Dawan Landry

It was like going to a new school for the first time, only Dawan Landry came into Jacksonville with his status already set. He was coming in to start, to be a part of Jacksonville's great defensive rebuild. "I was kind of nervous, not knowing what to expect," Landry said. " ... The whole organization welcomed me with open arms. Have a lot of players willing to learn and coaches that's willing to [listen to players]. " Landry brought leadership and veteran safety experience -- something that was lacking last year -- to the Jaguars' secondary.

1. Chuck Pagano's done such a nice job this year, it might be hard to keep him in Baltimore in 2012. But if the Ravens make a deep run in the playoffs, he's going to be a hot candidate for a number of head coaching positions. And he deserves to be. Before we talk about Pagano, a quick word about Greg Mattison. I stuck up for Mattison more than most during his three years as the Ravens defensive coordinator. For a long time, I thought Ravens fans blamed him unfairly for a ton of personnel gaffes.

In just his first season in the NFL, Dawan Landry led all rookies in interceptions with five, finished fifth on the team in tackles with 89, and earned a spot on the All-Rookie team. Already, the strong safety from Georgia Tech has been tabbed by teammates Ed Reed and Bart Scott as the next Raven to earn an invitation to the Pro Bowl. What did you want to improve on in the offseason? After last season, [secondary coach Dennis Thurman] wanted each of us guys to get 10 percent better. So we tried to get 10 percent better on everything.

If you ask John Harbaugh, it's a little early to fully evaluate the series of front-office decisions that reconfigured the Ravens roster and put the team in excellent position to earn a high seed for the coming postseason. True enough, there are five regular-season games left and the Ravens have taught us not to take teams like the Cleveland Browns for granted, but there can be no denying that the they are one of the top teams in the AFC once again — and they are far better positioned for the long term than they were a year ago. That's no small thing when you look back on the 2010 season.

Rookie strong safety Dawan Landry has validated the Ravens' decision to invest a fifth-round choice on the Georgia Tech alumnus by posting 89 tackles, five interceptions (including returning one for a touchdown), three sacks and 13 passes defensed, according to statistics kept by the Ravens. Landry's interception and sack totals are tops among all NFL rookies, and Cincinnati Bengals safety Kevin Kaesviharn is the only defensive back in the league with more interceptions (six) and sacks (four)

OFFENSE Passing yards 1. Joe Flacco: 3622 2. Sam Koch: 13 3. Anquan Boldin: -6 Passing touchdowns 1. Joe Flacco: 25 Rushing yards 1. Ray Rice: 1220 2. Willis McGahee: 380 3. Le'Ron McClain: 85 4. Joe Flacco: 84 5. Donte' Stallworth: 45 Rushing touchdowns T1. Willis McGahee: 5 T1. Ray Rice: 5 3. Joe Flacco: 1 Receiving yards 1. Anquan Boldin: 837...

INTERCEPTION HIGHWAY The defense jumped all over quarterbacks Brian St. Pierre and Drew Olson. Safety Jamaine Winborne intercepted St. Pierre twice, and cornerback Chris McAlister and linebacker Dennis Haley picked off Olson. Linebacker Ray Lewis nearly snatched another pass by Olson, but the ball slipped through Lewis' hands. TEMPER, TEMPER Linebacker Gary Stills and running back B.J. Dean scuffled during an 11-on-11 drill, which ended with Stills throwing Dean to the ground. Coach Brian Billick warned both players before things got out of hand, and the tension quickly dissipated.

Bears TE Greg Olsen vs. Ravens safeties Dawan Landry and Tom Zbikowski Olsen, a third-year player, has 463 yards on 51 completions. He is Jay Cutler's primary target in the middle of the field. Either Landry or Zbikowski will be responsible for the deep third of the field, but the other can't allow Olsen to roam the middle on short- to mid-range routes. Edge: Olsen: Bears CB Charles Tillman vs. Ravens WR Derrick Mason Tillman usually plays the left side in the Cover 2 scheme, but the Bears have been lining him up against the top receiver when necessary.

Ravens 37, Panthers 13 Fourth quarter: 4:48 Baltimore Touchdown - Brian St. Pierre pass intercepted by Ray Lewis at the Carolina 24 for 24 yards. (Billy Cundiff extra point is good). Ravens 30, Panthers 13 Fourth quarter: 4:59 Baltimore Touchdown - Brian St. Pierre pass intercepted by Ed Reed at the Carolina 42 lateral to Dawan Landry at the Carolina 22 for 22 yards. (Billy Cundiff extra point is good). Ravens 23, Panthers 13 Fourth quarter: 5:55 Baltimore Field Goal - 49-yarder by Billy Cundiff.

