Lamarr Woodley

The Ravens listed defensive tackle Haloti Ngata as probable for Sunday night's showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The two-time Pro Bowl selection was limited in practice Friday after sitting out sessions on Wednesday and Thursday with what the team described as a thigh injury. Center Matt Birk (neck) and cornerback Danny Gorrer (thigh) joined Ngata among the probables. Both were upgraded to full participation Friday after being limited Wednesday and Thursday. Left guard Ben Grubbs (strained ligaments in right toe)

Have you been wondering why folks around the football world have been talking about Joe Flacco so much (so much that I could put together this sizable photo gallery of Flacco backers and attackers )? Well, Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs has a good explanation: There is nothing else to talk about during the NFL lockout. “Everybody’s bored. We all love football. We all miss it and we need to get back to it,” Suggs told Jerry Coleman on FOX 1370’s “Sports with Coleman” on Wednesday . “When you’re bored, stuff like that gets said.” Suggs has been staying busy will his film production company, Team Sizzle Worldwide, and was recently at the Cannes Film Festival.

This offseason has been open season on Joe Flacco, as a handful of opposing players and national media have questioned his ability to quarterback the Ravens to a Super Bowl. But Flacco fired back at one of his critics over the weekend, saying that Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley “doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” Two weeks ago, Woodley said Flacco will never win a Super Bowl “ in this lifetime .” While it is annoying, it’s understandable that Woodley feels that way because the Ravens have to go through the Steelers for Flacco to do it. But apparently Woodley’s comments have hit a nerve with the fourth-year Ravens quarterback.

Linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo wasn't the only athlete stunned by a letter from a Maryland politician urging the Ravens to silence the outspoken Ayanbadejo due to his support for same-sex marriage. In an open response to the letter written by Maryland Del. Emmett C. Burns Jr., a Democrat from Baltimore County, Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe wrote that he was "ashamed and disgusted" by Burns' views and characterized the delegate as "mind-bogglingly stupid. " In an expletive-laden letter posted on sports blog Deadspin , Kluwe - who has been similarly vocal to Ayanbadejo as a proponent for gay marriage - took particular issue with Burns' assertion that political views have "no place in a sport.

Left guard Ben Grubbs, defensive tackle Haloti Ngata and center Matt Birk are active for the Ravens' clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday night at Heinz Field. Grubbs has not played since the season opener against the Steelers on Sept. 11 after straining ligaments in a toe on his right foot. He was limited in all three practices this past week and had been listed as questionable. If Grubbs is active, it's anticipated that he will start at left guard for Andre Gurode, who had made five consecutive starts at that position.

The Ravens face a major uphill battle Sunday against the Steelers, one I'm not sure they can overcome. In previous games the last couple of years, you could make an argument for either team winning. But on Sunday, the Ravens have a lot of new faces. They're young in the secondary with cornerbacks Jimmy Smith and Cary Williams and at tight end with Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta. They also have a new receiver in Lee Evans and backup running back in Ricky Williams. But the area of most concern is the offensive line, which just hasn't had time to work together.

Every morning, Monday through Friday, blogger Matt Vensel will hook you up with reading material -- mostly on the Ravens but with some other Baltimore sports stuff, too -- to skim through as you slug down coffee and slack off at the start of your workday. That way he'll have an excuse to do the same to start his workday, too. RUNNING IT BACK Ravens free safety Ed Reed won his appeal Tuesday and will be allowed to play Sunday against the San Diego Chargers, though he was still slapped with a $50,000 fine.

Because doing a full, 32-team list of power rankings is too much work for a Monday afternoon, I will rank the top 11 teams in the NFL after each exciting football Sunday (that's where the "first and 10" comes in). Here's the balance of power heading into Monday night's Week 11 finale between the Patriots and Chiefs: 1. Packers: Green Bay is so good, they are toying with opponents. DT B.J. Raji had a one-yard TD on Sunday. 2. 49ers: If Ray Lewis is out Thanksgiving night, too, Frank Gore and the 49ers might run all over the Ravens.

So this is what you get when you put the two best teams in the AFC North on the same field on the same cold night for the benefit of a national prime-time audience: The standard Steelers-Ravens riot, 60 frantic minutes of mayhem, few of them approaching actual, you know, competence. This version included 18 penalties, three fumbles, seven sacks, and the strong suggestion that anyone wondering if the conference has a truly elite team should watch the New England Patriots-New York Jets game tonight.

The Ravens beat the Pittsburgh Steelers two months ago on the arm of Joe Flacco. Based on how other teams have won against the Steelers, the Ravens probably need to do this again. Since the Ravens delivered a comeback victory at Pittsburgh, the New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots have provided some blueprints to upend the Steelers. Both involve attacking Pittsburgh's pass defense. In a 20-10 win over the Steelers, the Saints spread out Pittsburgh with three wide receivers and quarterback Drew Brees threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns.