STATE OF THE RAVENS DEFENSE

        The last 4 seasons both spoiled and tortured Ravens fans.  On the one hand, the Ravens were the only team that went to the playoffs in each of the last 4 seasons, and Flacco became the winningest quarterback in NFL history through the first four seasons of a career.  Flacco has also won at least one playoff game in each of his 4 seasons in the league, which is more than the vast majority of quarterbacks can say.  On the other hand, however, this consistent success has frustrated fans to no end as the Ravens have come painfully close to getting to the Superbowl twice, and both of their AFC Championship losses were hard-fought games that ended up being decided by one or two major 4th quarter plays. What made it even worse is that both AFC Championship losses came at the hands of the teams that Ravens fans and players alike hate with every bone in their respective bodies: THE STEELERS AND THE PATRIOTS. 
       During the last two seasons the Ravens defense has had to overcome the loss of its two greatest leaders for significant chunks of time.  Two years ago Ed Reed missed 6 games, and last season Ray Lewis missed 4.  Despite occasional criticism that Ray Lewis has become too slow and that Ed Reed no longer consistently tackles with his body, the Ravens defense performed better with both future hall-of-famers back in pads.  After missing 6 games in 2010, Ed Reed led the NFL in interceptions despite his lengthy absence.  Ray Lewis had an uneven 2011 season, but shined in the AFC Championship and even performed brilliantly in pass coverage against the NFL's best pass offense.  Lewis, despite his age, is the main reason that the Ravens' defense has remained dominant for over a decade.  His leadership, instincts, and experience compensate for decreases in speed over the last 5-6 years. 
       The Ravens will face a new challenge in 2012 that no one could have anticipated.  The 2011 Defensive Player of the Year (Terrell Suggs) tore his achilles tendon a day after Ozzie Newsome drafted the player (Courtney Upshaw) who will most likely act as his replacement during the rehabilitation process.  Anyone disappointed that the Ravens were not able to draft Donta Hightower as Ray Lewis' ultimate replacement should rethink their disappointment since Upshaw will almost certainly immediately fill an enormous void in the linebacker corps left by Suggs or possibly on the other side by Jarret Johnson. 
       Terrell Suggs is feared across the league as a powerful pass-rusher and a dominant run-stopper.  Upshaw likely won't perform to Suggs' level in his rookie season, but that doesn't mean the Ravens defense will take a massive statistical dive.  Possibly the biggest factor that will allow the Ravens to continue to generate a ferocious pass rush is the emergence of the Ravens secondary.  Not too long ago, Ravens fans cringed and whined about the performances of Dominique Foxworth, Fabian Washington, Frank Walker, and occasionally Dawan Landry. 
        Those days, however, seem like ancient history after the 2011 season.  Lardarius Webb is currently one of the AFC's elite cornerbacks, Cary Williams performed at a high level for most of the season, and Jimmy Smith showed in the playoffs why the Ravens were justified in picking him in the first round of the 2011 NFL draft.  The Ravens displayed plenty of depth at corner as Danny Gorer and Chykie Brown provided excellent coverage when subbing in for the starters.  The Ravens also replaced Dawan Landry with an even more intense strong safety, Bernard Pollard A.K.A the Angry Man.  Pollard's devastating hits provide the perfect compliment with Ed Reed's coverage and ball-hawking skills. 
        Now what does all of this talent, physicality, and experience in the secondary mean for the Ravens defense?  The answer is rather simple: the Ravens will be able to blitz with more players because they will trust the secondary to be able to jam receivers at the line of scrimmage and provide enough coverage to give defensive linemen and linebackers adequate time to get to opposing quarterbacks before the ball is released.  Quarterbacks were already incredibly wary of throwing the ball over the middle with #20 lurking in the backfield, but now they won't be able to pick on bad or inexperienced cornerbacks.  Quarterbacks may very well avoid throwing to Lardarius Webb's side of the field much the way that they avoid throwing in Ed Reed's direction after Webby had 5 spectacular interceptions during the regular season as well as a very Reed-like 3 interceptions during the playoffs. Webb, as a matter of fact, did not allow a touchdown during the entire 2011 season!!
        Assuming the secondary has another stellar season in 2012, the young defensive linemen and linebackers will need to step up and bully their way through opposing offensive lines.  Luckily, the Ravens had almost 50 regular season sacks last year and only 14 of them came from Suggs.  Obviously 14 is a LOT of sacks for one player, but it means that the rest of defensive players, including young standouts such as Paul Kruger and Pernell McPhee, are making a rather significant collective contribution of 34 sacks.  The previous year the Ravens totalled 27 sacks and 9 of them came from Suggs...so let's think of the 2011 season as a giant leap forward in pass-rushing.
       It's difficult to predict just how much of an impact Suggs' absence will have on the Ravens or how well Upshaw will perform in his place.  Will McPhee and Kruger get to quarterbacks as easily without Suggs occupying the blocks of 2-3 opposing linemen? Will Sergio Kindle finally get a chance to become the pass-rusher that we thought he would be?  These all have yet to be seen, but the solidified elite Ravens secondary will certainly allow the new defensive coordinator Dean Pees to send more blitzers on passing downs to generate pressure without the 2012 Defensive Player of the Year.  Let us also not forget that the true defensive coordinator (#52) will still be on the field.  Players and coordinators come and go, but somehow Ray has kept the Ravens defense elite for over a decade no matter who he's surrounded by, and we shouldn't expect 2012 to be any different. As always, GO RAVENS!