Linebacker

No one on the Ravens is saying linebacker Adalius Thomas and fullback Ovie Mughelli are replaceable. But the team did its best yesterday to find their potential successors at those positions on the second day of the NFL draft. With their first pick of the day - No. 35 in the fourth round and 134th overall - the Ravens selected linebacker-defensive end Antwan Barnes of Florida International. Three slots later, the team took fullback Le'Ron McClain of Alabama. The club also added Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith with the final pick of the fifth round (174th overall)

When Navy linebacker Ram Vela took a flying leap over a Notre Dame blocking back with less than a minute to go in regulation of Navy's 46-44, triple overtime victory last Saturday, he became a YouTube star and a role model for an NFL linebacker. It isn't what he planned. "I just wanted to make the play," Vela said. "I had missed a sack [by inches] earlier in the game. I felt like I'd let the whole team down. I thought I had lost the game for us and the weight of the world was on my shoulders."

About a month ago, the Ravens revealed a new philosophy at the end-of-the-season news conference in which they stated they wouldn't mortgage the future for the present. Yesterday, they stayed with that approach, basically allowing Pro Bowl outside linebacker Adalius Thomas to become an unrestricted free agent. The Ravens had until 4 p.m. yesterday to put the franchise tag on Thomas or allow him to begin negotiating with other teams next Friday, and they chose to let Thomas test his value.

Cornell Brown has been warming up for this chance for two seasons and three training camps. And if the tender right shoulder of outside linebacker Peter Boulware fails to hold up this season, Brown could find himself confronting the biggest moment of his young career.Brown could be a starter."I'm just waiting for the challenge," Brown said after yesterday's dramatic 28-24 victory over the New York Giants in the preseason finale."A lot of great players make their mark by getting the chance that maybe I might receive.

COLLEGE PARK -- Imagine this.Aaron Thompson was just seven games into his collegiate football career at Maryland when he returned to Mount St. Joseph last fall for a homecoming game and received the royal treatment.The lean and muscular linebacker was not only given a standing ovation during the game against St. Mary's, but they played an old song to honor the athlete simply known as "Train" in high school."Come on, Ride That Train," sang the Squad City DJs in a replay of a record Thompson almost wore out at St. Joe three years ago, when he was one of the most prolific running backs in state high school history.

Quarterbacks -- C -- Tony Banks and Stoney Case played reasonable well considering the team's poor field position. It's hard to be effective when the average drive starts at your 19-yard line against the No. 1 defense in the league. But Ravens coach Brian Billick should take a few more chances with Banks and let him throw downfield more.Running backs -- C- -- Errict Rhett had 50 yards on 19 carries, but there weren't many holes. The Ravens' running game suffered when fullback Chuck Evans had to leave in the first half with elbow and triceps injuries.

D -- QuarterbacksStoney Case was mediocre but he didn't get a lot of practice time last week. He moved the team and threw for a game-tying touchdown, but his arm strength, particularly on out patterns, is questionable. Scott Mitchell was inaccurate and hasn't been in sync for the first two games. His feet look very slow in the pocket. He brings the overall grade down.C -- ReceiversActually, they caught the ball when Mitchell and Case got it to them. Qadry Ismail turned in another strong effort, but Jermaine Lewis has to do a better job of getting away from the defense when chucked at the line of scrimmage when he is in the slot.

COLLEGE PARK -- When Aaron Thompson walked out of the Maryland locker room Saturday night to meet his family and friends, he truly realized how much fun it could be playing major college football close to home."

The spotlight was cast on Ravens safety Ralph Staten last year. This year it seems like deja vu all over again.Staten, the Ravens' seventh-round draft selection in 1997 out of Alabama, began last season on the bench, but he was the starting strong safety in the final three games, replacing an injured Stevon Moore.Staten began this season as a reserve, practicing with the second team at training camp. Then on Tuesday, Moore suffered a dislocated shoulder on the last play of practice, thrusting Staten into the spotlight again.

Nobody has ever accused Ravens rookie linebacker Ron Rogers of not going full speed, even when he wasn't supposed to.Rogers always has given his all playing football, so much so that coach George O'Leary had to kick him out of Georgia Tech practices for leveling teammates during drills."

