deangelo tyson

The Ravens' 2012 draft class, which is all gone now, is generally viewed as a disappointment. But the organization may not have won a second Super Bowl without it.

It was only three years ago when the Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers, 34-31, to capture Super Bowl XLVII. So much has changed since.

Technically, long-time Ravens backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor will play in a Pro Bowl before his former teammate Joe Flacco. But remember, Flacco was asked to go to last year's Pro Bowl and turned down the invitation.

On their long, shared road back from injury, Ravens defensive ends Brent Urban and Kapron Lewis-Moore would dream over dinner about how their much-anticipated debuts would play out once they finally had a clean bill of health.

In his first comments since the Ravens trimmed their roster to the 53-man group they essentially began the week with, coach John Harbaugh said there were several positions where the team had tough decisions to make.

A couple of days after they got down to 53 men, the Ravens' roster remains unchanged. What gives?

Timmy Jernigan, who is the man tabbed to replace Haloti Ngata after the Pro Bowl defensive lineman was traded to the Detroit Lions in March, and Carl Davis represent the most recent additions to a defensive line group that throughout the Ravens history has been the franchise's premier strength, due to its depth and continuity among the coaches and players.

Ravens bring back several players waived yesterday and also add colorful cornerback Charles James from Houston Texans.

In getting down to a 53-man roster Saturday, the Ravens showed a willingness to move on from their draft picks, the importance that they place on special teams and how much they value having defensive depth.

The Ravens took to the field Saturday morning with a full roster of 70 players, meaning any decisions on cutting their roster from 70 to 53 players by the 4 p.m. deadline Saturday will come after practice.

Wide receivers Daniel Brown, who caught a touchdown and blocked a punt in Thursday night's preseason-closing loss to the Atlanta Falcons, and Tom Nelson, offensive tackle Blaine Clausell, inside linebacker Andrew Bose and cornerback Quinton Pointer were all let go. Their releases leave the Ravens with 70 players, meaning that they'll have to make 17 more moves by 4 p.m. on Saturday.

The Ravens' 20-19 loss to the Atlanta Falcons gave the coaching staff plenty to think about as it attempts to formulate the 53-man roster.

As head coach John Harbaugh promised, the Ravens aren't playing any of their top starters for tonight's preseason finale against the Atlanta Falcons.

The fourth preseason game in the NFL's bloated August schedule is reserved for reserves like them, with a few dozen players vying for a handful of spots on the back end of the Ravens roster entering a game that has meaning only to them.

What happened to all of the roster competitions? It¿s a fair question to ask as the Ravens prepare to trim 22 players from their roster to get down to 53 by Saturday.

Carl Davis has quickly grown accustomed to a full game's workload in the NFL. No Ravens defensive linemen has played more this preseason than the third-round pick out of Iowa, and he doesn't expect that to change in Thursday's preseason finale against the Atlanta Falcons.

Defensive end Lawrence Guy on Tuesday returned from a knee injury suffered Saturday against the Washington Redskins, giving the Ravens a boost at a defensive line position that could be thin in the final preseason game.

The Ravens got three starters and a fourth key offensive piece back Monday as guard Kelechi Osemele, tackle Eugene Monroe, cornerback Lardarius Webb, and wide receiver Michael Campanaro.

The Ravens' backups had a brutal night against the Redskins at M&T Bank Stadium.

Ravens defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan suffered an apparent right knee injury on the fourth defensive play of the game Saturday against the Washington Redskins, while offensive lineman Ryan Jensen left the game with a head injury and is in the concussion protocol, the team announced.

After Sunday's off day, the Ravens were in full pads for Monday's workout, which started at 10 a.m. and finished up at 12:45 p.m. It was one of the hottest days of camp and several Ravens struggled to deal with the heat. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh had the players take an extended water break a little more than halfway through practice.

While Breshad Perriman remains sidelined from practice, the Ravens did get back fellow receivers Marlon Brown and Kamar Aiken.

Ravens defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan returned to practice Saturday after missing several days with a foot injury, while cornerback Asa Jackson, wide receiver Kamar Aiken, and outside linebacker Steven Means were out with apparent injuries suffered in Thursday¿s preseason opener.

