courtney upshaw

After manhandling a soft Raiders front seven, the Ravens' line will be tested by the Steelers' OLB tandem of James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley. Their extensive repertoire of pass-rushing moves is formidable

'NBC Sunday Night Football' isn't just in a league of its own when it comes to NFL telecasts. Last night's broadcast of the Baltimore Ravens 13 to 10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers was another gold-plated example of that truth.

Ngata, Suggs, Reed, Pollard, Rice, Yanda are probable for Baltimore

Starting right guard Marshal Yanda had sat out Wednesday's session because of an injured ankle, but returned to Thursday's session

Though neither played in the 55-20 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, defensive starters Haloti Ngata and Pernell McPhee were on the practice field Wednesday as the Ravens continued preparations for their AFC North showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend.

Every morning, Monday through Friday, blogger Matt Vensel will hook you up with reading material -- mostly on the Ravens but with some other Baltimore sports stuff, too -- to skim through as you slug down coffee and slack off at the start of your workday.

The latest chapter in this rivalry could be played without Roethlisberger, Hines Ward and Ray Lewis on the field. It will be the first time since the final game of the 2007 regular season when none of the three have been in the game.

Ravens free safety missed tackle on Heyward-Bey touchdown catch in Baltimore victory

Defensive coordinator utilized new-look schemes in win over Raiders

In Sunday's 55-20 blowout victory over the Oakland Raiders, the Baltimore Ravens defenders channeled their inner Dikembe Mutombo, swatting down six of quarterback Carson Palmer's passes to the turf. All that was missing was the finger-wagging.

The Ravens reported no new injuries Sunday, at least "nothing of significance," according to coach John Harbaugh.

Dealing with a sprained right knee and right shoulder injury, Pro Bowl defensive tackle Haloti Ngata didn't play a single snap during the Ravens' 55-20 win Sunday over the Oakland Raiders.

Unveiling some unusual schemes, Ravens defensive coordinator Dean Pees mixed and matched his personnel in a quest to get more athleticism on the field against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.

The Baltimore Ravens, who reveled in wreaking havoc with their pass rush under former defensive coordinators like Rex Ryan and Chuck Pagano, have infrequently gotten close enough to the quarterback to create chaos inside the pocket this season. Their current coordinator, Dean Pees, is still searching for some solutions to rectify that.

Now that the Ravens have officially finished up the first half of their schedule, let's take a look at the snap counts for their players over the first eight games of the season -- and since we last checked on these totals a month ago -- to see which new trends are developing. These official snap counts come courtesy of the NFL.

Yanda 'tweaked' ankle, knee, Williams injured ankle

Ravens, Upshaw bracing for impressive Browns rookie running back

But meeting that expectation has become a challenge. Cody, who entered the season battling to regain his starting job, is among a batch of young defensive players the Ravens need to live up to their lofty draft status. The need is even more important for a defense now vulnerable with inspirational middle linebacker Ray Lewis and shutdown cornerback Lardarius Webb on injured reserve.

Every morning, Monday through Friday, blogger Matt Vensel will hook you up with reading material -- mostly on the Ravens but with some other Baltimore sports stuff, too -- to skim through as you slug down coffee and slack off at the start of your workday.

Jeff Zrebiec breaks down the Baltimore Ravens during their NFL bye week.

Playing over his prescribed weight of 270 pounds was getting expensive for Baltimore Ravens rookie outside Courtney Upshaw, drawing fines from the team of nearly $20,000 this season.

Last week, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said he wouldn't know what to expect from linebacker Terrell Suggs if he played Sunday. Maybe he was being coy at the time, but he admitted on Monday that even he was surprised by how much Suggs played in his return from a torn right Achilles tendon. The reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year played 44 of their defensive snaps -- or 55 percent of the plays.

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs makes a surprisingly speedy return from a partially torn right Achilles tendon suffered in late April.

It's tough to look at the Baltimore defense and not see that the Ravens are starting four former undrafted free agents and that a trio of recent second-round draft picks is coming off the bench. Jimmy Smith, a 2011 first-round pick, will become a starter Sunday because cornerback Lardarius Webb suffered a season-ending knee injury. They smartly nabbed their other starting cornerback, Cary Williams, off the Tennessee Titans practice squad. Of the 14 defensive players they drafted from 2007 to 2011, only two are starters and six are no longer with the team.

Until unit proves it can plug the holes against the run, defensive players anticipate that future opponents will stick to ground plan vs. Ravens

Outside linebacker Paul Kruger pleased with showing in Ravens' 9-6 win last Sunday, but points out that being consistent is key to further development

The trend of reducing use of the no-huddle in noisy road venues continued at Arrowhead Stadium.

Not only does the team sit atop the NFL in penalties, but the Baltimore Ravens are also tied for the most 15-yard transgressions

The Ravens¿ no-huddle was employed 49 of 77 snaps to generate 438 yards. The shotgun was utilized 41 times, buying time for Joe Flacco before pass rushers invaded the pocket.

Baltimore Ravens reporter Jeff Zrebiec has news, notes and opinions on Pernell McPhee, Terrell Suggs and more.

Since we are four weeks into the NFL season, I figured now would be a great time to take a look at the snap counts for the 53 men on the Baltimore Ravens roster to see which trends are developing.

Ravens veteran outside linebacker Paul Kruger measures his progress modestly these days: one play, one hit and one pass rush at a time.

After an encouraging game against the New England Patriots where Flacco wasn't sacked and rarely hit, he sustained several big hits as the offensive line regularly broke down Thursday night against the Cleveland Browns.

Each Wednesday, blogger Matt Vensel will highlight five statistics that really mean something for the Ravens. This week, he looks at the offense's big-play ability, Marshal Yanda's steady play, and the team's recent dominance over the rival Cleveland Browns.

The Browns, who have had one winning season and five head coaches in the past decade, traded up to select Trent Richardson third overall in April's draft and 19 spots later used another first-round draft pick on Brandon Weeden.

Through first three games of 2012, the Baltimore Ravens defense has one fewer sack and has allowed just as many passing touchdowns as last year's unit that featured Terrell Suggs

Every morning, Monday through Friday, blogger Matt Vensel will hook you up with reading material -- mostly on the Ravens but with some other Baltimore sports stuff, too -- to skim through as you slug down coffee and slack off at the start of your workday. That way he'll have an excuse to do the same to start his workday, too.

The no-huddle offense returned to prominence after disappearing a week ago in Philadelphia, using it on 44 of 65 snaps and piling up 503 yards of total offense.