Ravens' Jones says dancing added grace
OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- What a player does in the off-season can make a difference when he gets back on the football field.
For Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Jacoby Jones, it was dancing. For cornerback Jimmy Smith. it was boxing.
Fresh off finishing third in the Dancing With the Stars competition, Jones didn't look rusty now that he's back on the practice field.
"I'm back in my element, man," Jones said Friday after an organized team activity. "Honestly, I feel like I never left. I never stopped competing. I went from football to dancing and right back to football, so I'm still in that competition mode. So it's like riding a bike.
"I think it made me more graceful. It helped me with my foot placement, though, and it made me more patient. So it did help a lot. Usually, I'm the one walking around here half-dead, but that dancing got me in shape."
Jones caught 30 passes for 406 yards and one touchdown last season. He'll likely have a bigger role on offense this season opposite Torrey Smith.
"I think you are going to find that he's going to get more opportunities," offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell said. "I do think he has the ability. He can catch. He can run. He's still going to serve our special teams and serve them well, but we will use him certainly as a big part of our offense as well."
Since taking up boxing this off-season, Smith , a first-round pick out of Colorado in 2011, dropped 10 pounds to get down to a lean 200 pounds.
Smith missed five games last season, undergoing sports hernia surgery.
"I feel great, I feel like I did in college," said Smith, who's slated to compete with Corey Graham for a starting job. "I actually did some boxing and trying to get my core strength. My trainers told me to work on that for my back and groin. I'm doing conditioning drills, speed bag, no heavy bag.
"A defensive back needs quick hands. The groin really hurt my game last year, playing through that all of last season and finally having surgery. Now, I feel 100 percent better."
