Ivy provides spark to Ravens secondary

“We work on fumble drills every day during practice,” said Ivy, who also sacked quarterback Matt Leinart in the second quarter. “[Fitzgerald] was carrying the ball kind of loose. I saw the opportunity, and I just snatched it from him.”

Ivy finished with five tackles starting in place of Samari Rolle, who missed the game with an undisclosed illness.

But just Ivy being able to play is impressive. Ivy, who entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Oklahoma in 1999, missed just three games last year after lacerating his kidney ? a potential career-ending injury ? during a loss to the Denver Broncos on Oct. 9.

He finished last season with 17 tackles, 6 pass deflections, 2 forced fumbles, 2 sacks and 14 tackles on special teams.

“Whenever your number is called, you try to uphold the tradition of the Ravens defense, and go out there and play like a starter,” Ivy said. “I just went out there and played my technique and did what my coaches told me to do.”

The road to starting in the NFL was not an easy path for Ivy, who got waived by New England, Cleveland and Tampa Bay before the Buccaneers finally gave him a chance to contribute on special teams in 2002. He spent three seasons in Tampa Bay before playing for the St. Louis Rams in 2005 and joining the Ravens as a free agent before last season.

“If somebody goes down,” Ravens receiver Derrick Mason said, “the next man has to fill his spot and play, if not better, as good as him.”

Ravens coach Brian Billick said having confidence in Ivy’s made it easier to bench Rolle, who he expects to play against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

“It was just something he had to deal with,” said Billick on Rolle. “It wasn’t prudent to put him in the field. We hope to have him back next week.”

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