh we had no chemistry.  There are a lot of guys that didn’t even talk to each other but once we got on the field we gelled as one.  Here you’ve got group activities – and this is all foreign to me.  It’s like, “What’s going on?”  But the guys are funny and it’s a great group of guys to be around. 

TL: How important is it for you to maintain chemistry within your group – the offensive line?

KV: I’m like the youngest guy in the bunch.  But if I’ve got to get a block, I’m going to make sure I make that block.  It’s all about confidence and trust with the guy beside you.  It’s early and we’re still getting it down so the more and more we play the better off we’ll be.

TL: In Pittsburgh you had three very good receivers.  Compare Ward, Randle El and Burress to Mason, Clayton and Moore.

KV: Mason, he has a track record and you know what he can do.  The two younger guys, they are new to the league.  But that Clarence Moore, he’s a special athlete.  Clayton just got in so I really haven’t had time to analyze what he can do but he is small and can move in and out.  The Steelers, you know Hines Ward is gonna bring his lunch every week.  Plaxico, I don’t know…sometimes it’s good sometimes it’s not so good but he’s a great athlete and Randle El, he’s gonna make something happen.  It’s exciting to see but we do have a lot of weapons on this team – it’s loaded.  But it means nothing until you get to the game on Sunday and put it all together.

TL: Last year in Pittsburgh, your offensive line really took it to the Ravens.   How did your group game plan for Ray Lewis?

KV: Well it’s crazy.  Me and Ray are from the same county.  I remember, Ray’s a little older than me but everyone was talking about Ray Lewis and I remember going to a high school game and Ray was playing running back and he killed it.  And then being here and watching him in practice he’s a helluva an athlete.  But with the Steelers, they ran a 3-4 [like the Ravens] and our game plan was to run right at Ray.  We had Dan Kreider who would double up and then chip off to Ray.  But in the 46, it’s hard to get to Ray.  They’ve got big [butt] Kemo and Kelly Gregg so it’s hard to get to him.  And the way Ray runs, he’s very blessed to do the things he’s capable of doing.  I think he will be very successful this year and he has a chip on his shoulder.