A pair of quick three-and-outs meant the Ravens starting defense watched the final three quarters of Thursday's last-second 30-27 win over the New Orleans Saints as satisfied but interested spectators when their backups took over. They watched the reserves concede five scoring drives in seven tries, not counting the Saints' Hail Mary attempt at the final whistle, and saw a unit that lacked experience struggle to meet the Ravens' lofty standard.

First-round pick Breshad Perriman and top cornerback Jimmy Smith headlined a group of absentees for the Ravens' preseason opener against the New Orleans Saints Thursday.

For all the angst about Matt Schaub's play in training camp, he wouldn't be in Baltimore Sun reporter Jeff Zrebiec's top five of players/issues to be concerned about if he was a Ravens official.

With their wide receivers and defensive backs mostly healed, the Ravens' latest depth issue appears to be on the defensive line, where defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan, defensive tackle Christo Bilukidi, and defensive end DeAngelo Tyson missed practice Tuesday.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh said they'll be conservative with the team's injured players in the preseason opener, with the starters not playing much.

Wide receiver Marlon Brown and rookie cornerback Tray Walker returned to practice Monday after a week out with injuries, while defensive starters Kendrick Lewis and Timmy Jernigan were absent.

Ravens defensive end Kapron Lewis-Moore is relishing his time on the field after knee and Achilles injuries kept him out for two years.

A Ravens offense that began practice Saturday without its top four receivers got a boost with the returns of rookie tight end Maxx Williams and starting guard Kelechi Osemele.

It was a relatively sloppy practice, characterized by several offside penalties and a flurry of drops.

Many of the Ravens veterans, along with several players who continue to nurse injuries, are not practicing today.

¿With what coach John Harbaugh called ¿one of the toughest practices of the year¿ not producing the results he wanted, the eighth-year head coach started providing the intensity himself.

Mike Preston commentary. Upon further review, the Ravens might end up being the best team in the AFC.

The Baltimore Sun is breaking down where the Ravens stand at each position, including predictions on how many players the team will keep at each spot and which players are locks, long shots or ¿on the bubble.¿

Getting Sam Koch and Jimmy Smith signed were big first moves, but the Ravens will have plenty more to do next offseason.

The 2015 Ravens will be together as a full team for the first time this week with workouts scheduled from Tuesday through Thursday at the Under Armour Performance Center. Players will practice for the final time before the start of training camp in July.

In the absence of traded defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, defensive coordinator Dean Pees said he¿s excited about the depth and versatility of the young group that remains in Baltimore.

Now, Urban and Lewis-Moore have made significant progress to the point where coach John Harbaugh predicted that they'll likely be full-go during organized team activities.

The Ravens drafting of two tight ends doesn't mean that Dennis Pitta won't play again. But it does reflect the reality of the situation.

Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome believes Saturday's six picks will dictate the success of the 2015 draft.

Until April 30, the first round of the 2015 NFL draft, The Baltimore Sun will examine the Ravens¿ depth at each position, the potential of them adding to that spot early in the draft and some of the players who they could target.

Brent Urban, the Ravens' 2014 fourth-round pick, is ready to return this spring to make an impact at defensive end.

And McPhee figures to be one of the Ravens¿ more complicated free agent decisions.

After making progress with his ankle injury all week, Ravens left offensive tackle Eugene Monroe is active for Saturday's AFC divisional-round playoff game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium.

Whether through injury, illness, or suspension, the Ravens' talent at defensive line has been diluted all season. With one key cog or another missing for all but four of the team's 17 games, the group has still collapsed pockets, occupied blockers and held opponents without a 100-yard rusher all season.

Baltimore Ravens' defensive line is bolstered by the return of defensive tackle Haloti Ngata from four-game drug suspension.

Baltimore Sun reporter Aaron Wilson breaks down the game film from Sunday's game between the Ravens and the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium.

As he does each week, Childs Walker shares his five biggest takeaways from the Ravens' 20-10 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium.