I keep hearing talk about the Ravens pursuing Bengals receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the offseason, and that would be a big mistake. The Ravens already have enough Houshmandzadeh's on the roster now in Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton.
Housmandzadeh is a good receiver, but he doesn't have the speed the Ravens need on the outside. He is not a legitimate No. 1 receiver who can open up the field for the rest of the passing game, or running game as well.
Baltimore fans can hate the Steelers, but Pittsburgh is one of the better organizations in the NFL, and the Steelers know how to win. Regardless if they change quarterbacks, running backs or whatever, they have that formula in place. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger looked like he could barely stand up a week ago, but last night he completed 17 of 30 passes for 243 yards, and then scored an 8-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
I thought the Steelers might fold by now, especially with all the injuries and the tough schedule, but they just keep finding a way to win, as most good teams do. It will be interesting to see where the Ravens are in the standings compared to Pittsburgh when the Steelers visit Baltimore later this season.
Three starters – wide receiver Derrick Mason (dislocated left shoulder), free safety Ed Reed (neck) and cornerback Samari Rolle (neck surgery) – returned to practice today in limited fashion. Rolle no longer wore a sling on his left arm and when asked by reporters about his arm, he held up both arms in a touchdown pose.
Starting left offensive tackle Jared Gaither (right shoulder) missed practice for the second straight day. If Gaither can’t play against the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday, Adam Terry (right ankle) would fill Gaither’s position, and Willie Anderson – who was limited in practice due to a sprained left ankle – would start at right tackle.
Defensive tackle Lamar Divens (shoulder) and rookie guard David Hale (thigh) were also limited.
Tight end Daniel Wilcox (thigh) and rookie safety Tom Zbikowski (thumb/thigh) were upgraded to full participation after being limited Wednesday.
For the Eagles, running back Brian Westbrook (knee/ankle) missed practice for the second consecutive day. Free safety Brian Dawkins was limited due to a groin injury.
Following up on Mike Preston’s previous post, I recently received early voting results for the Pro Bowl in February, and Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata is not one of the top five vote-getters at his position in the AFC.
The top five are Tennessee’s Albert Haynesworth (206,925 votes), Pittsburgh’s Casey Hampton (86,352), Buffalo’s Marcus Stroud (80,981), New York’s Kris Jenkins (74,343) and Cleveland’s Shaun Rogers (72,950).
Ngata has more tackles than Hampton, Stroud and Jenkins. He has one sack compared to Hampton’s zero, and leads the entire group in interceptions with two.
I asked Ngata about the lack of respect, and befitting his humble nature, Ngata downplayed the early results.
"That doesn’t even matter to me," he said today. "We’ve got a lot of things we need to worry about, and that’s just way back in terms of my priorities. I’m just trying to help the team win a game and get better and better every week."
Fan votes make up one-third of final Pro Bowl results. Players’ votes count for one-third, and coaches’ votes count for the final one-third. While players and coaches will vote Dec. 11-12, polls for fans are open until Tuesday, Dec. 9. Fans can go to NFL.com/probowl to vote.
In other Pro Bowl news, inside linebacker Ray Lewis, free safety Ed Reed and fullback Le’Ron McClain lead in voting at their respective positions in the AFC. Lewis has collected 168,566 votes, which is 66,041 more than Pittsburgh’s James Farrior. Reed’s 133,666 votes more than double the 58,803 votes Tennessee’s Michael Griffin has garnered. And McClain has almost 16,000 more votes than Tennessee’s Ahmard Hall.
Outside linebacker Terrell Suggs has earned 112,110 votes, which ranks fourth behind Miami’s Joey Porter (151,463), Tennessee’s Keith Bulluck (117,856) and Pittsburgh’s James Harrison (117,728).
Linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo is fourth among special teams players with 38,982 votes. Pittsburgh’s Anthony Madison (47,147), New England’s Larry Izzo (43,462) and Miami’s Patrick Cobbs (41,895) are ahead of Ayanbadejo.
Cornerback Chris McAlister – who is on injured reserve after undergoing surgery on his right knee – is fifth with 63,378 votes. He trails Denver’s Champ Bailey (153,765), Tennessee’s Cortland Finnegan (105,251), San Diego’s Antonio Cromartie (104,958) and Oakland’s Nnamdi Asomugha (79,408).
