Free-agent addition [Corey Graham is entering his sixth season, but he's more like a rookie in the Ravens' secondary.
Graham is making a major transition between* *defensive schemes moving from Chicago to Baltimore.
The Bears run a Cover 2 zone defense that allows corners a large buffer off the wide receiver while the Ravens rely on their corners to play man-to-man coverage.
"It's like night and day from what I previously ran," Graham said. "It's a lot different, more complex, different schemes. One thing I like about this defense, it puts you in position to make a lot of plays."
The conversion has gone well thus far, and Graham has taken advantage of more playmaking opportunities.
He notched a handful of interceptions during practices*open to the media, including a couple in red-zone drills. He matched up well against the Ravens' top receivers, *Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin.
By the end of minicamp, Graham said "everying is coming together well," and that he feels a lot more comfortable. Teammate Lardarius Webb took notice.
"He looks great," Webb said. "He can play inside and outside. There's not a lot of guys that can do that, but he's able to play both. He's still getting the system down right now but he looks really good in camp."
Graham spent his first five years in Chicago, where he started 10 games at cornerback. He hasn't started any the past two years, but did get time as the Bears' nickel. He nabbed an interception in three straight games during* *Weeks 10-12.
Graham has plenty of competition if he's going to get defensive snaps in Baltimore, however.
The top three corners are*likely Lardarius Webb, Cary Williams and 2011 first-round pick Jimmy Smith. Graham is slated to compete *with Danny Gorrer, who also had a strong spring, second-year corner Chykie Brown and rookie Asa Jackson.
"I want to play as much as I possibly can, whether it's nickel, dime, corner, it doesn't make a difference," Graham said. "I just want to get the opportunity to go out there and play. I want to get on the field and feel like I'm part of the defense."
At the same time, Graham knows his calling card is special teams. The NFC's special teams Pro Bowl representative last year is also learning coordinator Jerry Rosburg's way of doing things, but it's not as much of a transition for him as cornerback.
Graham said he hasn't had to speak up much on special teams because the more outspoken and longer tenured Brendon Ayanbadejo was also at minicamp.
"Special teams comes naturally for me," Graham said. "I've always done it and been pretty good at it. I lead by example. When guys see the way you're doing things and see you making plays, they go with it."
