Marvin Lewis

Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis said he won't meet with ownership until after the season to determine his future, but if the Bengals don't re-sign Lewis and he doesn't get another head coaching job, the Ravens should add him to their staff. Lewis is still highly regarded by Baltimore owner Steve Bisciotti and general manager Ozzie Newsome. He still maintains strong ties to the Baltimore community and visits the city often. But more importantly, Lewis is one of the NFL's best defensive minds even though the Bengals always seemed to struggle defensively during his eight years in Cincinnati.

When the NFL owners locked out the players last spring, what seemed like the end was just the beginning for the Cincinnati Bengals. With no offseason workouts, a shortened training camp and a roster depleted of former stars like quarterback Carson Palmer and receivers Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco, the Bengals appeared headed for another 4-12 season, or possibly worse. But on Sunday afternoon in Paul Brown Stadium, where the Bengals (9-6) host the Ravens (11-4), Cincinnati is one win away from becoming the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoffs.

CARLISLE, Pa. - The old, familiar walk is still there, the one where his head rocks from side to side like a bobblehead doll. He has on a baseball cap and the vintage plastic jacket, even though the on-field temperature is 116 degrees. Right before every snap, he strikes the familiar poses, either watching with his arms folded, or bending over with his hands on his knees. His son, Marcus, is always near. It must be training camp, and this must be Marvin Lewis. Only this year, after six seasons with the Ravens, Lewis is at Dickinson College as the defensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins.

Ed Reed was voted to his eighth Pro Bowl, but the Ravens free safety is mired in one of the toughest seasons of his 10-year career. Reed has collected just three interceptions thus far. He is on pace to record the fewest number of interceptions in a season which he has played all 16 regular-season games since 2002 and 2006 when he finished with five. His last interception occurred against the Cincinnati Bengals on Nov. 20, which is why Cincinnati coach and former Ravens defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis won't overlook Reed.

Ravens coach Ted Marchibroda said that he expects to retain all of his assistant coaches for the 1998 season and that he likes the way the defense has improved under second-year defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis.Ozzie Newsome, the team's vice president of player personnel, said the decision to fire or hire assistants was strictly Marchibroda's.The defense had been under scrutiny for nearly a year and a half in the Ravens' first two seasons in Baltimore. But since the defense was ranked No. 30 earlier in the season, the unit has progressed steadily.

Seven years into the remaking of the Cincinnati Bengals, Marvin Lewis' defense is finally a keeper. It took three different defensive coordinators, nine different starting middle linebackers and the first back-to-back losing seasons of the Lewis era in Cincinnati. The defense that the Bengals' head coach brings back to M&T Bank Stadium for Sunday's first-place showdown against the Ravens is almost certainly better than any of his Cincinnati predecessors'. Forget the numbers. Here's what you need to know: This Bengals defense can rush the passer; end Antwan Odom already has eight sacks this season.

Only a little more than a week into the search, the Ravens have confirmed what they already knew: Few of the candidates for the team's vacant coaching job have previous head-coaching experience. But what if the Ravens could get an established head coach in exchange for draft picks? Would they be willing to make the swap? "No, we're not at that point, not yet," Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said yesterday. But they could be soon, and one name that keeps popping up is Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, the Ravens defensive coordinator from 1996 through 2001.

Two years after Marvin Lewis forged a record-setting defense for the Super Bowl champion Ravens, the NFL's leading defensive mind is following a familiar script with the Washington Redskins. Big-play linebackers, shut-down cornerbacks and zone blitzes are a few of the calling cards. Controlling the line of scrimmage, winning third-down battles and forcing turnovers are the typical results. All eyes will focus on Steve Spurrier's provocative offense this season, but knowing minds will pay attention to Lewis' defense, because that's where the Redskins' best chance for success lies.