It's starting to get to that point in the season where we hear rumors about head coaches getting fired, but I'm not hearing any involving Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan replacing anybody.
It's still early.
In the past two years, you could sense that Ryan was interested, but I'm not so sure that his interest is as great anymore. Ryan seems to be enjoying his time with the Ravens, and appears content working with the present staff. I'm sure if the right job opened he would listen, but I think he is more likely to stay than in previous years.
*****
For some of you folks who thought I was saying that Troy Smith should be the quarterback over Joe Flacco, well, you're making a mistake. I was answering a question in a reader Q&A and stating that Smith should be a quarterback, not a receiver. I wasn't suggesting he be the No. 1, but that he remain a quarterback instead of moving him to receiver.
Starting left offensive tackle Jared Gaither (right shoulder) was the only player absent during the portion of practice open to the media this morning. Gaither, whose right arm was in a black sling yesterday, did not practice yesterday.
Three starters who did not practice yesterday -- wide receiver Derrick Mason (dislocated left shoulder), free safety Ed Reed (neck) and cornerback Samari Rolle (neck surgery) -- were present and active during today's session. Both Mason and Rolle wore red jerseys, signifying no contact.
Offensive tackle Willie Anderson (sprained left ankle), tight end Daniel Wilcox (thigh) and rookie safety Tom Zbikowski (thumb/thigh) -- all of whom were limited yesterday -- practiced today. Anderson manned the right tackle spot, while Adam Terry -- who is dealing with a right ankle injury of his own -- filled the left tackle position usually filled by Gaither.
The Ravens have several candidates, but none more deserving than defensive tackle Haloti Ngata. He has been a beast all season.
We really don't need to get into the stats. He can occupy two offensive linemen at once, or constantly gets enough penetration to disrupt any running game. The only tackle in the AFC that might be better than Ngata is the Titans' Albert Haynesworth, so that puts Ngata in pretty good company.
Of course inside linebacker Ray Lewis deserves to be on the team. He has had another great season. When other players his age are slowing down, Lewis has been able to sustain a high level of play.
Receiver Derrick Mason has played well and has virtually been the Ravens passing attack. There are receivers with more speed than Mason, but few who run better pattens. Punter Sam Koch has had an excellent season as well, and outside linebacker Jarret Johnson deserves some kind of mention.
Wide receiver Derrick Mason (dislocated left shoulder), free safety Ed Reed (neck), cornerback Samari Rolle (shoulder surgery) and left offensive tackle Jared Gaither (shoulder) did not practice this afternoon. Reed and Rolle are likely to play, while the outlook for Mason and Gaither is not as rosy for Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Right offensive tackle Willie Anderson (sprained left ankle), tight end Daniel Wilcox (thigh) and rookie safety Tom Zbikowski (thumb/thigh) were limited in practice.
Wide receiver Terrance Copper (neck) has been ruled out.
The Philadelphia Eagles released their first injury report of the week, and running back Brian Westbrook did not practice due to knee and ankle injuries. But Westbrook has played in the last four games and is expected to play Sunday against the Ravens.
Starting right guard Shawn Andrews has been ruled out after undergoing back surgery. Starting right tackle Jon Runyan (knee) was listed as full participation in practice.
During a conference call with Baltimore media this morning, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was asked if he envisioned former Eagles special teams coordinator John Harbaugh becoming the head coach of the Ravens.
Here is McNabb's answer:
"I’m excited for Coach Harbaugh. Jim is a guy who worked extremely hard while he was here. I mean, John. Excuse me."
Mike Preston has been with The Baltimore Sun since 1983. Prior to becoming a columnist in 2000, he covered the Ravens for four years. Preston will appear every Monday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Fox Sports Radio (1370-AM) to answer any questions about the Ravens. Preston is a native of Essex and a graduate of Towson State University, where he played football. E-mail Mike.
Jamison Hensley has been The Baltimore Sun’s Ravens beat reporter since the 2000 Super Bowl season. He is a regular contributor to WBAL radio and ESPN2’s First Take. Hensley is a Baltimore City native and a graduate of the University of Maryland.
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