Want to know how well Ravens defensive lineman Haloti Ngata is playing right now? He's garnering early-season buzz for NFL most valuable player honors, which is pretty remarkable for a run stuffer.
Sports Illustrated's Peter King, one of the most respected football writers in the country, listed Ngata as one of five players on his MVP watch after Ngata piled up 11 tackles and a sack in the win over the Steelers.
"He's starting to have the kind of regular weekly impact the truly great ones have," King wrote in his Monday column. "His ability to be an athlete on one play and a brick wall on the next is very hard to find in the NFL."
It appears the impact of Hurricane Haloti, the Ravens' quiet storm, is starting to show up on the national radar after he got invited to his first Pro Bowl until last season.
With 26 tackles, Ngata is tied with Dawan Landry for second on the team behind Ray Lewis, and Ngata's two sacks are second to Terrell Suggs, who has two and a half.
"Ngata is playing as good as any defensive lineman in football. There's no question about it," Broncos coach Josh McDaniels said on a conference call with Baltimore media on Wednesday. "We certainly have to be mindful of how we're trying to handle him, how we're trying to block him, not only in the running game but in pass protection because he's shown to be disruptive in both phases."
Ravens coach John Harbaugh one-upped McDaniels.
"Haloti Ngata is playing as well as any defensive player in the league right now," Harbaugh said.
Well enough to be named the league MVP? Probably not. But defensive player of the year? That could be within Ngata's grasp if he continues to play at this level — and keeps putting up gaudy tackle totals that make people notice what he's up to in the middle of the muck.
Hey, something has got to do the talking for Ngata.
"He has a gift of his humility," Lewis said Wednesday. "His talent speaks for itself. People just love playing with him because of the type of person he is."
