OWINGS MILLS - Bellowing at a few stragglers who were slow to hit the practice field, Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh couldn't wait to finally have his entire football team assembled.

Due to the final ratification details of the new collective bargaining agreement not being approved until late Thursday afternoon, the Ravens didn't conduct practice until 5 p.m. It was over three hours later than originally scheduled.

Once the deal was signed and unrestricted free agent signees like offensive guard Marshal Yanda, cornerback Chris Carr and fullback Vonta Leach were able to practice as well as the restricted free agents and exclusive-rights free agents , Harbaugh was waiting on the practice field.

Not so patiently.

"There were a couple guys that took a little longer to get dressed than I would have expected," Harbaugh said. "They know me, I know them. We get each other. .. As I told the guys, I was the calmest guy in the whole building.

"They laughed when they heard that. We kind of joked about, ‘adapt, adjust and overcome,' and it really was one of those days. We are creatures of habit. We like to know what our schedule is and, all of the sudden, we didn't have that."

Harbaugh sternly reminded rookie linebacker Josh Bynes to hustle onto the field when he strolled out of the Ravens' training complex.

"A little sense of urgency, Josh!" Harbaugh said.

An influential member of the NFL Players Association executive committee who was instrumental in the labor talks, Ravens cornerback Domonique Foxworth explained that the delay for the league year to officially begin was an unintended consequence of the new labor deal.

Foxworth said players offered to sign injury waivers, but NFL management didn't think that would provide them with enough liability coverage.

The holdup prevented several young players like linebackers Jameel McClain, Tavares Gooden, Dannell Ellerbe and Prescott Burgess, safeties Haruki Nakamura and Tom Zbikowski and offensive tackle Oniel Cousins from getting on the field for the past week.

"It felt good, I was able to release some frustration," Gooden said. "It was fun being out there. I hated to see my teammates out there working hard and I couldn't be out there."

Just like the rest of the problems associated with the NFL lockout, this was yet another inconvenience for coaches and players to deal with.

"Yeah, they had to make sure both sides were equally favored," Gooden said. "That's what we were waiting on. We're all happy they were able to get that deal done today."

Now, the Ravens were able to distribute repetitions instead of having just a handful of offensive linemen to work against a talented defense.

"It was good to have everybody back," Harbaugh said. "We were able to bring a line in for every period, and we appreciated that."

Signed to a two-year contract, Pollard began smashing into running backs on blitzes.

And new fullback Vonta Leach crashed into Burgess and other linebackers. It looked like a real football practice.

"I'd like to welcome Bernard here," Harbaugh said. "Wow, this guy comes out and has two huge hits in the backfield on pass rushes and kind of established himself. And Vonta got after it and had some big collisions out there. It was good to see the new guys in the mix, plus all the guys who hadn't been able to practice for the last week or so."

Even though it was nearly dark when the Ravens left the practice field, Harbaugh said the concentration and tempo were excellent.

"I thought the practice was urgent the whole way," Harbaugh said. "It kind of built the way it was supposed to. It was cooler for one thing. That helped a lot and we had more players out here, so we were able to kind of keep the pace a little more."

A player union representative, Carr was glad to finally be able to rejoin his teammates after being re-signed to a four-year, $15 million deal.

"Yes, it's definitely been difficult since everybody has been out there practicing," Carr said. "I didn't want to get rusty while everyone else is in midseason form. It felt good to get out there for the first day back.

"It was one of those things where you knew that with the lockout it was going to be different from any other year and free agency was a hassle. It beats jumping right into the season. If you're expecting the worst and preparing for the worst, then you get this and it's not as bad."