Terrell Suggs has faced - and bested - some of the best left offensive tackles in the game. Guys such as the Seattle Seahawks' Walter Jones, the Washington Redskins' Chris Samuels and the Cincinnati Bengals' Levi Jones.
Perhaps that's why Suggs is looking forward to matching up against Joe Thomas when the Ravens visit the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
"It's been a challenge ever since me and him did a commercial together," Suggs said, referring to an Under Armour commercial featuring Suggs against Thomas that aired last year. "I like it. I like the matchup. It's going to be fun on Sunday."
Thomas returned the favor, saying of Suggs: "He's a great pass rusher. ... And he's another guy you've got to game-plan because he's such a great pass rusher, but he's also such a force in the run game. And you've got to be prepared for a fistfight because he's an extremely physical player."
The 6-foot-6, 305-pound Thomas was drafted third overall by the Browns last year and became only the fourth rookie offensive lineman to be named to the Pro Bowl.
Thomas made Suggs a nonfactor in their first meeting, but Suggs has compiled three sacks and 14 tackles in their past two games.
Still, Thomas has earned Suggs' admiration.
"If he's not already, he's definitely going to be one of the premier tackles in this league," Suggs said. "With him - I think he went to the Pro Bowl last year and the new kid Jake Long [with the Miami Dolphins]; they both impressed me. I'm a hater, so I don't give anybody props, but they definitely got my respect, and I like playing against them."
Rolle unlikely
The outlook for cornerback Samari Rolle's availability does not look good.
Rolle said yesterday that how his surgically repaired neck handles physical contact will determine whether he can play Sunday for the first time in six weeks, but Rolle wore a red, noncontact jersey at practice yesterday.
"You don't play with the neck," said Rolle, who was limited in practice for the second consecutive day. "It's getting better, but I won't know until I hit somebody. We'll just see how it goes."
For the second day in a row, cornerback Chris McAlister (right knee) and tight end Daniel Wilcox (thigh) did not practice. Left offensive tackle Jared Gaither (stinger) was downgraded from limited participation to no practice.
After sitting out Wednesday's practice, running back Willis McGahee (ankle) practiced on a limited basis. Tight end Todd Heap (neck) was also upgraded to full practice after being limited Wednesday.