The Ravens reached deals with four more draft picks - including offensive lineman Chris Chester (second round) and cornerback David Pittman (third) - to continue one of the strongest signing flurries in team history. With eight picks signed or under an agreement in principle, the Ravens have only two draft picks left to get under contract before the team reports to training camp Thursday: Defensive tackle Haloti Ngata (first round) and receiver Demetrius Williams (fourth). Besides Chester and Pittman, who got a $490,000 signing bonus, the Ravens agreed to terms with safety Dawan Landry (fifth)

Starting strong safety Tom Zbikowski was listed as doubtful for the Ravens' contest against the Jacksonville Jaguars Monday night. Zbikowski, who is dealing with symptoms stemming from the concussion he sustained in the Ravens' 17-point win against the New York Jets on Oct. 2, returned to practice Saturday after sitting out Friday's session. Zbikowski, who practiced on a limited basis Thursday, still has not been cleared for contact, according to coach John Harbaugh. The team added starting wide receiver Lee Evans (left ankle)

It was like going to a new school for the first time, only Dawan Landry came into Jacksonville with his status already set. He was coming in to start, to be a part of Jacksonville's great defensive rebuild. "I was kind of nervous, not knowing what to expect," Landry said. " ... The whole organization welcomed me with open arms. Have a lot of players willing to learn and coaches that's willing to [listen to players]. " Landry brought leadership and veteran safety experience -- something that was lacking last year -- to the Jaguars' secondary.

The Ravens got some good news on the injury front. Starting outside linebacker Jarret Johnson and rookie cornerback Jimmy Smith participated fully in Friday's practice. Johnson had sat out Thursday's session with a lingering back ailment, but he has played in 118 consecutive games, which ranks as the longest streak in Ravens history and the fourth-longest active streak in the NFL. Smith, who hasn't played since suffering a high left ankle sprain in the season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept.

Dawan Landry saw the writing on the wall. After the Ravens locked up kicker Billy Cundiff and punter Sam Koch to long-term deals and with the organization seeking to extend contracts with defensive tackle Haloti Ngata and right guard Marshal Yanda, Landry, a strong safety who had started for the team since being drafted in the fifth round in 2006, understood that he wasn't going to be a high priority in the offseason. That's why Landry - who agreed to a five-year, $27.5 million deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Ravens' opponent on Monday night - said he wasn't disappointed that the organization didn't make a stronger effort to retain him. “No, not really, because I knew at the same time they had a lot of guys up [for a new contract]

It wasn't a total renovation, but the Ravens began to rebuild on the fly as soon as the NFL lockout ended in July. One of three teams that have made at least three straight playoff appearances (the Colts and Eagles are the others), the Ravens quickly cut ties with veterans such as Todd Heap, Derrick Mason, Kelly Gregg and Willis McGahee, leaving some fans looking for explanations and others looking for new jerseys to buy. In an attempt to get younger, more explosive and, well, better than the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Ravens then turned to draft picks from April's NFL draft and young players who have been waiting in the wings.

Tom Zbikowski has outlasted Bernard Pollard and is primed to start at strong safety in the Ravens' season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.  Zbikowski, the organization's third-round pick in 2008, is listed to start alongside free safety Ed Reed on the team's depth chart, and both Zbikowski and Pollard confirmed the hierarchy Thursday. “That's what we're looking to see,” Zbikowski said, carefully choosing his words. “We've got plenty of packages. We'll be rolling in and out. That's not necessarily what's going to be happening the entire game or the entire season.

Ravens' secondary vs. Bengals' receivers George Kokinis, the Ravens' pro personnel director, sizes up tonight's critical matchup against the Bengals: The players With three former Pro Bowl players in the secondary, the Ravens have the ninth-best pass defense in the NFL. Only one quarterback (the Carolina Panthers' Jake Delhomme) has thrown for 300 yards against the Ravens this season. The starting defensive backfield (cornerbacks Chris McAlister and Samari Rolle and safeties Ed Reed and Dawan Landry)

Baltimore is blessed with a bunch of talented sports bloggers who bring their unique perspective to the conversation. I often link up to these local writers in my morning Coffee Companion posts, but instead of just exchanging anti-social links with them, I have decided to be slightly less anti-social by exchanging emails with them in a somewhat regular feature called Blogger on Blogger. With the NFL regular season less than three weeks away, it's time to check in with one of our local Ravens bloggers, Chris Stoner, who writes the Baltimore Sports and Life blog . The blog isn't limited to the Ravens, though.

It was a throw-away line at the end of Tom Zbikowski's six-minute session with the media Friday, but it said everything you need to know about the camaraderie inside the Ravens locker room. Asked if the open competition with close friend Haruki Nakamura for the strong safety position was awkward, Zbikowski said in his best deadpan voice, "Yeah, there is a lot of tension. Our friendship is pretty much over. " Everyone listening knew immediately Zbikowski was joking, as did Nakamura, who was waiting his turn at the microphone.