News » 6 Ravens defense probably wont find itself next to the 2000 unit in

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots offensive and defensive coordinators are ready to get key players back as Tom Brady and Rob Ninkovich return from suspensions for Sundays game at Cleveland.Both rejoined the team Monday after serving four-game suspensions -- Brady for Deflategate and Ninkovich for violating the NFLs policy on performance-enhancing substances.Both, not just Brady, are keys to their respective units.It was four weeks and it felt like it went fast and Tommy is ready to go and looks ready to go, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniel said on a conference call Tuesday.Well see how everything goes tomorrow at practice and kind of just build one day at a time as we go through the week.While all the focus has been on Brady, who returns to a 3-1 team with Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett both starting two games and both getting hurt, Ninkovich is important to the defense.The Patriots traded sack leader Chandler Jones and just got linebacker Donta Hightower back from a two-plus-game absence with a knee injury.Ninkovich, a hybrid defensive end/linebacker who started all 16 games for five consecutive seasons, had 6+ sacks and seven passes defended last season.I think Rob has had some really good productive years here through his career, defensive coordinator Matt Patricia said.Hes done a great job for us just from being a guy thats come in the building as a true professional and a guy that really kind of embodies everything that were looking for from a point of work ethic and trying to improve -- trying to get better and trying to do his job out on the field.Its always good to have everybody in the room, ready to go as much as they can be, so Im excited to have all of those guys.McDaniels applauded the work the young quarterbacks put in during Bradys absence.But neither is Brady -- and he returns from an in-season absence for the first time (in 2008, he was lost for the season early in the first game).Its going to be as normal as it could be, McDaniels said of the stars first week back.The biggest thing is to go through our preparation as we normally do to prepare for the opponent and to prepare for what our game plan is and how we want to execute it, and go out there and use our opportunities on the field to execute and to get back into playing football.And being around his teammates and running our offense and doing the things that we ask the quarterback to do here. I dont see it being much different in terms of a normal game week.Well try to do all the right things in terms of preparing and getting ready to play a team that we know very well and are hard to get familiar with and go there and play a game on the road in a tough place to play.McDaniels said of Garoppolo and Brissett: I think they did as much as they could to prepare themselves for the opportunity that was ahead of them and went out there and tried to execute the game plan as they could.There are a lot of things that they learned and a lot of things that we learned that well work on moving forward and were going to do that.Their preparation wont change. Theyre going to continue to work as hard as they can to prepare themselves to play each week and be ready to go if theyre called upon.---AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL coverage on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap Jordan 11 Wholesale . -- Stanford squashed Oregons national championship hopes again, schooling the Ducks in power football. Jordan 11 For Sale Cheap . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. http://www.cheapairjordan11.com/ . Ryan Garbutt had a goal and two assists as Dallas snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Air Jordan 11 Retro Low Cheap . Andreas Johnson had a goal and two assists while Jacob de la Rose also scored for Sweden (2-0-0). Esa Lindell and Rasmus Ristolainen replied for Finland (1-1-0) Lindell opened the scoring for Finland just 41 seconds into the game, but the hosts quickly regained their composure and tied the score less than four minutes later on Wennbergs first of the game. Cheap Jordan 11 Low . -- Anaheim Ducks defenceman Luca Sbisa will be out at least six weeks with a torn tendon in his right hand. We have reached the month of December, the time when the best NFL teams begin pulling away from the pack, and to that end: Look out for the Baltimore Ravens.The Ravens have won four of their past five games and sit a game outside of first place in the AFC North?entering Monday nights showdown with the New England Patriots. While the Ravens made news earlier