FanHouse CoreyIvy

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

Jonathan Ogden retired last summer, leaving the Ravens with a young but deep group of offensive linemen to protect rookie quarterback Joe Flacco. Not surprisingly, Ogden's replacement, Jared Gaither (a former supplementary draft pick) was inconsistent, but occasionally flashed glimpses of big-play potential.

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

It was improbable. The Baltimore Ravens made another playoff run in 2008 based on a defense that used the art of suffocation (oh, and Ed Reed) and an offense that improved dramatically over the previous years. John Harbaugh was impressive as coach, putting a rookie quarterback out to toss the ball around and sticking with him through thick (17-29, 248 yards, 2 TDs in Week 9) and thin (11-28, 115 yards, 2 INTs in Week 15).

Now the team has to figure out what to do about a superstar in Ray Lewis, and how they should handle other important positional players (hello Mr. Stover) in order to return to (and move past) the AFC Championship game without their defensive coordinator.

During his introductory press conference Wednesday, new Jets head coach Rex Ryan compared rookie linebacker Vernon Gholston to Ravens Pro Bowler Terrell Suggs, suggesting that Suggs had been considered a bust early in his career before the Power of Ryan saved him from himself.

Unless the "Suggs Is an Unmitigated Bust" bandwagon got rolling between the time Baltimore drafted him in April and just prior to the start of the 2003 season, I'm not getting the parallel. But as the coaching bromide goes, "it is what it is." The Eric Mangini Jets selected Gholston with the sixth-overall pick in April and now Ryan and new defensive coordinator Mike Pettine have to find a way to make this work.

NFL editor Chris Burke attended the Ravens' practice on Thursday, and filed this report.

Addressing the media after Thursday's Baltimore practice, safety Ed Reed declared that "of course" injured teammate Terrell Suggs would play in Pittsburgh on Sunday. Reed may want to double-check Suggs' chart again.

Baltimore's star linebacker answered questions post-Dr. Reed, and was nowhere near as upbeat. Suggs' right arm sat motionless in a sling, and the linebacker looked and sounded as if he was reading a eulogy.

He responded to several questions about his playing status for the AFC Championship by stating, "I don't know," and remained non-committal when elaborating.

Along with misidentifying himself as an offensive genius, one of the biggest complaints about Brian Billick in Baltimore was that he ran easy camps and practices. Perhaps he was more concerned with how he came off on HBO documentaries than preparing his team for battle but, whatever the reason, the Ravens never had a reputation for intensity in the offseason.

Today's practice session, then, was a sign that there's a new sheriff in town. John Harbaugh's boys spent a good chunk of Saturday fighting with each other during the team's minicamp. Defensive tackle Amon Gordon and rookie offensive lineman Oniel Cousins exchanged punches, touching off a brawl that included all 85 players and took two minutes to work itself out. Then defensive backs Corey Ivy and Frank Walker came to blows during a blocking drill.

In neither case did the coaches appear to be too interested in breaking things up, reports the Associated Press. Rex Ryan, the defensive coordinator, was seen laughing, in fact, and Harbaugh didn't sound like he saw anything upsetting out on the field.

"We had a good practice. Our guys are competitive, they like football, it's going to happen. I think as they realize the tempo of the practice is going to stay the same, it will probably happen less and less. They're a feisty bunch."

Feisty's good but undisciplined attempts to show toughness aren't. The latter's been a problem for the Ravens, so maybe it's good they're getting it out of their system now.

The Pittsburgh Steelers didn't act as if finishing fourth in the AFC bothered them in the least. That could turn out to be a curious decision after their B team failed to beat the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. The game leaves them hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars, the same team that smacked them in the mouth at Heinz Field a few weeks ago.

Things went wrong for Pittsburgh right from the get go. Willie Reid, subbing for injured returner Allan Rossum, coughed up the opening kickoff and set up a Musa Smith touchdown run. With Charlie Batch offering the defense little worry, the Ravens keyed on Najeh Davenport and slowed the offense down to a crawl for most of the first half. Batch was intercepted once and his biggest play came courtesy of a pass interference on Corey Ivy. The Ravens led 20-7 at the half and appeared to be in charge of the game.

They appeared to be pulling a Billick, as its come to be known this season, by losing that control late. Batch found Santonio Holmes and Cedrick Wilson for touchdowns to cut the margin to six but when David Pittman picked him off for the second time late in the fourth, a return date with the Jags was in place.

To get you ready for Week 6, FanHouse is previewing all of this week's NFL games. Here is the St. Louis Rams/Baltimore Ravens preview.

2007 Record:
St. Louis Rams: 0-5 (4th in NFC West)
Baltimore Ravens: 3-2 (2nd in AFC North)

Last Week:
Cardinals 34, Rams 31
Ravens 9, 49ers 7

When the Rams have the ball: Marc Bulger is the superior quarterback, but Gus Frerotte has one thing on him -- knowledge of Scott Linehan's no-huddle offense. Linehan utilized it often with the Vikings and Dolphins, but in a little over a season Bulger has yet to fully grasp it, restricting the ability to use it. With Frerotte at the helm, however, the Rams can open the playbook. Injuries continue to mount, as the team will be shorthanded at receiver, but new slot receiver Marques Hagans and Frerotte have chemistry, and the team moved the ball much better last week than they have at any point with Bulger under center this season. With the Ravens only allowing 66 yards on the ground per week, and Steven Jackson still out, the no-huddle will be a good way to keep the Ravens on their toes.

We might never know just what kind of illness forced him out of the lineup for three games but Samari Rolle made his return to the practice field for the Ravens yesterday. It's unclear if he will start against the Rams this weekend, a decision will be made based on how much and how well he practices, but Brian Billick says that Rolle's return will have a domino effect that makes the team better.

"Having him back allows - particularly at nickel - Corey Ivy to go back to the nickel spot where he is so, so good," Billick said. "It also allows us in special teams, the guys that had to step into that role can now step back into their special teams role, which just cascades down. So we're anxious to have him back."

In the last game that Rolle played, against the Jets in Week Two, Ivy had a great game with six tackles and a sack. He's struggled as a straight-up corner at times, though, and Rolle's return should allow him to thrive in his freelance role. The Ravens defense came up very big in San Francisco last weekend, a real return to glory, and with the offensive line ailing they'll need more of the same to beat the Rams this Sunday.

Before we get any further into the week, I'd like to send best wishes for a speedy recovery to Ravens cornerback Corey Ivy, who suffered an tear to his kidney during a third quarter special teams play last night against the Broncos. The team examined Ivy after the play, but he returned to action, and joined the team for the flight home to Baltimore. After his discomfort grew during the flight, the team diverted its charter aircraft to Pittsburgh so Ivy could get to a hospital as soon as possible. He's currently at Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh where he's listed in stable condition. He may spend up to another three days at the hospital, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Ivy, a six-year veteran in his first year with the Ravens, plays in the team's nickel package and has been a standout on special teams.