The Brian Billick era dawned for real yesterday morning, when 77 players took the field for the Ravens' first training camp practice. The result was a two-hour, 15-minute exercise that had players glowing about the crisp pace and singing the praises of a head coach who did the unthinkable.

The Ravens practiced in shorts. That's right, on the first practice of the first day.

"I love this guy," cornerback Duane Starks said of Billick.

"Usually, you come out on the first day in pads and you're all rusty," Ravens defensive tackle Tony Siragusa said. "We're getting the bugs out with the shorts on. It's nice. You feel a lot better than when you're lugging that extra 40 pounds around."

Just another sign that a new sheriff is in town. Billick has set up a daily schedule from now until the day camp breaks on Aug. 26, detailing every practice time, an intrasquad scrimmage, off days, a mock game, even specific practices when pads are required.

As for kicking off camp without contact, Billick said, "Training camp is arduous, long and hard. You expose your players to fatigue and injury. We've got to take care of them. We're going to hit [in practice]. There are a lot ot things to adjust in training camp. We plan our work and we work our plan. That's been successful [for me] so far.

"They may like the schedule today, but we'll probably have to drag them out of the locker room from now on. This is going to feel like a long camp, probably because we're starting so late. We've got to pace it the right way."

The opening workout featured a limited number of dropped passes, some excellent work by Starks -- who broke up several passes in one-on-one drills -- and decent throws by quarterbacks Scott Mitchell and Tony Banks.

Third-year quarterback Wally Richardson struggled noticeably early in practice, bouncing several balls at the feet of receivers and throwing behind them. Richardson even drew a mild scolding from Billick, but the seventh-round draft pick out of Penn State recovered as practice went on.

"It doesn't matter how hard you prepare, the first couple of days you still have to get your feet under you," Mitchell said. "For the first day, I didn't feel too badly."

Said Richardson: "I started off a little slow. I threw the ball behind guys this morning and was off a little bit on the curl routes. I've got to work out some of the kinks, but I feel good about what I did. There is pressure on all of us [quarterbacks] to show what we can do. This is a new coaching staff with no pre-conceived ideas."

Actually, Billick has one idea in place. Responding to a reporter's question about the competition between Mitchell and Banks, and whether a quarterback controversy is possible, Billick said, "There will be some good, healthy competition at that position. But right now, this is Scott Mitchell's team.

"I think [the quarterbacks] were pretty crisp today. A couple of balls got away from them. There were a few missed reads, but that's because they are still thinking [too much]."

With so many new players in camp, Billick said the next four weeks are more critical for the Ravens than numerous NFL teams.

"We're behind the eight-ball, so to speak, compared to the Jacksonvilles and Denvers and New Yorks," he said. "When you talk about their 53-man rosters, they can probably tell you who 46 or 47 of them are right now. You can't go much beyond 30 or 35 on our squad.

"Overall, there weren't a lot of clear-cut, mental errors out there, and everybody seems to be in pretty good shape. It was pretty good for the first day."

McCrary, Boulware sit out

Defensive end Michael McCrary (knee), outside linebacker Peter Boulware (shoulder) and fullback Rob Robertson (lower leg strain) sat out yesterday's workouts.

McCrary, who is recovering from arthroscopic surgery from four months ago, hopes to rejoin the action by the middle of the preseason.

Boulware is recovering after slightly separating his right shoulder -- the same shoulder he injured early last season -- on June 12, the last day of the team's final minicamp. While he continues to strengthen the shoulder, the Ravens decided to place Boulware on the physically-unable-to-perform list. They hope he is participating in practice by next week.

Backup linebacker Cornell Brown is working in Boulware's place.

"Peter has gotten stronger. The only problem is he's not at the point where he feels he can hit the bags [in drills]," Ravens head trainer Bill Tessendorf said. "That might happen as early as next week. We've just got to see how it goes."

Said Boulware: "It's one of those things where you have to take some time and not rush it. We've got four or five weeks where I can get it better. It's not a big concern, but it's something for me to be cautious about. [The Ravens] would rather have me during the season than now."

Mulitalo, Stokley sign

Fourth-round draft picks Edwin Mulitalo and Brandon Stokley reported to camp yesterday after agreeing to three-year contracts.

Both players signed deals that included bonuses way under their market value. The Ravens pointed to a limiting, league-imposed, rookie pool salary cap number as the main reason.

Mulitalo, who collected merely $15,000 up front -- about $230,000 under what draft picks near his slot were paid, signed after the Ravens sweetened his $765,000 package with more guaranteed money.

Stokley collected $45,000 up front -- about $215,000 below what his slot called for -- but the Ravens bulked up his $1.08 million deal with an incentive package that his agent, Rick Smith, said should make Stokley the highest-paid player to come out of the fourth round.

"They [the incentives] are all easily attainable. Brandon and I both appreciate the effort the Ravens made in the 24th hour to get this done," Smith said.

Said Stokley: "I'm taking a risk and I understand that, but I need to be here. If I just go out and perform like I know I can, I'll get more of that bonus back. If I miss a day or two or three or four, it's tough to catch up."

Said Mulitalo: "I have a lot of mixed feelings about what happened. Some guys got paid more than me who were drafted right around me. I can gripe about it and be bitter or I can say here's my situation and I've got to deal with it. I'm here to work, whether my bonus is $15,000 or $250,000.

Roe, four others waived

Before yesterday's first practice, the Ravens waived running back Ben Snell, cornerback Fred Wilkerson, defensive tackle Kareem Robinson, wide receiver Mike Bowman and wide receiver James Roe.

A sixth-round draft pick in 1996, Roe never fulfilled expectations he brought with him after an outstanding career at Norfolk State.

Camp update

Holdout watch: Fourth-round picks Edwin Mulitalo and Brandon Stokley ended their brief contract squabble by reporting to camp yesterday. Both players were on the field for the afternoon workout.

Not bad for a guy with no sleep: Stokley, who barely has slept for the past two days, promptly went out and caught every ball in sight. This kid looks like a keeper.

First fight: Veteran offensive lineman Bob Sapp and rookie defensive tackle Charles Preston were the first two players to square off, with the short bout occurring late in the morning practice.

Who's that? Wide receiver Webster Slaughter, who had been assigned No. 10 at minicamp, changed his number to 83 early yesterday, shortly after the Ravens announced they had waived James Roe, who had worn No. 83.

Eye-opener: Second-year cornerback Duane Starks brought his A game to the first practice. He broke up a handful of passes in one-on-one drills. Even Jermaine Lewis couldn't shake him.

Art's cart won't start: Is this an omen? Team owner Art Modell, still sporting a cast and a cane while his broken ankle heals, made his way to the field under his own power. His golf cart wouldn't start. A replacement cart was found quickly.

Quote: "They are expecting a lot of me this year, and I don't blame them. I'm expecting a lot out of myself." -- Duane Starks, a first-round draft pick last year --Gary Lambrecht