josh bynes

Fullback Vonta Leach was an afterthought during Monday night's 18-16 win over the Detroit Lions, Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta played fewer snaps and more observations after looking at the official snap counts.

When the Ravens addressed the middle linebacker position this offseason by signing Daryl Smith, the ability to cover receivers was clearly a priority.

he Ravens attempted 50 passes despite a heavy snowfall, acknowledging that the passing game is their primary strength.

Dennis Pitta made his season debut in Sunday's 29-26 win over the Minnesota Vikings and the Ravens tight end played 36 of the team's 85 offensive snaps and had six catches for 48 yards and a touchdown.

The Ravens are bracing for a pivotal encounter against Peterson that represents the greatest test so far for their revamped group of inside linebackers. Since Ray Lewis retired in February, Daryl Smith has stabilized the middle linebacker spot while playing opposite a platooning group of weak-side inside linebackers in Jameel McClain, Josh Bynes and rookie Arthur Brown.

Joe Flacco silenced anyone still clamoring for the wildcat offense, which disappeared against the Steelers days after the quarterback called it a high school offense.

Josh Bynes got the majority of snaps at weak-side linebacker Thursday against the Pittsburgh Steelers despite the fact that Jameel McClain started.

Now that the NFL season is here, I'm putting a twist on my weekly Blogger on Blogger series. Each week, I hope to enlist a blogger who regularly writes about the Ravens' opponent to help me break down the game. This week, I exchanged emails with Dave Bryan, who blogs about the Pittsburgh Steelers for Steelers Depot.

A week after Ray Rice rushed for a season-high 131 yards in an overtime loss to the Chicago Bears, the star running back found himself in a timeshare with backup running back Bernard Pierce in Sunday's 19-3 win over the New York Jets.

Ravens defense puts emphasis on keeping teams out of end zone once they reach red zone.

The Ravens were without the services of Haloti Ngata during Sunday's 23-20 overtime loss to the Chicago Bears. With Ngata sidelined, Terrence Cody got his first start of the 2013 season at nose tackle, played a season-high 35 defensive snaps and made one tackle.

Throughout the NFL this season, backup quarterbacks have gotten opportunities to prove themselves after injuries or ineptitude sent a dozen starters to the bench. But here in Baltimore, Tyrod Taylor patiently waits behind Joe Flacco, a Super Bowl-winning quarterback who has never missed a snap due to injury in his six seasons in the league.

Ravens wide receiver Jacoby Jones has now played four games since returning from a knee injury last month, but the veteran wide receiver has yet to overtake rookie Marlon Brown on the depth chart based on their playing time.

It was worth keeping after Tucker delivered the game-winning field goal on a 46-yard kick to seal the Ravens' 20-17 overtime victory Sunday over the Cincinnati Bengals at M&T Bank Stadium.

Ravens offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell has embraced a pass-centric approach, transitioning firmly to spread looks as the base offense.

Almost halfway through the season, the Ravens' rookie class has shown incremental signs of progress.

Baltimore Ravens fullback Vonta Leach played a season-low two offensive snaps, inside linebacker Jameel McClain took on a larger role and more playing time observations from Sunday's loss to the Cleveland Browns.

If Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith was offended by Cleveland Browns cornerback Joe Haden's blunt assessment of the defending Super Bowl champions, he did a good job of hiding any hurt feelings.

The Ravens officially ruled out starting left offensive guard Kelechi Osemele with a chronic back injury that will probably end his season as he's expected to undergo surgery soon.

With Josh Bynes sidelined against the Pittsburgh Steelers two weeks ago, Jameel McClain started at weak-side linebacker and played 30 snaps in his first NFL game since December.

Since retiring from the NFL and being placed on the Ravens' reserve-retired list, trouble-prone middle linebacker Rolando McClain has returned to school at the University of Alabama and is taking steps to get his life back in order.

Running back Bernard Pierce returned to practice from a strained hamstring

Looking at which Baltimore Ravens got a lot of playing time and which Ravens rode the pine in the first seven games of the 2013 season. Only five players, including middle linebacker Daryl Smith, have played every snap.

Five Ravens did not practice today in the team's final workout before they officially head into the bye week.

Starting weak-side linebacker Josh Bynes said he¿s recovering well from surgery on his infected finger, and expects to return to the team after the bye and be ready for the Ravens¿ game against the Cleveland Browns on Nov. 3.

After being sidelined for more than 10 months with a spinal cord injury, Ravens weak-side linebacker Jameel McClain returned to the field Sunday. And he didn't just play. McClain started and played a major role in the 19-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Inactive for the past two games, much-maligned left tackle Bryant McKinnie has been traded to the Miami Dolphins.

The veteran weak-side inside linebacker conquered another obstacle Sunday, starting his first game in 10 months since returning from a spinal cord contusion suffered last December. Since

The Ravens scratched veteran offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie for the second consecutive game, an unsurprising move.

The Ravens have activated veteran inside linebacker Jameel McClain from the reserve-physically unable to perform list and cut tight end Billy Bajema heading into Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Ravens starting weak-side inside linebacker Josh Bynes has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers due to an infected finger that required surgery.

Just three days before their showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Ravens had only two players not practicing: linebackers Josh Bynes and Albert McClellan.

Ten months after suffering a spinal cord contusion that had endangered his NFL career, McClain returned to practice for the first time. McClain gained medical clearance last week when his latest magnetic resonance imaging exam revealed no more signs of the bruising damage sustained during a hit last December against the Washington Redskins.

Ravens inside linebacker Jameel McClain returned to practice today for the first time since suffering a spinal cord contusion last December against the Washington Redskins.

Each week, Baltimore Sun reporters Aaron Wilson and Matt Vensel will look back at the Ravens' previous game and that of their next opponent.

One positive development from Sunday's 19-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers was the return of injured wide receiver Jacoby Jones, who returned kickoffs and made an 11-yard touchdown reception. The Ravens limited his usage, though. Jones played just 17 offensive snaps and six snaps on special teams. More on that and other snap count observations.

Ravens rookie linebacker Arthur Brown, the team's second round pick out of Kansas State, should get more playing time Sunday against Green Bay, especially if the Packers throw a lot.