{"id":6368,"date":"2024-12-01T02:05:09","date_gmt":"2024-12-01T02:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=6368"},"modified":"2024-12-01T02:05:09","modified_gmt":"2024-12-01T02:05:09","slug":"report-ravens-honor-late-ol-coach-with-special-cleats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=6368","title":{"rendered":"REPORT: Ravens Honor Late OL Coach With Special Cleats!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Baltimore Ravens are playing with a lot of emotion this season.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Oct 8, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Baltimore Ravens offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris instructs before the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images \/ Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Before the start of the regular season, tragedy stuck the Baltimore Ravens when offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris due to complications from a prior heart surgery.<\/p>\n

D’Alessandris, 70, had been with the Ravens since 2017 and helped develop Pro Bowl linemen such as offensive tackle\u00a0Ronnie Stanley<\/a>\u00a0and center\u00a0Tyler Linderbaum<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Off the field, his impact was arguably even greater. He served as the reader at team mass, and head coach John Harbaugh\u00a0described him as<\/a>\u00a0“a good man, a good coach, just a great person [and] a great man of faith, so he was kind of an inspiration for all of us here for sure.” D’Alessandris is survived by his three daughters.<\/p>\n

With the NFL hosting its “My Cause, My Cleats” initiative this week, the Ravens saw the perfect opportunity to honor D’Alessandris once more.<\/p>\n

On Friday, the team unveiled special cleats honoring the late coach, which the coaching staff will wear during Sunday’s game\u00a0against the Philadelphia Eagles<\/a>. The cleats feature D’Alessandris, his nickname of “Coach Joe D,” and the logo of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a group he was a part of for many years.<\/p>\n

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