Denver defensive lineman Justin Bannan has searched for a reason to get angry for Sunday's meeting between the Broncos and the Ravens, and his search has yielded nothing.
"I wish I could say, 'They treated me like crap, and I hate everybody, and I can't wait to come back and get my revenge.' But it's really not like that," the former Raven said. "I've got nothing but good things to say about the city of Baltimore and the fans and the organization. It's hard to say anything bad when they treated you so well."
Bannan spent four seasons with the Ravens before signing a five-year, $22 million contract in March with Denver, which sought the 6-foot-3, 310-pound Bannan to beef up its defensive line.
Bannan said the decision to leave was difficult, but the Broncos' offer — which included a $6.3 million signing bonus and $10.5 million in guarantees — was too tantalizing.
"I know Baltimore wanted me back, and those guys in that organization have been nothing but great to me during my years there," he said. "But the offer that Denver made me was pretty hard to pass up, and just the way they treated me and also the opportunity and what they wanted to do with me, I just felt that it was right. So I had to do it."
Bannan, who plays left end in the Broncos' 3-4 alignment, has steadily improved his statistics and comfort level in four starts this season.
"I've just been working because it takes time to build that," he said. "Each week, I'm getting better and I'm getting more comfortable. And I'm also gelling with the guys and getting that chemistry on defense because that's important."
Bannan will line up against the right side of the Ravens' offensive line, and right guard Chris Chester said he expects the same Bannan who tested him in practice.
"I know he's going to be physical," Chester said. "He's a tough guy, and I would imagine he's going to want to have a good game against us. And we know he's a great player to begin with. So with all that combined, I think it's going to be quite the matchup."
Bannan said he has already fielded calls from former Ravens teammates such as outside linebacker Jarret Johnson and nose tackle Kelly Gregg. Bannan said he is looking forward to catching up.
"It'll be emotional, but at the end of the day, we've got to win a game, and I know they're going to try to win the game," he said. "We've got a tall task ahead of us, but I love the team I'm on now, and I'm happy to be a part of them. So we're going to come in and give everything we've got."
Washington sidelined
Fabian Washington joined offensive tackle Jared Gaither (thoracic disk), wide receiver Donte' Stallworth (broken left foot), defensive end Paul Kruger (sprained medial collateral ligament in left knee) and linebacker Tavares Gooden (dislocated left shoulder) as players who did not practice Thursday.
The cornerback was sidelined by an illness. It's unclear how serious the illness is or whether it will prevent him from playing Sunday.
Outside linebacker Edgar Jones (bruised thigh) was limited for the second consecutive day. Running back Ray Rice (bruised right knee), fullback Le'Ron McClain (right shoulder) and tight end Todd Heap (shoulder) fully participated for the second straight day. McClain wore a red, noncontact mesh over his jersey.
Webb defers on starting
On Wednesday, coach John Harbaugh said Lardarius Webb is healthy enough to regain his status as a starting cornerback. On Thursday, Webb agreed — to an extent.
Webb, who broke up a fourth-quarter pass from Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch to wide receiver Mike Wallace in the end zone, agreed that his performance in the team's 17-14 victory over Pittsburgh on Sunday was a welcome sight. But he also said the defense was doing just fine with starters Fabian Washington and Chris Carr.
"I don't know," Webb said of leapfrogging Washington and Carr. "The guys in front of me are doing so good, just leave it like it is. … I'm just trying to get my health back."
Orton could be big target
The Broncos' reliance on the passing game led to quarterback Kyle Orton dropping back to pass 50 times in their 26-20 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
Denver has emphasized reinvigorating a rush offense that is ranked last in the NFL in average yards per game (55.0) and average yards per carry (2.2). But what if Orton has to attempt 50 passes against the Ravens on Sunday?
"That would be a fun day," outside linebacker Terrell Suggs said Thursday. "Anytime you've got a quarterback who wants to give you that many opportunities to make a play on the ball, your attention to detail tends to go up a little bit. But like I said, an offensive coordinator's game plan tends to change from team to team, so we've just got to wait and see what they do on Sunday."
Cameron: 'Audibling is overrated'
After talking to offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, it appears that quarterback Joe Flacco has the freedom to call audibles on every play but he rarely does it.
But Cameron talks about audibles like it's a matter of national security.
Asked how much Flacco audibles, Cameron said: "First of all, don't believe anything I'm going to tell you. We understand that? The bottom line is, we don't audible now nearly as much as we did [when Flacco was] a rookie. That may be true. But there's no chance that I'm telling you."
Cameron was asked whether Flacco has more freedom to do so in his third season than he did as a rookie.
"Audibling is overrated," Cameron said. "It's good to talk about, and I could sit here and let you guys think that we do all of this audibling and how clever we are. It depends on the way teams are playing you. The way the teams are playing us is calling a play, making sure everybody knows what that play is and executing that play. However, we have the potential to audible every play if we choose."
End zone
The Ravens announced Wednesday that they signed rookie cornerback Prince Miller to the practice squad. Miller had been released Tuesday so that the team could sign offensive lineman Scott Kooistra to the active roster. To make room for Miller, the organization cut cornerback Danny Gorrer from the practice squad. … For Denver, running back Knowshon Moreno did not practice Thursday after being limited Wednesday by a hamstring injury. Nose tackle Jamal Williams also did not participate, but the reason was classified as non-injury-related. Cornerback Andre Goodman (quadriceps) and linebacker Wesley Woodyard (hamstring) were limited for the second consecutive day. Cornerback Champ Bailey, who did not practice Wednesday for non-injury-related reasons, was removed from the injury report.
edward.lee@baltsun.com
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