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The Ravens' defense might be the most well-informed unit when it comes to New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss.
Cornerback Fabian Washington and secondary coach Chuck Pagano played with Moss when the trio was with the Oakland Raiders in 2005 and 2006, and cornerback Domonique Foxworth matched up against Moss during those same two seasons when Foxworth played for the Denver Broncos.
"Yeah, I know a lot about Randy," Washington said Wednesday. "A lot of guys have been talking to me, picking my brain about what I know. I covered him every day in practice, so I've offered our corners a lot of information."
Even so, containing Moss has been a challenge few defenses have managed. Moss, 6 feet 4 and 210 pounds, leads the NFL in catches (26) and ranks fifth in receiving yards (281). His speed and hands make him a threat on intermediate routes over the middle and streaks down the sidelines.
"I don't think there's any route you call with Randy where you say, 'Well, we don't want to run that route with him.' It's just the opposite," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Wednesday during his conference call with Baltimore news media. "He feels pretty comfortable with whatever route you ask him to run. He can do it, and he can be effective doing it. That gives you a lot of versatility in your offensive system, and we try to capitalize on that."
The Ravens might not even see Moss on Sunday. The receiver was limited in practice for the second consecutive day because of a sore back. But the Ravens' cornerbacks expect Moss to play.
"He's about as good as it gets," Foxworth said. "There's no one way to cover a guy like that. You have to compete, understand that he's a great player and that he's going to make a play or two through the course of the game. We've just got to make more than he does."
Linebacker Ray Lewis (head), tight end Todd Heap (back) and wide receiver Kelley Washington (groin) were upgraded to full participation after being limited Wednesday. Linebacker Antwan Barnes (shoulder) was added to the injury report, but he practiced fully.
Backup quarterback Troy Smith (illness) did not practice for the second consecutive day.
Of the 12 catches the wide receiver has made through the first three games, nine have been for first downs. While the statistic was pleasing to Washington, he pointed out that he wants to do more than just get first downs.
"I don't want to be considered just a third-down guy," Washington said. "My goal is to force them to put me out there more often, and that's what I work hard for in practice. I need to give them the trust in me that they can put me out there on first or second down. I've just got to continue to go out there and try to make plays."
Belichick took an opportunity to shoot down that theory.
"That's not really the main reason why he's here," Belichick said of Burgess, who was waived Monday but re-signed to New England's practice squad. "We traded for Prescott because we wanted some depth at linebacker, and we've watched him play this year in the preseason and in the first couple of regular-season games and knew about him and had an interest in him when he came out of college at Michigan. When I talked to [Ravens general manager] Ozzie [Newsome] and we consummated the trade and he was available, we brought him onto our team to try to give him an opportunity to work into our system and help our team. I think he's worked hard and done a good job. ... I think he's got a future here, and I'm glad we're working with him."
Cornerback Fabian Washington and secondary coach Chuck Pagano played with Moss when the trio was with the Oakland Raiders in 2005 and 2006, and cornerback Domonique Foxworth matched up against Moss during those same two seasons when Foxworth played for the Denver Broncos.
"Yeah, I know a lot about Randy," Washington said Wednesday. "A lot of guys have been talking to me, picking my brain about what I know. I covered him every day in practice, so I've offered our corners a lot of information."
Even so, containing Moss has been a challenge few defenses have managed. Moss, 6 feet 4 and 210 pounds, leads the NFL in catches (26) and ranks fifth in receiving yards (281). His speed and hands make him a threat on intermediate routes over the middle and streaks down the sidelines.
"I don't think there's any route you call with Randy where you say, 'Well, we don't want to run that route with him.' It's just the opposite," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Wednesday during his conference call with Baltimore news media. "He feels pretty comfortable with whatever route you ask him to run. He can do it, and he can be effective doing it. That gives you a lot of versatility in your offensive system, and we try to capitalize on that."
The Ravens might not even see Moss on Sunday. The receiver was limited in practice for the second consecutive day because of a sore back. But the Ravens' cornerbacks expect Moss to play.
"He's about as good as it gets," Foxworth said. "There's no one way to cover a guy like that. You have to compete, understand that he's a great player and that he's going to make a play or two through the course of the game. We've just got to make more than he does."
Injury updates
A day after missing practice Wednesday because of illness, defensive end Trevor Pryce returned to practice Thursday on a limited basis. Joining Pryce were starting linebackers Jarret Johnson (left shoulder) and Tavares Gooden (head), and defensive tackle Justin Bannan (left knee).Linebacker Ray Lewis (head), tight end Todd Heap (back) and wide receiver Kelley Washington (groin) were upgraded to full participation after being limited Wednesday. Linebacker Antwan Barnes (shoulder) was added to the injury report, but he practiced fully.
Backup quarterback Troy Smith (illness) did not practice for the second consecutive day.
Joe's go-to guy
It might not be too far-fetched to speculate that Kelley Washington has become a viable option for quarterback Joe Flacco when it comes to converting first downs.Of the 12 catches the wide receiver has made through the first three games, nine have been for first downs. While the statistic was pleasing to Washington, he pointed out that he wants to do more than just get first downs.
"I don't want to be considered just a third-down guy," Washington said. "My goal is to force them to put me out there more often, and that's what I work hard for in practice. I need to give them the trust in me that they can put me out there on first or second down. I've just got to continue to go out there and try to make plays."
Burgess re-signed
When the Patriots agreed to acquire Prescott Burgess from the Ravens for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2010 draft 10 days ago, speculation swirled that Belichick merely wanted to pick the brain of the former Ravens linebacker for Sunday's contest.Belichick took an opportunity to shoot down that theory.
"That's not really the main reason why he's here," Belichick said of Burgess, who was waived Monday but re-signed to New England's practice squad. "We traded for Prescott because we wanted some depth at linebacker, and we've watched him play this year in the preseason and in the first couple of regular-season games and knew about him and had an interest in him when he came out of college at Michigan. When I talked to [Ravens general manager] Ozzie [Newsome] and we consummated the trade and he was available, we brought him onto our team to try to give him an opportunity to work into our system and help our team. I think he's worked hard and done a good job. ... I think he's got a future here, and I'm glad we're working with him."
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10,800,000 hits on google for numerology.
mga94000 (10/03/2009, 8:09 AM )