The Ravens' ability to pressure opposing quarterbacks isn't under scrutiny. The manner in which they rush passers is.
On Sunday, the defense sacked Tom Brady three times, tying the Miami Dolphins for the most the New England Patriots quarterback has gone down this season. But the Ravens lost in overtime, 23-20, in part because the defense couldn't apply consistent pressure on Brady in the fourth quarter and extra period.
One factor was the Ravens' decision to use a three-man rush and flood the secondary with eight defenders to make it harder for Brady to find an open receiver.
The risk? Sending only three players after Brady gave him time to stand in the pocket and his receivers time to run their routes and find cracks in the coverage.
On Thursday, defensive coordinator Greg Mattison spoke of employing that strategy.
"People always talk about us and the three-man rush, but I think if they add up the number of pressures that we've had, they might be as high as anybody else's," he said. "The thing that happens when teams give you empty [backfield formations], which we got a lot of, you've got a choice. You've got a choice of either putting everybody on one-on-one and rushing four, where the ball is going to come out immediately anyhow. Or you've got a choice of blitzing everybody and having nobody back there. Or you drop eight to try to help yourself in coverage and rush three. That's what the empty formation does. So, I think you will see that a lot of the three-man rushes came because they were in an empty-backfield [formation].
"I think the same questions would be coming up right now if we would've went zero-blitz on every one of those empties and they threw them over our heads," he said. "You've got Tom Brady and some good wide receivers where you're going to hit some of those when there's nobody back there, and it was our decision to try and mix it up between a four-man rush, pressure and dropping eight."
Not surprisingly, several Ravens players said they had no qualms about the number of pass rushers against the Patriots, and inside linebacker Ray Lewis said there are times when a three- or four-man rush can be successful.
"You find your mismatches wherever you see they might fit and things like that. I think there are certain times you go to a three-man rush, when you know something is coming. You don't just [wallow] in it and sit back there and let a quarterback have all day, but you do it a lot of times, and you see that it does confuse quarterbacks. There's a lot of different zones taken away when you do that, and I think it does have a place in the game."
The Kansas City Chiefs adopted a similar tactic against the Indianapolis Colts two weeks ago, and though the Chiefs lost, 19-9, they frustrated quarterback Peyton Manning, who threw for a comparatively low 244 yards and failed to connect on a touchdown pass.
No one would confuse Ryan Fitzpatrick, who leads the Buffalo Bills into M&T; Bank Stadium on Sunday, with Manning, but applying enough heat and disrupting Fitzpatrick's rhythm with his receivers could go a long way toward giving the Ravens a good reason to be happy as they enter their bye week.
Defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, who leads the team in sacks with a career-best four, said the key is to never give the quarterback the same look.
"Just a mix, really," he said. "Just mix it in. A blitz in there, a pressure every now and then, make it look like you're blitzing. It opens up the middle a lot of times because they think you're blitzing. Whatever our [defensive] coordinator does, he does a great job of mixing it up most of the time."
Notes: Todd Heap is listed as questionable, but the tight end expects to play against Buffalo despite a neck injury caused when he absorbed a helmet-to-helmet blow from New England Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather in the second quarter of Sunday's 23-20 overtime loss to the Patriots. "It was a tough week, but I'll be ready to go," said Heap, who was upgraded to full participation Friday after being limited Thursday. "I'm feeling relatively good right now. So we'll see how it feels Sunday, but right now, I expect to play." Heap said there's still some pain in the neck and shoulder area, but he is fighting through it. Although Meriweather was not suspended for the hit, he was fined $50,000 and the collision was highlighted by the league as being an egregious action. In his first comments since that game, Heap tried to play down his thoughts on Meriweather's hit. "It is what it was," Heap said. "Everybody saw it. There's no need for me to comment on it now. I think he'll learn his lesson by that. It's not my place to enforce anything. But at the same time, looking back on it and seeing the hit, it was something that I think could've been avoided." … Free safety Tom Zbikowski, who bruised his heel last Sunday, was ruled out for Sunday. His absence could pave the way for six-time Pro Bowler Ed Reed to get activated off the physically-unable-to-perform list after undergoing hip surgery in the offseason. If Reed is unable to play, Haruki Nakamura or Ken Hamlin could start alongside Dawan Landry. Chris Carr will likely be the primary punt returner. … Rookie wide receiver David Reed (thigh) is listed as questionable for Sunday. Reed was added to the injury report after not practicing Friday. Offensive tackle Tony Moll (eye) returned to practice after sitting out Thursday's session, and wide receiver Marcus Smith (back) was upgraded to full participation after being limited Wednesday and Thursday. Moll and Smith join a large contingent of players — linebackers Jarret Johnson (back) and Edgar Jones (thigh), wide receiver Derrick Mason (ankle/finger), running back Ray Rice (ankle), safety Haruki Nakamura (back), cornerback Josh Wilson (hamstring) and defensive end Paul Kruger (sprained medial collateral ligament in left knee) — who practiced fully Friday and are probable against Buffalo. … The Bills ruled out a pair of starters in cornerback Terrence McGee (back) and right offensive tackle Cornell Green (knee) after they did not practice for the third consecutive day. Another starter in nose tackle Kyle Williams (ankle) also missed practice for the second straight day, and he is listed as questionable. … Brendon Ayanbadejo hasn't played in a game since tearing his left quadriceps muscle against the New England Patriots on Oct. 4, 2009, but the inside linebacker said he plans to sit with coach John Harbaugh and discuss his status for Sunday. "I'm feeling good," said Ayanbadejo, who participated in practice over the last three days. "Today was a speed day. We ran through everything. Harbaugh's going to sit down with me on Saturday or Sunday and we're going to figure out what we're going to do. At this point in time, it's not a yes or a no, but we're going to figure it out."