The goal is simple for the Ravens? linebackers.
“We?re trying to be the best linebacking corps, and when I say best, I?m not talking about me,” Scott said. “I?m talking about Terrell Suggs, Adalius Thomas, Ray Lewis and myself, and hopefully we can do that.”
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So far, there would be few in the NFL who would quibble with the notion of the Ravens having best position unit in the league.
In the team?s two dominant defensive efforts so far this season, Lewis, Scott, Suggs and Thomas have been all over the field, sacking quarterbacks, causing fumbles, intercepting passes and generally scaring the living daylights out of the opposition.
“We push each other,” said Scott, who had a sack and five tackles in a 28-6 win over the Raiders Sunday. “A lot is put on the linebackers, and you know, we want to be the heart of this defense. We like to make our presence felt.”
Scott has become a star this season. He has blossomed into a vocal leader who often keeps the team loose inside the locker room. On the field, he?s been electric as both a pass rusher and a run stopper.
Both Lewis and Suggs have league-wide reputations as relentless assassins on defense. Lewis, the middle linebacker, has proven detractors wrong early this season by performing like a player in his prime. He was the AFC defensive player of the week after collecting 10 tackles and a sack in a 27-0 season-opening win over Tampa Bay. Last weekend against the Raiders, he came up with seven tackles and an interception.
Suggs has become the team?s preeminent pass rusher, often liningup on the defensive line. The fourth-year player forced one fumble and recovered another in the Raiders game.
“[Defensive coordinator] Rex Ryan is doing a good job of turning us loose,” Suggs said.
Suggs said the diversity of a player like Thomas, who can play any position on the field, only makes the defense stronger.
“The ability to put Adalius Thomas anywhere is definitely an advantage for us,” Suggs said. “They don?t know if he?s a safety, a defensive tackle, a defensive end [or] linebacker. The ability to put him anywhere gives us a lot of defense we can run.”
Thomas had perhaps his best game as a professional against the Raiders, collecting seven tackles, two sacks, one safety and one interception. He was quick to point out that all the other parts of the defense have to excel for individual success to occur.
“It just goes to show you ? I think Terrell had two [sacks], Bart had one, and [defensive end] Trevor [Pryce] had one, so everybody gets their chance,” Thomas said. “It just shows that the DBs did a good job of covering.”
