[News] Eisenberg: Nearly 20 Years Of Defensive Tradition Will Be Tested

[BR News]

The Ravens are building a defensive line that will need to prove it can stop the run without Haloti Ngata.

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[Nick04263]

They did okay without Ngata for the last 4 weeks. We have the bodies, just need them all to come into the season healthy.

[ellicottraven]

You are right about stopping the run. Carl Davis' most important attribute is stopping the run. Also, we have the best LB corps in the entire NFL. In the event the RBs get through the front 3, it will be difficult getting past Suggs and Upshaw on the edges and Mosley and Smith down the middle. With 3 surefire tacklers in nickel back Kyle Arrington, Safeties Kendrick Lewis and Will Hill, not to mention a great tackler in Webb, we will still be near impossible to run against.

[ibleedpurpleandblack]

Didn't they do it for 4 games last season when Ngata was suspended??

[BmoreB]

"We got this"... said the Ravens Front 7

[trevorsteadman]

Didn't they do it for 4 games last season when Ngata was suspended??

Against Miami, Jacksonville, Houston, and Cleveland. Foster is the only good running back out of all those four teams and he ran for 96 yards. I think everyone including myself is waiting for them to play against a team such as the Steelers with Le'Veon Bell or Marshawn Lynch like the Ravens get to play this coming season.

[Purpleghost23]

The year to prove it is this one ...lets see if the tradition continues #GoRavens

[bioLarzen]

When Ray Lewis and Reed were gone, everybody was bracing for a steep decline in the D - never happened. They had a down year, but not that off-the-cliff kind many were expecting.

When your D is constantly full of hallmark guys, you'll lose key players every year. The D has always survived and came out just as strong.

[stixfix69]

I think it will be a big test, Ngata has been the core of the D-Line for a decade, he had the ability to play DT, and NT at a all pro level.....I'm interested to see who steps up, hard to replace a freak of nature...

[blindbat]

In the words of T-Sizzle Baltimore will always be none for defense!!!!!! Go Ravens

[steelcityraven]

Ummmm..... I know that this is the down part of the year but this is a little sensationalizing. We stopped the run just fine last season in the four games that NGATA missed and that was without Carl Davis, KLM, Urban, and Canty. Now we will have those guys in the mix, Timmy will be a year acclimated, BWIlliams will be a season more developed, as will CJ and we will have improved safety support! We stopped the run more then adequately without NGATA for a quarter of the season last year... This year we have so many more weapons at our disposal, I cannot imagine us not being one of the top run defense teams in the NFL this season! If Pees cannot stop the run with that defense, then he is doing something wrong! My prediction is that we will be better at stopping the run this year -then we were last season!

[rodbestboy]

Changes to pass interference and the addition of the illegal contact rule have made most offenses in the League look to pass first. Which is why passing stats have increased. However, if you can't run the ball you cannot milk the clock late in games and it makes you vulnerable to the comeback. With our ability to stop the run, and the explosive nature of our offense, it keeps us in games where other teams fade.

[Crusader]

The offense will be very good but the defense with a weak secondary and the lose of great run stopper spells trouble. Losing Ngata will be like the lose of Corey Graham last season.

[gregob56]

Urban and KLM need to stay healthy this year, learn their positions and get quality PT, as they have to carry the torch once Sizzle and Elvis move on. Also, I have a feeling that Ozzie isn't done. There will be plenty of guys to pick up between now and Sept. 13.

[Maryland]

Carl Davis will fill in nicely for Ngata. He may never be as dominant as Ngata was when he was at his peak, but he'll be good if he can stay motivated. Urban will be the clear-cut top DE if he picks up where he left off from last year's training camp. Jernigan will play DT on our 4-3 looks, and we already know Brandon Williams is a stud NT. Ozzie has our D-line stacked.

[20Organized52Chaos55]

The defense will be just fine this season with the addition of Arrington in the secondary with health of course we should be good at corner. Adding Kendrick Lewis was a good pick up and don't forget about Will Hill that's two safeties that will go after the ball. The D-Line will be just fine with B Dub in the middle dude actually to me was better last year then Ngata anyways and Timmy J has a rare thing speed and size kind of like Warren Sapp in his prime. So with that being said we will be good

[cobrajet]

When Ray Lewis and Reed were gone, everybody was bracing for a steep decline in the D - never happened. They had a down year, but not that off-the-cliff kind many were expecting. When your D is constantly full of hallmark guys, you'll lose key players every year. The D has always survived and came out just as strong.

I agree and sometimes an induction of youth is a good thing. The young guys may not have the experience but many are full of fire to start making a name for themselves and Ozzie has a knack for finding guys that can "Play like a Raven" right out of the gate. We just have to get a little more lucky to avoid major injury this year, as the last few years have been brutal.

