FanHouse JarretJohnson

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.

Death, taxes and the Ravens defense. For the last decade in the NFL those were the three things you could count on. Four weeks into the 2007 season, though, we fear the grim reaper and try to stop the fatcats in Washington from picking our pockets but Ray Lewis & Co. no longer have us quaking in our boots.

At first it looked like the problems only came when the Ravens built a sizable lead and relaxed just enough to let the opposition back into the game. Kellen Clemens, in his first career start, and Kurt Warner, playing for the first time in almost a year, both led fourth quarter comebacks but the Ravens held on and all was mostly well. Then came this weekend's game against Cleveland. Derek Anderson, he of the six career starts, threw two first quarter touchdowns and never looked uncomfortable against a defense that used to chew up inexperienced quarterbacks.

The stats only tell half the story. The Ravens are giving up just over 300 yards a game, good for tenth in the league, but they are giving up 22.5 points, 18th overall, and it's that disparity that's killing them. All their problems aren't on that side of the ball. They turn the ball over too much and don't convert in the red zone but for now let's look at the D since that's their bread and butter. I've identified three reasons why the Ravens are less effective this season.