Brendon Ayanbadejo, a three-time Pro Bowl player for his achievements on special teams, had no doubts he could contribute on both defense and special teams. Convincing his coaches required a little more effort. "I always believed in myself, but I knew it was going to take a coach to back me up and support me and believe in my skills," Ayanbadejo said. "Obviously, it did take awhile. I just told coaches: 'Give me a chance. Just put me in there, and you can't just throw me in for one play and you can't just throw me in for two plays.

Adalius Thomas hasn't worn a Ravens jersey in three years, but there are times when his former teammates can still envision the linebacker - who now plays for the New England Patriots - running on their side of the line. "I always wish he was on my team," Ravens free safety Ed Reed said Wednesday. "We don't have that multitalented guy moving around on our field like we used to." Outside linebacker-defensive end Terrell Suggs conceded that he misses Thomas. "He was like my mentor when I got here, he and Bart [Scott]

Many people are saying that Shawne Merriman is back. The San Diego Chargers' outside linebacker insists he never left. "People are always going to forget everything," Merriman said during a conference call Wednesday. "My thing is to come out and do the things I do best, and that's better than saying, 'Look, I can do this or I can do that.' We've got a game Sunday, and people will sit back and watch." The former Maryland star played Monday night in his first game in nearly a year - a 24-20 win over the Oakland Raiders - after undergoing knee surgery and missing most of last season.

Imagine Jarret Johnson's consternation the day the Ravens made him a linebacker. He had just spent the offseason bulking up to 280 pounds to win a job at defensive tackle. The team had just lost Anthony Weaver to free agency. A starting position was on the line in the summer of 2006. Then, at the start of camp, the Ravens told him he was a linebacker. "I freaked. I was like, 'Are you serious?' " Johnson remembers. As improbable as a move from defensive tackle to linebacker was, it was the best thing that ever happened to Johnson's blue-collar career.

The Ravens have so much depth at linebacker that the competition for a backup position is just as intense as for earning a starting spot. It has gotten fierce on the inside, where second-year player Tavares Gooden appears to be a starter but is being challenged by Jameel McClain, also in his second year, and rookie free-agent linebacker Dannell Ellerbe. There is one other linebacker. His name is Prescott Burgess. In his third year out of Michigan, the 6-foot-3, 247-pound Burgess has played well running with both the first and second teams at various times at inside and outside linebacker.

Jason Cook has no illusions about his role with the Ravens. Sure, the rookie fullback would like to touch the football, but Cook also understands that his primary responsibility is opening holes for running backs and keeping quarterbacks upright. "Getting the ball every once in a while is nice, but if my role is to solely block, then I'm A-OK with that," he said. "I bring another body, another hardhat that's willing to go in there and hit. But ultimately, it's whatever they need me to be. Whatever Coach Cam [Cameron]

Even before the Ravens took the practice field, Paul Kruger had broken a sweat. During the team's series of offseason camps in May and June, special teams practice began at about 10:15 a.m. But 30 minutes prior, Kruger joined fellow defensive end-outside linebacker hybrid William VanDeSteeg for a private tutoring session with defensive coordinator Greg Mattison. "It's just an opportunity to get better," Kruger said. "If coach is willing to spend more time with us, that's more time for us to use his teaching tools and just get better.

In a dream perhaps only he could see, linebacker Moise Fokou is poised to complete an improbable journey from NCAA Division III football to the NFL. Fokou, a native of Cameroon and a two-year starter at Maryland, takes another step down that road today when he participates in the Terps' annual pro day with 23 teammates in College Park. Unlike wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, who is trying to improve his position as a prospective first-round draft pick, Fokou, 23, is simply trying to impress a team enough to get drafted.

Ravens Nation breathed a collective sigh of relief this week with the signing of linebacker Ray Lewis to a three-year, $22 million contract. Not only has he been a dominant force on defense since his arrival in 1996, but his importance as a leader on the field extends far beyond his pregame dance. He's not only the straw that stirs the drink, he's the high-speed blender that has turned a talented collection of players into a formidable force. In the era of free agency, it's rare that a star player remains with a single team for his whole career.

Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo calls linebacker Ross Pospisil "a meek person, a humble person." First-year inside linebackers coach Steve Johns says of Pospisil, "He's a nice kid." But Johns is quick to qualify his remark by separating Pospisil's personality from his on-field persona. "He's a tough kid," Johns said earlier this week. "He's not a pushover. Don't mistake his kindness for being soft or anything like that." Wake Forest certainly won't when the Demon Deacons play the Midshipmen tomorrow in the inaugural EagleBank Bowl at RFK Stadium in Washington.