The Ravens have had a fast defense since drafting middle linebacker Ray Lewis in 1996 months after arriving from Cleveland. Subsequent draft picks such as Peter Boulware and Chris McAlister improved overall team speed at key positions and helped the Ravens win the Super Bowl in the 2000 season.
"One of the things that always made Ray Lewis a great player, especially early in his career, was that he was one of the fastest guys on defense each game," DeCosta said. "We base our evaluations off the players we have. We're always looking for the next Jonathan Ogden, the next Ray Lewis. We look for players who have these type characteristics."
Speed is not only a matter of a stopwatch, though. Second-year running back Ray Rice has looked quicker in the preseason than he did as a rookie. That's significant because he added 5 pounds of muscle in the offseason.
Not coincidentally, he took over the starting job from Willis McGahee and figures to be a favorite check-off target for quarterback Joe Flacco.
"He figured out what it takes to be a pro, how to take care of his body," DeCosta said about Rice. "The game has slowed down for him, and it'll be easier for him this year."
Rice, now a solid 210 pounds at 5 feet 8, appreciates the difference a year makes.
"Last year I was training for a combine," he said. "That's totally different training than trying to become an NFL running back. Last year I was training for a 40-yard dash, a 225 [-pound bench press] and a vertical jump. This year, being around the team in the offseason, [we were] pumping weights each day, but at the same time the conditioning that we're doing helps maintain your speed and quickness in your joints. You learn how to train when you're a professional athlete."
Familiarity is another component that lends itself to playing fast. That's something the Ravens see in second-year players such as linebacker Tavares Gooden and safeties Haruki Nakamura and Tom Zbikowski.
Even though Gooden spent most of 2008 on injured reserve, he got enough defensive repetitions to gain a solid grasp of his job. He will make his first start for the Ravens on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. Nakamura and Zbikowski also have benefited from a second year in the system.
"I think anytime a player feels comfortable with what he's doing and understands what he's doing, he will always play faster," new defensive coordinator Greg Mattison said. "I think that was a big objective of ours, not making a whole bunch of changes and just doing the things these guys already know, hoping they would play faster. I think that is showing up."
For the Ravens, speed is one of the important criteria in player evaluation, but far from the only one.
"You can't go for speed alone," DeCosta said, "otherwise you've have a team of track stars.
"Now that we've got Joe at quarterback, we love the idea of being a team that can go vertical in the passing game, that swarms to the ball on defense. All teams want fast players at all positions, particularly the skill positions. Good teams have speed. Super Bowl-winning teams have speed. But you've got to have physical players with durability and intelligence."
BY THE NUMBERS
4.3
Holy Grail of 40-yard dash times; run this and you're a first-round pick. See Darrius Heyward-Bey.
4.29
40 time of Ravens cornerback Fabian Washington in the 2005 scouting combine.
2
Times in the past five years the Raiders have drafted the fastest player at the combine.
