Ravens Team Report

INSIDE SLANT

The Ravens have proven to be prime-time players, beating the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers on national television this season.

Now, on Monday Night Football, the Ravens will have a chance to show they are ready for the playoffs. Baltimore (6-5) heads to Green Bay to face the suddenly hot Packers (7-4) at Lambeau Field.

The big question mark surrounding the Ravens’ defense is the ability to shut down the NFL’s top quarterbacks. The Ravens play against only one more quarterback with a top-five rating the rest of the season—Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers(notes).

Three quarterbacks ranked in the top five have ripped the Ravens apart this season. Minnesota’s Brett Favre(notes) threw for 278 yards and three touchdowns. Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning(notes) had 299 yards passing and one touchdown. San Diego’s Philip Rivers(notes) passed for 436 yards and two touchdowns.

The Ravens’ pass defense has stepped up recently, shutting down the likes of Cleveland’s Brady Quinn(notes) and Pittsburgh’s Dennis Dixon(notes). The test, though, is having a similar performance against a quarterback such as Rodgers.

“Ed (Reed) and Dawan (Landry) are doing their thing. The corners are playing great,” linebacker Ray Lewis(notes) said. “I think it’s the turns of the season.”

If the season ended today, the Ravens (6-5) wouldn’t make the playoffs. The Denver Broncos (7-4) and Jacksonville Jaguars (6-5) are currently the leaders in the AFC wild-card race (the Jaguars’ 5-2 conference record is better than the Ravens’ 6-4 AFC mark).

The Broncos likely will reach 10 wins because they have two games against Kansas City and one against Oakland. But the Jaguars are vulnerable because they have the toughest remaining schedule among the AFC’s six-win teams. Jacksonville has to play Houston, Miami and Indianapolis at home before traveling to New England.

The Ravens’ win over Pittsburgh (6-5) has given them an edge over their AFC North rivals and has put them in position to overtake Jacksonville for the sixth and final playoff spot.

“We’re fighting to be an elite, playoff-type team,” coach John Harbaugh said. “To be that, we have to win our share of close games against the best. Let’s see if we can do that this last third of the season.”

Series History:   4th regular-season meeting. Packers lead series 2-1. The Ravens have never won at Lambeau Field, losing both of their trips there (1998 and 2001). In their last game at Lambeau (2001), Brett Favre threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns against the Ravens, who had been the NFL’s top-ranked pass defense.

NOTES, QUOTES

The Ravens have never won at Green Bay’s Lambeau Field, losing both of their trips to the historic venue. But the Baltimore players say the mystique of Lambeau won’t affect Monday night’s pivotal game.

“After you’ve been through it the first time and you walk into the stadium, the frozen tundra and all the history that’s behind it, once you get out there and you’re kind of amazed by the field and the crowd, after that it’s football,” veteran wide receiver Derrick Mason(notes) said. “We’re not playing the stadium, so that’s a good thing. You go in there and you relish what’s going on, but then you have to play against Charles Woodson(notes).

“He’s way more of a threat than Lambeau Field. If he could leave and I could play against Lambeau Field, that would be great. He’s playing tremendous right now. You can’t say anything but good things about him.”

The Ravens’ first trip to Lambeau was in 1998, when they lost to Green Bay 28-10. The Ravens had only 233 yards of total offense and two quarterbacks (Jim Harbaugh and Eric Zeier) completed 17-of-39 passes.

• Joe Flacco’s(notes) sprained ankle is “not a major injury,” coach John Harbaugh said.

Flacco, who first injured his ankle Oct. 18 at Minnesota, said he “re-rolled” the ankle in the beginning of the second half of the 20-17 overtime win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He noticeably limped through the remainder of the game.

In the second half, Flacco was 14-for-23 for 153 yards and was sacked five times.

Harbaugh said it’s hard to quantify how much the injury is affecting Flacco.

“I’m sure it’s bothersome for a quarterback to have that foot a little bit sore,” Harbaugh said. “Joe is a courageous guy. You see him standing in there and throwing in the face of some pressure and taking some hits. He’s not shy about that. That speaks to the kind of player he is.”

Flacco said the ankle only needed to be re-taped.

“It felt good the rest of the time,” Flacco said. “You have to give Pittsburgh credit. They tried to come after us and we stood in there tough.”

• The Ravens had to play three teams coming off byes earlier this season. They went 2-1 against those teams (the Denver Broncos, Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns).

Now, the Ravens face a Green Bay team that had an extra three days off because the Packers played on Thanksgiving. Should the Ravens expect the Packers to be rested or rusty?

“It could be either,” Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata(notes) said. “We’re coming off a big win and we have a little momentum on our side. We feel pretty good. Hopefully, we can keep that momentum going and play really well against those guys.”

