Dannell Ellerbe

At 1,992 pounds, the projected front seven of the Baltimore defense will weigh just under a ton, which is about the same as a tiny smart car, a large walrus or the Johnny Unitas statue outside M&T Bank Stadium. It could also be the heaviest front seven in the NFL next season. The folks over at Blogging the Beast recently took the projected depth charts from Ourlads, a reliable source, and totaled the weights of all the front sevens . I'm not sure why they did this, but it is interesting nonetheless.

The Ravens today agreed to a four-year deal with linebacker Arthur Brown , leaving them with just two unsigned picks. Brown, a standout at Kansas State, was the second of the Ravens' 10 picks in last month's draft. The only two that have not signed are first-rounder Matt Elam , a safety from the Florida, and third-rounder Brandon Williams , a nose tackle who played at Missouri Southern. Brown's deal will be worth roughly $3.55 million and include a signing bonus of $964,896.

The Ravens announced Tuesday afternoon that restricted free agent Dannell Ellerbe had re-signed with the team. The inside linebacker was given a second-round restricted tender by the Ravens last month. Under the second-round tender, Ellerbe will make $1.93 million this season, his fourth in the league. Ellerbe, 26, was signed as an undrafted rookie free agent before the 2009 season. He has started in seven games over the past three seasons, making 90 tackles and recording one sack in 33 career games.

At 1,992 pounds, the projected front seven of the Baltimore defense will weigh just under a ton, which is about the same as a tiny smart car, a large walrus or the Johnny Unitas statue outside M&T Bank Stadium. It could also be the heaviest front seven in the NFL next season. The folks over at Blogging the Beast recently took the projected depth charts from Ourlads, a reliable source, and totaled the weights of all the front sevens . I'm not sure why they did this, but it is interesting nonetheless.

There was a somewhat unusual sight Monday night on the Ravens' sideline. Starting inside linebacker Jameel McClain was standing on the edge of the field, watching backup Dannell Ellerbe take the majority of the workload opposite middle linebacker Ray Lewis during a 44-13 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Signed to a three-year, $10.5 million contract in March, McClain hadn't been benched and he wasn't hurt. McClain was designated to play against obvious run formations with Ellerbe's extended playing time stemming from the Bengals' tendency to pass often.

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady won't soon forget Ravens backup inside linebacker Dannell Ellerbe . Ellerbe decked Brady in the first quarter, sacking him for a loss of 9 yards during the Ravens' 31-30 victory Sunday night at M&T Bank Stadium. And Ellerbe combined with defensive tackle Haloti Ngata to split a sack for a loss of 7 yards in the fourth quarter. "I always love to blitz when you get to come free," said Ellerbe, who finished with eight tackles and 1.5 sacks . "When the hole closes up on you, I don't like that.

Ravens inside linebacker Dannell Ellerbe laughed when he heard the question. Then he smiled. And then he smiled some more. "It feels good to roam around the yard," said Ellerbe, laughing. Ellerbe has been unleashed. After spending substantial time in head coach John Harbaugh's doghouse, suffering recurring injuries and changing defensive coordinators several times, Ellerbe seems to have found his niche in the defense. Remember, though, he has been in this situation before.

As the Ravens prepare to meet the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII on Feb. 3, Dannell Ellerbe was the only player to miss Thursday's practice. The starting inside linebacker is dealing with ankle and back injuries. Four players participated on a limited basis: defensive tackle Haloti Ngata (knee), tight end Dennis Pitta (thigh), wide receiver David Reed (hamstring) and cornerback Asa Jackson (hamstring). Fourteen players on the injury report fully practiced: outside linebackers Terrell Suggs (right Achilles tendon/torn right biceps)

Dannell Ellerbe thought about the question for a moment and then respectfully requested a minute to think about an appropriate answer. The truth was that it had been a long time since the Ravens' inside linebacker had last felt 100 percent, but he smiled when he finally recalled the day. "Oh, [it was] St. Louis last year," Ellerbe said following the Ravens' practice at Stevenson University. Ellerbe, 26, hurt his hamstring in the Ravens' Week 3 blowout of the Rams last season.

With their 2013 draft class in town for their rookie minicamp, the Ravens announced the jersey numbers that their 10 draft picks will wear. The Ravens rookies wore their new shiny jerseys Friday afternoon at The Castle. First-round pick Matt Elam will wear No. 31, the number that fellow safety Bernard Pollard wore for two years. Linebacker Arthur Brown, their second-round draft pick, will wear the No. 59 formerly worn by Dannell Ellerbe. The full list of draft pick jersey numbers: Matt Elam, S, No. 31 Arthur Brown, ILB, No. 59 Brandon Williams, NT, No. 98 John Simon, OLB, No. 47 Kyle Juszczyk, FB, No. 40 Ricky Wagner, G/T, No. 71 Kapron Lewis-Moore, DE, No. 67 Ryan Jensen, C, No. 77 Aaron Mellette, WR, No. 80 Marc Anthony, CB, No. 36

Troubled inside linebacker Rolando McClain informed Ravens officials Wednesday that he will retire from the NFL, a decision he reached before participating in one practice with his new team. McClain signed with the Ravens on April 12, was arrested just nine days later and then made the surprising decision Wednesday to call it quits on his playing career at the age of 23. Taken eighth overall by the Oakland Raiders in the 2010 draft, McClain played just three seasons, his career marred by on-field inconsistency and off-the-field legal issues.

Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome was having a great offseason as far as acquisitions and building the team, but the Ravens are embarrassed by linebacker Rolando McClain's announced retirement. The old mantra about "In Ozzie We Trust" should be changed to "In Ozzie We Trust, Most Of The Time. " The Ravens blew it on this one. They went out and signed a knucklehead who remained a knucklehead. At this point, we don't know why McClain retired at age 23, and to be honest, I'm afraid to ask. I really don't want to know, and I'm just glad he is out of here.

The Ravens could have as many as seven or eight new starters on defense when the 2013 season begins. You can produce a number of statistics that suggest why they may have felt compelled to overhaul their defense. Here is a good one: The Ravens whiffed on 87 tackles during the 2012 season, according to Football Outsiders. Aaron Schatz, who wrote about broken tackles in this recent post , explained that Football Outsiders define a broken tackle as one of two events: “either the ball-carrier escapes from the grasp of the defender, or the defender is in good position for a tackle but the ball-carrier jukes him out of his shoes.” Schatz added that “if the ball-carrier sped by a slow defender who dived and missed, that didn't count as a broken tackle.” Based on Football Outsiders' charting, done by more than two dozen people, only three NFL teams missed more tackles during the regular season.

With their 2013 draft class in town for their rookie minicamp, the Ravens announced the jersey numbers that their 10 draft picks will wear. The Ravens rookies wore their new shiny jerseys Friday afternoon at The Castle. First-round pick Matt Elam will wear No. 31, the number that fellow safety Bernard Pollard wore for two years. Linebacker Arthur Brown, their second-round draft pick, will wear the No. 59 formerly worn by Dannell Ellerbe. The full list of draft pick jersey numbers: Matt Elam, S, No. 31 Arthur Brown, ILB, No. 59 Brandon Williams, NT, No. 98 John Simon, OLB, No. 47 Kyle Juszczyk, FB, No. 40 Ricky Wagner, G/T, No. 71 Kapron Lewis-Moore, DE, No. 67 Ryan Jensen, C, No. 77 Aaron Mellette, WR, No. 80 Marc Anthony, CB, No. 36

Ravens Nation, you feel better about things, don't you? The great panic is officially over. Oh, it was rough there for a while, watching the Ravens clean house and get rid of the old guys and the locker-room lawyers and the over-valued players who somehow had other teams lobbing sacks of money at them. You looked around one day and everything had changed. Ray Lewis and Matt Birk retired. Then Anquan Boldin was gone and so was Paul Kruger and Dannell Ellerbe, Bernard Pollard and even Ed Reed.

The Baltimore sports scene is blessed with a bunch of talented bloggers who bring their unique perspective to the conversation. Each week, I hope to chat with one of them in a regular feature called Blogger on Blogger. This week, I exchanged emails with blogger Gordon McGuiness, who writes about the Ravens for Pro Football Focus and also contributes to Russell Street Report and the Purple Reign Show . MV: What are your thoughts on the team's 2013 draft class, specifically Matt Elam and Arthur Brown?

The most immediate beneficiary of the season-ending right triceps injury to inside linebacker Ray Lewis, Dannell Ellerbe - who is expected to make his first start of the season against the Houston Texans this Sunday - might feel inclined to try to do more. But Ellerbe said he's under no pressure to be the next Lewis. “I'm going to play the way I've been playing,” he said Thursday. “I'm not trying to fill the shoes of Ray Lewis. I'm not going to be able to do that. He's the greatest linebacker to ever play the game.

A sprained right ankle forced Marshal Yanda to snap a 44-consecutive starts streak dating back to Nov. 29, 2009. Whether the right guard can avoid back-to-back absences is a mystery. Yanda declined to put a percentage on his return for Sunday's regular-season home finale against the New York Giants and said he's unsure of his availability. “We'll see what happens,” he said prior to Wednesday's practice. “We're going to test it out this week and see how it feels.” Yanda, who was replaced in the Ravens' 34-17 loss to the Denver Broncos last Sunday, said he felt close to playing, but elected to avoid the risk of aggravating the sore ankle.

Here is what five national NFL analysts are saying about how the Ravens did in the 2013 NFL draft. --- Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN gave the Ravens an A-minus grade and said they did a good job addressing needs. “The Ravens needed to come out of this draft with an inside linebacker and a safety, and with their first two picks, they got two really good players at those positions. Matt Elam has played high-level football at Florida, can move around (particularly up to the line of scrimmage)

Eighteen years ago during their inaugural draft, the Ravens landed future Hall of Fame middle linebacker Ray Lewis late in the first round. It was a masterful selection, especially since there were questions surrounding Lewis at that time due to a lack of ideal size. Lewis wound up winning a pair of NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards, providing leadership for two Super Bowl championship teams. Now that Lewis has retired, the Ravens are tasked with replacing him to bolster an inside linebacker spot weakened by Dannell Ellerbe signing with the Miami Dolphins and Jameel McClain still not medically cleared from a spinal cord contusion.