Ravens' organization hosts a six-team

Each year, the Ravens' organization hosts a six-team, double-elimination softball tournament involving its own front-office and staff people, as well as those of the Jets, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins and the NFL office.

Instead of the usual uniform number, the back of the jersey Ryan was wearing said, "Number 1 Defense."

Needless to say, that didn't go over well in the land of the Ravens, who had a three-year winning streak at the tournament before the league office won it this year.

For while the Jets did have the top overall defense in the league last year, they trailed Baltimore as far as stopping opponents in the red zone is concerned.

In what should be the biggest key to the September 13 season-opening Monday-night game at the New Meadowlands Stadium, the Ravens and Jets were 1-2 in the AFC last year in red-zone defense, with Baltimore ranking first by allowing opponents to score touchdowns 41.9% of the time and the Jets right behind them at 42.4%.

Leaguewide, that placed the two teams fourth and fifth, respectively, trailing only Washington, New Orleans and San Francisco.

The Ravens have worked on red-zone plays on both sides of the ball more often Todd Heap than normal during this training camp, and there's a good reason why.

"The game has moved toward that," head coach John Harbaugh said Sunday afternoon. "Offenses are going to be able to move the ball more (proficiently) than they used to. The game is going to move into the red zone more and more, (in fact) it has, so it becomes more critical.

"It's part of a scenario that we need to be really good at."

That's probably why Harbaugh was so upset at his first-string defense during a particular series last week that saw second- and third-string offensive players move the ball way too well against it.

For the most recent memory that lingers most in the Ravens' minds is what happened during the postseason. New England and Indianapolis scored a combined four touchdowns in five red-zone trips to knock the Ravens out of the playoffs one game short of the level they achieved last year, the AFC Championship Game.

In particular, the Colts were quite tough on the Ravens in those situations, scoring touchdowns on two of three red-zone chances in the Divisional Playoff round.

On the other side of the ball, the Baltimore offense ranked fifth in the AFC and 11th leaguewide with a 52.6% touchdown pace, nine slots ahead of the Jets. But what can the Ravens do to be tougher on their opponents in those situations?

A new short-yardage possession game, featuring receivers such as Anquan Boldin and Derrick Mason, as well as tight ends Todd Heap, Dennis Pitta and Ed Dickson, might help. But whirling dervish Ray Rice has also lobbied for some time inside the 20.

"I know I could be a red-zone back, but one thing about our team… Willis McGahee's in great shape," Rice said. "We're all in great shape, so if a guy needs a spell, we'll all come out. I'm sure we'll do the series thing, because there's not one back that's taken a load.

The Ravens  made their move by acquiring WR Anquan Boldin from the Arizona Cardinals. Boldin, a product of Florida State, is annually a 1,000-yard receiver. Playing second fiddle to Mason won't be an issue for Boldin, as he has taken the undercard to WR Larry Fitzgerald for the majority of his career in the desert. Depth was also added at the tight end position for the first time, as rookies Ed Dickson from Oregon and Dennis Pitta from BYU, arguably two of the best five receiving tight ends in this year's NFL Draft, were both added to an already deep squad.

Last year, the Ravens racked up 5,619 yards of offense, an average of 351.2 YPG. That was Todd Heap good enough to finish No. 13 in the NFL. Don't be overly shocked if that number goes up by nearly 1,000 yards this year, as Flacco should only improve, especially with his new toys to throw to. The rushing game, behind Rice and RB Willis McGahee was good for 137.5 YPG last year. It shouldn't take anything but steps in the right direction as well this year.

Before the preseason has even started, a devastating injury struck the Ravens defense. Domonique Foxworth, who was tied for the team lead in picks last year with four, suffered an ACL tear and will be lost for the season. This leaves Baltimore quite thin in the secondary, particularly at cornerback. Safeties are still in great shape though, as Ed Reed, Dawan Landry and Tom Zbikowski are amongst the best in the NFL.

Still, the front seven for this squad is as good as it gets. Starting names like Haloti Ngata, Terrell Suggs, Ray Lewis and Trevor Pryce is scary. Adding LB Sergio Kindle out of Texas probably only makes the situation worse for opposing offenses. Kindle will most likely step into the middle of this 3-4 defense next to Lewis on the inside, and his ball hawking abilities should go well on a defense that loves to swarm the man with the pigskin.

The Ravens ranked in the Top 10 in all major statistical categories on defense, including coming in third in total defense (300.5 YPG) and scoring (16.3 PPG).