• The Ravens know they have to be wary of the Packers’ Charles Woodson, who is the hottest cornerback in the NFL right now. In his past three games, he has three interceptions and three forced fumbles.

“He’s a cagey veteran,” said Mark Clayton(notes), who had seven catches for 129 yards in Sunday night’s 20-17 overtime win against the Pittsburgh Steelers. “He looks fast, he looks fresh after 12 years in this league. We know that he’s seen a lot, and when you’ve seen a lot, you have great anticipation. Anticipation is so huge in this game, especially defensively because you react to everything.”

Clayton added, “Offensively, I know where I’m going and I know what I’m doing, so I can try to manipulate the defense. But if the defender can anticipate because of his knowledge, it becomes a real chess match and you have to really be fundamentally and technically sound. Just knowing that he has a lot of knowledge and understanding just from being out on the field, it challenges you mentally and your fundamentals and techniques.”

• The Ravens are 15-18 all-time in prime-time games.

• Since 2003, the Ravens are 2-3 following victories over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

• Including playoffs, the Ravens are 9-7 on the road under coach John Harbaugh.

By The Numbers:   11.6—Points per game allowed by the Ravens in the past five weeks. That ranks second in the NFL during that span (Cincinnati has allowed an average of 11.5 points).

Quote To Note:   “It was a big win, there’s no denying that. It was a big win for a lot of reasons. We talk about November and December being the most important part of the season.”—Ravens coach John Harbaugh on beating Pittsburgh for the first time in four meetings.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

The Ravens made two changes in the starting lineup last Sunday against Pittsburgh.

At cornerback, rookie third-round pick Lardarius Webb(notes) takes over for injured Fabian Washington(notes), who is out for the season with a knee injury. Webb had a strong effort in his first NFL start, breaking up three passes.

At right guard, Marshal Yanda(notes) replaces Chris Chester(notes), who had started the first 10 games of the season. Yanda is now healthy after getting injured early last season, which allowed Chester to crack the starting lineup.

Player Notes  

• WR Derrick Mason has averaged five catches for 80 yards in four meetings with Green Bay. He has scored four touchdowns.

• TE Todd Heap(notes) had nine catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns in his only game against Green Bay (2005).

• RB Ray Rice(notes) needs 36 yards from scrimmage to pass Willis McGahee(notes) for the fourth-most total yards from scrimmage in a Ravens’ single season.

• RB Willis McGahee has seen his carries and rushing yards decrease the past two games. He had five carries for 18 yards rushing Sunday against Pittsburgh.

• QB Joe Flacco has completed more than 65 percent of his passes the past three games. He has connected on 65.4 percent of his throws this season.

• CB Chris Carr(notes) has become the Ravens’ nickel back again since Fabian Washington was lost for the season with a knee injury.

Game Plan:   The Ravens will look to test the Packers’ secondary, especially with Al Harris(notes) out. Baltimore will target cornerback Tramon Williams(notes), who has replaced Harris. The Ravens stretched the field last Sunday, as Joe Flacco threw 25 times to his wide receivers.

Defensively, the Ravens have to pressure Aaron Rodgers, who has been sacked 44 times this season. Baltimore has gone two games without recording a sack.

Matchups To Watch:   Ravens WR Mark Clayton vs. Packers secondary. Mark Clayton broke out last Sunday with season highs in catches (seven) and receiving yards (129). After his previous eight 100-yard receiving games, Clayton has only averaged 30 yards receiving with no touchdowns. Consistency has been a major problem for the 2005 first-round pick.

Ravens PR Chris Carr vs. Packers punt coverage. Carr had his most productive game of the season, averaging 14.2 yards on punt returns last Sunday. The Packers rank 28th in punt coverage (11.5 yards per punt return).

Ravens RB Ray Rice vs. Packers run defense. Rice has rushed for at least 70 yards in five of his past six games. Green Bay ranks fourth against the run, giving up 89.1 yards on the ground per game.

Injury Impact:  

• LB-DE Terrell Suggs(notes) (knee sprain) missed practice Thursday and is not expected to play. It would be his third straight missed game. He would be replaced by the rotation of Jameel McClain(notes) and Paul Kruger(notes).

• OT Jared Gaither(notes) missed Thursday’s practice with an illness. He is expected to start at left tackle.

• FB Le’Ron McClain(notes) missed Thursday’s practice with a chest injury. He is expected to start at Green Bay.

• FS Ed Reed(notes) missed Thursday’s practice with an ankle and hip injury. He has battled neck and foot injuries this season but has yet to miss a game.

• QB Joe Flacco said his injured ankle “feels great.” His only concern is aggravating it against Green Bay. He did not miss practice this week.

• LB Ray Lewis continues to be limited in practice with a foot injury. He sustained that injury two games ago and hasn’t missed any snaps during a game.