Getting more sacks has been on the Ravens’ checklist for the past two years.
It looks like that may be getting crossed off.
Seven weeks into the season, the Ravens have 19 sacks, which is tied for the fourth-most in the league. The Vikings, Giants and Redskins all have 21. Houston also has 19.
It’s the most sacks the Ravens have posted through a season’s first six games since 2006, when they set a franchise record with 60.
Baltimore was 27th in the league in sacks last season, finishing with a franchise-low 27.
But with new aggressive Defensive Coordinator Chuck Pagano and contributions from a young crop of pass rushers, the Ravens have turned quarterback pressures into quarterback drops.
“Obviously, it was a point of contention with everybody, so we put a lot of emphasis on it,” Pagano said of notching sacks. “The kids put a bunch on themselves. They said, ‘That 27, that’s unacceptable.’ And it’s nowhere near what they’ve done over the past several years here. [We] made a big point of emphasis on it, and they’re doing a great job of executing the calls.”
Linebacker Terrell Suggs said the Ravens’ No. 1 priority defensively has been to stop the run and react to the pass. That has changed under Pagano.
“Now with Chucky at the helm, we’ve got our run calls and we’ve got our pass calls,” Suggs said. “They’ve pretty much given us the green light that when we get a pass call, put the run [responsibility] on Ray and the other inside linebackers, and let us go hunt.”
The question last year was whether Baltimore could find a pass rusher besides – and specifically opposite – Suggs, who notched 11 sacks and went to the Pro Bowl.
Suggs still leads the Ravens with five sacks, but the solution has come from multiple areas on the defense.
Defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, who had a career-high 5.5 sacks last year, continues to improve in the pass-rush department and has three already this season.
Baltimore has had more of an unexpected boost from rookie fifth-round pick Pernell McPhee, who upped his sack total to 2.5 with a ½ sack in Jacksonville.
The Ravens have also seen major growth from outside linebacker Paul Kruger, who got his first sack of the year against the Jaguars. Those two are playing “phonminal, outstanding football,” Suggs said.
“Man, I’ve been waiting to get one of those sacks for a long time,” Kruger said. “I’m real happy, just trying to go out there and get more of them. It’s addicting.”
The Ravens also have sacks from defensive end Cory Redding (1) , outside linebacker Jarret Johnson (1.5), inside linebackers Ray Lewis (2), Jameel McClain (1) and Brendon Ayanbadejo (0.5) and defensive backs Lardarius Webb (0.5) and Ed Reed (1).
The Ravens logged four sacks against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Their next opponent, the Arizona Cardinals, have allowed the seventh-most sacks in the league (18).
While most teams previously sent a lot of blockers Suggs’ way, they may have to alter their game plan.
“Teams still try to do their slides, but those guys are playing so good that teams are going to have to start playing us honest,” Suggs said.
