Ravens On Pats: 'You've Got To Respect Them, Then You've Got To Attack Them'

Taking It To The Next Level

Game To Show How Much Team Has Closed The Gap

There is respect, admiration and awe.

There are good teams, exceptional teams and the New England Patriots.

Somewhere between respect and awe, between good teams and the Patriots, are the Ravens.

But the gap is closing.

How much, we find out Sunday. Foxborough, Mass., is this week's court of popular opinion. The perennial Super Bowl-contending Patriots are the litmus test. The Ravens are ready.

"For the last decade, the Patriots have been a team that wins games, wins championships," Ravens wide receiver Kelley Washington said. "So a lot of teams are trying to emulate that.

"But a team like the Baltimore Ravens, we're trying to make our own mark. We've got good, talented players just like they have talented players. You've got to respect them as far as what they've accomplished. But [when] you line up on Sundays, it's all about winning one-on-one matchups. I rank us up there with anybody in the league."

The Ravens are, in essence, a mirror image of a Patriots organization that has won three Super Bowls in the past eight years (but none of the past four). They reflect Bill Belichick's protocol in how they operate in the front office, how they select players, how they deal with distractions, how they prepare for an opponent.

They are built with the Patriots in mind, but not necessarily as their blueprint.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh has more than a little Belichick in him. And it's not by accident.

"You can't help but admire what they've done, what they've accomplished, and I kind of watch how they do it," Harbaugh said. "Over the years, I've tried to pick his brain ... at combines, Senior Bowls, stuff like that. He was fairly forthcoming [in] what they believe. I think philosophically and fundamentally, we're kind of built the same way, the approaches to the two programs."

In a conference call with Baltimore news media this week, the Patriots coach was equally respectful of the job Harbaugh has done ("I think he's done a terrific job") and spoke of the Ravens in terms that could easily be applied to his own team.

"They make you beat them, they're tough, they're physical, they do a lot of little things well, and they do a lot of big things well," Belichick said.

If you look closely, Belichick's fingerprints are throughout the Ravens' organization. As coach of the Cleveland Browns, he was fired before the team relocated to Baltimore in 1996. But he had assembled an all-star coaching staff in Cleveland, established many of the tenets that have made the Patriots successful, and tutored Ozzie Newsome when the Hall of Fame tight end decided to learn the personnel business.

One of the trademarks that transitioned to Baltimore was Belichick's 20-20 Club. In Cleveland, he liked to hire aggressive, ambitious 20-year-olds, pay them $20,000 to start and pull them through the organizational ranks.

It's a tool that Newsome has used to superb effect with the Ravens.

"We still do the 20 and 20 here, and guys like Eric [DeCosta] and Joe [Hortiz] are graduates from that," Newsome said. "When you do this, your foundation is solid because everyone understands what our beliefs are, how we work together and how we get things done.

"Neither of us brings many people from the outside. We cultivate our own gardens by letting our staff grow into more responsibilities as they earn them. There's a communication and an understanding for each other that comes from these connections."

Both DeCosta and Hortiz started as bottom-level go-fers in the organization but have risen steadily to play major roles, DeCosta as director of player personnel and Hortiz as director of college scouting.

The criteria of what Belichick and Newsome look for in players are strikingly similar. Neither makes many personnel mistakes, both build the roster around draft picks, and both are adept at shuffling that roster when necessary.

Take this year's Patriots. Their stout defense has subtracted defensive end Richard Seymour (trade), linebackers Tedy Bruschi (retirement) and Mike Vrabel (trade) and safety Rodney Harrison.

Still the Patriots have allowed just 88.3 rushing yards per game and stopped 21 of 30 third-down plays while switching from the 3-4 front to a 4-3.

"We both believe in our staff's ability to find more good players and develop them with a coaching staff that can teach," Newsome said. "We both know that we can't keep all of our good players. That means that sometimes you have to let go of guys you know can help you win now, but they would impact the [salary] cap in a way that would hurt you down the line.

"That's why you see them lose players like Vrabel, Seymour and Bruschi. And we've lost good players like Jamal [Lewis], A.D. [Adalius Thomas] and Bart [Scott]. You have to have a process and a system to find more good players. You have to believe that these new players can then help you win. We are similar in that way."

Even though the Patriots haven't won a Super Bowl in five seasons, they are still dynastic. There will be no awe from the Ravens on Sunday in Foxborough, though.

"We respect the Patriots," Ravens running back Ray Rice said. "We respect what they've done. We respect everything they're about. That's the thing: You've got to respect them, then you've got to attack them."

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RAVENS @PATRIOTS

Sunday, 1 p.m.

TV: Chs. 13, 9

Radio: 97.9 FM, 1090 AM

Line:

Patriots by 2