this season by changing offensive coordinators, and averaging 23.1 points per game since, the overriding force in their turnaround is a defense that in some aspects is challenging the historic 2000 group that led it to victory in Super Bowl XXXV.Largely unnoticed outside Baltimore, the Ravens defense is destroying opponents running games and hasnt been much worse against the pass. Lets take a closer look at the numbers, with a huge assist from ESPN Stats & Information senior statistics analyst Jacob Nitzberg, as well as some custom crunching from Aaron Schatz of Football Outsiders.First, just for kicks, well look broadly at what the Ravens have done this season alongside numbers from that 2000 unit through 12 games.Comparing 2016?Ravens defense to 2000 unitPoints allowed are the most important statistic for any defense, and the Ravens are tied for No. 2 (with the Patriots) in the league this season. When comparing that to 2000, keep in mind NFL scoring efficiency has inflated over the past 16 years. In 2000, teams scored about two points fewer per game than they have scored this season.But lets drill down on the Ravens run defense in particular. It has allowed 101 fewer rushing yards than the next-closest team, the Dallas Cowboys,?and opponents have attempted 23 more carries against the unit. The Ravens 3.4 yards allowed per carry leads the NFL, and though it is a half-yard higher than what their 2000 defense gave up through 12 games, its important to consider that through a contextual prism.Football Outsiders DVOA statistic takes into account the strength of opponents, among other data points, to level out comparisons. According to Schatz, DVOA judges the Ravens 2016 opponents rushing games to be stronger than what the 2000 team faced, and thus, their run defense efficiency rating is actually better this season (-39.7 percent) than in 2000 (-36.9 percent). In fact, the 2016 Ravens have the best run defense DVOA in Footballl Outsiders 27-year dataset.dddddddddddd. Its also worth noting that the Ravens allowed an 85-yard rushing touchdown to Cleveland Browns running back Isaiah Crowell in Week 2. On their other 259 attempts, Ravens opponents are averaging 3.09 yards.Put simply, the Ravens havent allowed opponents to use their running games in ways they are used everywhere else in the league. (Note: The Titans, also listed below, rank second.)Rushing first downs allowed, 2016You cant have a strong run defense without good tackling, of course, and the Ravens have demonstrated that across the board. Linebacker Zach Orr?is tied for No. 4 in the NFL with 112 combined tackles, and the addition of free-agent safety Eric Weddle has added stability to the back end.The Ravens arent allowing opponents to tack on many extra yards, whether thats against the run or pass. They have allowed the NFLs fewest yards per attempt after contact on rushing plays and are also tackling receivers after the catch quicker than all but five NFL teams.Average yards allowed after first contactDont let the focus on tackling and the run game cloud any perceptions about the Ravens pass defense. When facing the Ravens, opponents have the NFLs third-lowest Total QBR (57.0), and in an era when quarterbacks are throwing fewer interceptions than ever, the Ravens have the leagues second-highest total.Team interceptions, 2016Opponents are averaging 9.53 yards per pass completion, the second-lowest total in the NFL. The Ravens have been particularly stingy on the deep ball, allowing the second-lowest completion percentage (32.5) on passes that travel at least 15 yards downfield.Put it all together, and the Ravens are making opponents earn their yards and points. They have allowed 67 explosive plays, defined as a run of 12-plus yards or a pass of 16-plus yards, four more than the NFL leader.Number of explosive plays allowed, 2016The 2016 Ravens defense probably wont find itself next to the 2000 unit in the history books. But this seasons edition of the Ravens defense is stronger than you probably realized and the biggest reason the team is poised to return to the playoffs in 2016.All numbers entering Week 14. Jerseys NFL China Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys From China Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale China Jerseys NFL Jerseys China Discount Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys China China NCAA Jerseys Cheap Cheap Nike Dolphins Jerseys Cheap Nike Patriots Jerseys Cheap Nike Jets Jerseys Cheap Nike Bengals Jerseys Cheap Nike Browns Jerseys Cheap Nike Steelers Jerseys Cheap Nike Texans Jerseys Cheap Nike Colts Jerseys Cheap Nike Jaguars Jerseys Cheap Nike Titans Jerseys Cheap Nike Broncos Jerseys ' ' '