Ravens Notebook: Ed Reed decided to play in game vs. Falcons since he 'wasn't doing anything else'

The reports of Ed Reed being a no-show for the Ravens' preseason game against Atlanta were premature.

By Jason Butt

Aug 12, 2012 at 10:42 pm ET • 2 min read

Ed Reed wasn't supposed to play for the Ravens against Atlanta on Thursday. The team's website announced he scratched about an hour before kickoff.

But there he was, No. 20 starting at FS right after kickoff. So what changed Reed's mind in order to get him on the field in Baltimore's first preseason game?

"A couple of teammates asked me to play and I was like, 'Cool. I'm not doing anything else,'" Reed said. "Physically, I could play. I was looking forward to playing anyway."

It looks like it doesn't take much to convince Reed to play some football.

Flacco wants quicker no-huddle: When asked about the Ravens transitioning into more of a no-huddle on offense, QB Joe Flacco offered a small smile and a strong opinion.

"I love the no-huddle, (but) we've got to get quicker and quicker at it," Flacco said. "I like to go up there and run a play, run a play, run a play. That's what we're going to be, and I think we got to make sure we get it as fast as we can."

The way Flacco said it shows he's on board with more of a high-octane attack this season. With that said, Baltimore can't have too many games where it ends the first quarter with four total yards in nine quick plays like it did against Atlanta on Thursday.

CB Smith's back is healing: CB Jimmy Smith said his back is progressively feeling better as he practiced for the second consecutive day after injuring it during practice on Aug. 2.

"It's something that's happened before," Smith said. "I wasn't surprised or anything. It just takes some time to die down."

Smith has practiced the past two days but hasn't participated in 11-on-11 drills.

Kicking battle continues: Billy Cundiff and Justin Tucker each hit five out of six field goal attempts in front of 20,334 at Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md., on Sunday. Both hit longs of 54 but were short on attempts from 65.

WRs return to practice: Torrey Smith (ankle), Logan Payne (hip) and Patrick Williams (undisclosed) came back to practice Sunday. Smith and Payne were injured against Atlanta and only missed Saturday's practice. Williams was out for almost a couple of weeks.

Injury report: TE Ed Dickson (shoulder), TE Dennis Pitta (hand), OL Jah Reid (calf), WR David Reed (ACL), WR Tandon Doss (hamstring), CB Chykie Brown (hamstring), CB Asa Jackson (hamstring), DT Ryan McBean (ankle), LB Josh Bynes (back), LB Darryl Blackstock (groin) and OLB Terrell Suggs (Achilles) sat out practice Sunday.