 |
| |
|
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
EVENTS
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |
Believe it Ravens' defense makes an impression on Broncos
BALTIMORE (AP) -- For 16 games, the Baltimore Ravens played defense as efficiently as any team in NFL history. Still, they heard rumblings that they just weren't that good. Denver now believes. The rest of the league should, too. The Ravens dominated the NFL's second-ranked offense Sunday, holding the Broncos to 177 yards and nine first downs in a 21-3 victory that thrust Baltimore into the second round of the AFC playoffs. Even though the Ravens allowed only 165 points this season, the fewest in NFL history for a 16-game schedule, the critics pointed out that Baltimore was rarely tested by a potent offense. Some, taking into account the 524 yards accumulated by the New York Jets a week earlier, figured Denver would expose the Ravens as frauds. "I'm not being cynical here, but a lot of you didn't believe," Ravens head coach Brian Billick said. "You were discrediting what we did because of a certain number of opponents we played, or the style we play, whatever. But this team has been doing this all year long." Baltimore recorded four shutouts in the regular season, and although the Broncos got a second-quarter field goal, this was as dominant an effort as the Ravens put forth all year. It was particularly sweet because few people expected the Ravens to snuff a potent offense that topped the 30-point barrier in 10 games during the regular season. "No one thought we would beat the Denver Broncos. Everyone thought we would be out," said Pro Bowl-bound Sam Adams, who twice tipped passes by Gus Frerotte. "We showed we deserved to be here, and we're going to have to be reckoned with." Ravens running back Jamal Lewis, who faces that defense every day in practice, is thankful he doesn't have to run against Adams and Co. on Sundays. "They don't let nobody make plays," Lewis said. "If they do make a play, I feel like it's luck for the other team. It's just a great defense." The wind, which gusted up to 27 mph, gave the Broncos two options: Hand the ball to Mike Anderson, who ran for 1,500 yards in the regular season, or take a chance on having Frerotte throw into a swirling gale. "They knew they had to run. We knew they had to run," defensive tackle Tony Siragusa said. "And you know what? Nobody runs against us." Not effectively, anyway. Anderson gained only 40 yards on 15 carries, marking the 34th consecutive game the Ravens didn't allow a 100-yard rusher. Tony Jones, who played one year in Baltimore before signing with the Broncos in 1997, could hardly believe the change the Ravens' defense has undergone over the years. "When I was here they didn't have that kind of personnel. They slowly built it, and they have something right now," Jones said. The only thing they don't have, perhaps, is a reputation. That, according to Denver coach Mike Shanahan, will come if the Ravens win three more games, beginning Sunday on the road against the defending AFC champion Tennessee Titans. "It's all predicated on winning," Shanahan said. "When you win Super Bowls, I think you always put defenses in an elite class. If Baltimore can do that, I think this defense will be considered one of the best of all time."
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
