Super Bowl teams return to practice field

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NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- Blustery weather Wednesday forced the San Francisco 49ers to move their first practice session of Super Bowl week indoors.

The 49ers and Baltimore Ravens, who will meet Sunday in the 47th Super Bowl, had contingency plans ready in case of poor conditions. San Francisco, however, was the only team to put its alternate plans in action.

"We were going to go outside and practice but the winds were a little too much,'' San Francisco Coach Jim Harbaugh said.

The 49ers are working out this week at the home facility of the New Orleans Saints, a complex that includes an indoor practice field. The Ravens are holding their workouts at Tulane University, where there is no indoor facility.

If the Baltimore coaches had chosen to practice indoors, the Ravens would have had to use the Saints' headquarters after the San Francisco workout had been completed.

The Ravens, however, went through their practice as scheduled.

All 53 players for both teams practiced Wednesday, including two Baltimore starters who have recently been nursing injuries -- linebacker Dannell Ellerbe and tight end Dennis Pitta. Both are expected to play Sunday.

Neither team had gone through a full practice session since winning their conference championship games Jan. 19.