Old School Vs. New School

Nfl Preview 2004

The Ravens

A starter-by-starter comparison of the Ravens' 2000 defense and this year's unit. Results -- which ended in a 6-4-1 edge for the 2000 team -- are based on an anonymous poll of coaches and league executives.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Rob Burnett

97 tackles, 10 sacks, 3 forced fumbles

VS.

Tony Weaver

63 tackles, 5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles

Both are hard-nosed players, but Burnett was the NFL's best lineman in the first month of the 2000 season. Many expect Weaver to reach Burnett's level in a few years.

Edge: OLD

Tony Siragusa

75 tackles, 0 sacks

VS.

Kelly Gregg

104 tackles, 3 sacks

Gregg is more valuable and versatile because he can control the line with leverage as well as disrupt plays with penetration. "Goose" was more one-dimensional, clogging up the middle with size and brute strength.

Edge: NEW

Sam Adams

69 tackles, 2 sacks, 5 forced fumbles

Marques Douglas

89 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 forced fumble

VS.

No contest here. Adams was the most dominant lineman in the league that year, jumping off the line with great anticipation of the snap count and ripping through defenses with power. Douglas is an overachieving role player.

Edge: OLD

PASS-RUSH END

Michael McCrary

103 tackles, 6 sacks, 2 forced fumbles

VS.

Terrell Suggs

33 tackles, 12 sacks, 6 forced fumbles

Although Suggs is a more talented pure rusher, McCrary was the more popular choice because of his relentlessness against the run and pass, chasing down opponents all over the field.

Edge: OLD

LINEBACKER

Peter Boulware

45 tackles, 7 sacks, 2 forced fumbles

VS.

Peter Boulware

79 tackles, 8 sacks, 3 forced fumbles

Injury limited Boulware in 2000 and will do the same this season. He is a better all-around linebacker now, but no one knows when he will return from offseason knee surgery.

Edge: EVEN

Jamie Sharper

102 tackles, 4 passes def., 5 forced fumbles

VS.

Ed Hartwell

140 tackles, 5 passes def., 2 forced fumbles

Sharper had more range and delivered more big plays. Supporters for Hartwell question whether Sharper could have carried the defense the way Hartwell did when Ray Lewis was sidelined for much of 2002.

Edge: OLD

Ray Lewis

187 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 interceptions, 10 passes def.

VS.

Ray Lewis