Ravens defense finally shows teeth vs. 49ers

08.10.2007 15:00 Sport and Travel - Source: USA Today

After a 9-7 win against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, it certainly appears to be. But the effort came against the NFL's lowest-ranked offense, so who knows?

"No, we're not there yet," Baltimore safety Ed Reed admitted. "It's just the fifth game, and it's a long season. We still have a lot of building to do.

"But this is a step in the right direction."

Last year the Ravens boasted the NFL's No. 1 defense, holding teams to league-low averages of 264.1 yards and 12.6 points a game. But against the Cleveland Browns last week, they surrendered 27 points and failed to record a sack for the first time in 25 games. They entered Sunday allowing 301.8 yards and 22.5 points a game.

"We knew, at the quarter mark, we had to get this thing going," linebacker Terrell Suggs said.

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Ravens players credited a back-to-basics approach for the turnaround. "We just told ourselves, do what you know how to do. Be the Ravens Defense," Suggs said. "Had we done that against Cleveland, who knows? Maybe it would've been different."

Linebacker Bart Scott thought they probably outsmarted themselves against the Browns. "There aren't too many teams that can match us man-for-man up front," he said. "Sometimes you can outthink yourself. ... Sometimes all you need to do is punch somebody in the mouth."

The Ravens limited the 49ers to 163 yards and the touchdown. But San Francisco was missing starting quarterback Alex Smith, tight end Vernon Davis and left tackle Jonas Jennings. There are not any similarities between this club and the glory years of Joe Montana, Steve Young and Jerry Rice.

Trent Dilfer, filling in for Smith, completed 12 passes for 126 yards. Running back Frank Gore, who rushed for 1,695 yards in 2006, had 52 yards. San Francisco's best weapon was punter Andy Lee, who averaged 51.6 yards a punt.

"I think I would've made a big difference today," said Davis, who is recovering from a sprained knee. "I'm pretty sure I could have opened some things up for Frank. I could've taken some guys out of the box and spread them out a little bit."

Despite their lackluster attack, the 49ers could have pulled out the game with 2:44 left. But kicker Joe Nedney's 52-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right.

"I don't know what the issues are on offense, exactly," San Francisco coach Mike Nolan said. "But we have a lot of work to do."

The 49ers are designed for a ball-control attack: feed Gore, eat the clock and keep the defense off the field. "That's a good way to build a football team," Dilfer said. "The problem with that is, when it's ugly, it's really ugly."

While San Francisco heads into its bye week trying to regroup and get healthy, Baltimore hopes to use the game as a springboard to better things. It plays another injury-racked offense, the St. Louis Rams, next Monday.

"It's a start. Now we can get this thing snowballing," Suggs said.

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