[Mystigo_Dragon]

Football is not a complicated game! Hey, even a kid could play it! lol

 

The NFL will always come up with new gimmicks to thwart the tried-and-true! So, there are three things that have withstood time:

 

1. If you can run the ball, you can have success as an offense!

2. If you can stop the run, you can have success as a defense!

3. If you can have success on Offense and Defense, you can be a successful team!

 

With the youth we have on our defensive line, 2015 will be no different - 20 years in a row!!!

Edited May 19, 2015 by Mystigo_Dragon

[Fastynart]

Let's get something straight. The Ravens DID NOT let Ngata go because of last year's suspension. To even suggest that is ridiculous. He was gone strictly and ONLY because of the contract.

[huntrgathrr]

One of the reasons we let Ngata go is we saw how effective Williams,Jernigan and Canty/Tyson were in stopping the run. Williams is an unmovable force in the middle and Jernigan is cat-quick with great instincts. Getting Davis in the draft and Urban and Moore back from IR gives us a strong 6 man rotation up front. Lawrence guy was effective as well. Ngata money could and was spent more wisely extending Jimmy Smith and signing Cedric Lewis.

This was a no-brainer as Ngata, although still excellent, is in the twilight of his career. I hated to see him go but I feel ok with it as we desperately needed help in the secondary. The decimated secondary probably cost us a trip to the Super Bowl last year. That should not be the case this year.

[hen826957]

I will still love to see Ozzie to extend either Yanda or K.O. and get an outside corner for our defense that gets cut hopefully Johnathan Joseph and then we are in really in good shape. If we could get Joseph we could have him start opposite of Jimmy Smith and let Webb and Arrington substitute in the slot that would be a great idea.

[J.O.14]

The offense will be very good but the defense with a weak secondary and the lose of great run stopper spells trouble. Losing Ngata will be like the lose of Corey Graham last season.

I don't think so. I love Ngata, hate to see him go, but we actually have guys in place that we KNOW can play in his place. We didn't have that when Corey Graham left. Brandon Williams has already established himself as one of the best nose tackles in the game. If him and Jernigan stay healthy, they could be the best duo in the league. Jernigan can actually rush the passer a little bit, which is big. We just need these guys to stay healthy, and if they do we will be fine. Not to mention we have Canty, Davis, KLM, Guy, etc. We got some major beef up front.

[ravens4life86]

2 Points, Cheatriots cheated their way to another SB. As for ranking 18th in run game its very misleading, because short passing is a extension of the run game. And with all the quick shifty guys they have that acts as the run game, Amendola, Edelman, etc. GOAL NO.1 Should be get Homefield throughout playoffs. II still am not completely over that last drive where Darrelle Revis "Depantsed" Smith Sr in the Endzone on a CLEAR PI... No flag.. A flag we get at home.

Also if Jimmy was healthy we whoop them by 2 TDs atleast and we are SB Champs again.

Now to the Run defense, I dont think we have a Haloti Ngata anymore borderline HOFr but I think between Williams,Jernigan, and draft pick Davis there is enough talent to stop the run, and hopefully Urban and KLM are healthy and play this year too. So Im not worried about the D line

[hen826957]

I wonder if Ozzie could make a trade to get Johnathan Joseph instead? Love to get him but what his cap number?

[Saxxin]

The D is a monster right now. Top 5 easy. The biggest question is Perriman and Williams. If these two pan out and become instant producers on the offense this is a very dangerous team. Nobody will see them coming because nobody considers the ravens a threat as it is. this is looking like a very exciting season.

[rmcjacket23]

I wonder if Ozzie could make a trade to get Johnathan Joseph instead? Love to get him but what his cap number?

Highly doubtful. He carries an $8.5M salary, and he would be a FA next offseason.

 

Plus, I think Ozzie feels very confident at corner right now, and I doubt we add anybody of note other than maybe a guy or two to compete for a roster spot they probably won't get.

[stixfix69]

On paper we look like a top 5 D, but the reality is we have a lot of young faces that will be put into the defensive rotation this year, so before i rank the D, i want to see them play some pre-season games as a young unit....

[FloridalovesRavens]

We will see after the first game what we have. I have no doubt we will be good.

[b93333]

The "D" will be fine without Ngata. He played best in contract years and had the Ravens gotten an extension there is no guarantee what level of effort we would have seen. The guys we have are young and hungry... they will be just fine.

[BmoreB]

Let's get something straight. The Ravens DID NOT let Ngata go because of last year's suspension. To even suggest that is ridiculous. He was gone strictly and ONLY because of the contract.

Wrong. It did play a part in the decision making process as this can be directly linked to his descending status. He was taking Adderall to enhance his performance. If you believe Ngata's line about using the stuff so he could focus in on his kids during Thanksgiving, well, there's this bridge in Brooklyn....