GEORGETOWN, Ky. - Here on the jagged edge of parity, Marvin Lewis is changing attitudes and mind-sets, practice routines and airplane seats. Nearly everything at the Cincinnati Bengals' Georgetown College training camp is under revision this summer, including the roster. If Lewis has his way as the team's new head coach, the bumbling Bengals also will obliterate their sorry reputation. The NFL's losingest team in the 1990s is finally serious about changing its dastardly stripes. So serious that Lewis has been ceded more control than any other Bengals coach since founding father Paul Brown stalked the sideline.

The old photograph of a young Marvin Lewis reveals a hint about a man who could become a head coach in the NFL.In the picture, taken when he was 9 and playing Pop Warner Football in McDonald, Pa., Lewis stands on the sideline, with his helmet off, head up, chin out, hands on hips. Clearly, this kid is not daydreaming. He stares intently at the field, as if anticipating the next play.The confident pose and thoughtful gaze suggest Lewis knows something the other boys don't."A lot of times, Marvin knew what I was going to do before I did. He was a good quarterback.

The Cincinnati Bengals' A.J. Green leads all rookie wide receivers in receptions (63) and yards (1,031) this season. Two Sundays ago, he caught six passes for 115 yards in the team's 20-13 win against the St. Louis Rams. But during that victory, Green sprained the AC joint in his right shoulder - an injury that may have contributed to his two-catch, 25-yard outing in Sunday's 23-16 win against the Arizona Cardinals. Green did not play in the Nov. 20 meeting between the Bengals and Ravens because of a hyperextended right knee, and coach Marvin Lewis conceded that the shoulder injury has limited Green's effectiveness.

Cincinnati Bengals running back Cedric Benson has been one of the more successful opponents of the Ravens', becoming in 2009 the first tailback since Jerome Bettis in 1996 to gain more than 100 yards twice against the Ravens in the same season. This year, Benson is one of the NFL leaders in a dubious category: fumbles. Benson is tied for second in fumbles by a running back with five. Only the Jacksonville Jaguars' Maurice Jones-Drew has fumbled more times (six). All of five of Benson's fumbles have occurred in the Bengals' past two games.

It's tempting to look at the possibility that Ray Lewis will be sidelined for Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals and wonder if the Ravens are mentally tough enough to take care of business at this very important juncture in the season. It's also tempting to consider the point where Lewis is in his amazing career and wonder how long he can keep fooling Father Time. Of course, as John Harbaugh pointed out on Friday, we're talking about Ray Lewis, which means that none of the age-appropriate physical standards apply, and we're talking about the Ravens, who are about as emotionally predictable as a teenager on prom night.

Marvin Lewis and Mike Smith talk nearly every week, discussing football and family and continuing a friendship that started more than a decade ago in Baltimore while coaching a championship defense. Jim Schwartz, who brags about having the lowest phone bill in the NFL, mostly waits until the offseason scouting combines to catch up with his former colleagues and reminisce about a time where a group of tireless assistants spent hours discussing game plans, evaluating players and trading ideas For Jack Del Rio, it is a picture across his desk of three of his former pupils - linebackers Ray Lewis, Peter Boulware and Jamie Sharper - that provides an everyday reminder of his time in Baltimore.

It's funny watching all the drama surrounding 12-time Pro Bowl linebacker Ray Lewis' playing status for Sunday. Lewis is listed as questionable for the game, but there won't be a decision until Lewis makes the final call himself.  Because over at The Castle, there are the Ravens and then there are Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. But everybody lives in "Ray's World," as former defensive coordinator Mike Nolan used to call it. Lewis has missed the past two days of practice with a foot injury, and there is speculation a toe injury might sideline him for several games, including Sunday's tilt with the Bengals.

After surrendering 109 yards to Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, the Ravens rush defense gets another difficult assignment in Cincinnati Bengals tailback Cedric Benson. Benson's 593 yards this season rank a modest 14th in the NFL, but he has gained more yards on the ground than the Ravens' own Ray Rice (559 yards). And two years ago, Benson became the first back since the Miami Dolphins' Ricky Williams (2002-2003) to gain more than 100 yards in consecutive meetings against the Ravens.

Mike Nolan, the new caretaker of the Ravens' defense, is not so engrossed in his job that he can't appreciate the humor of his situation. "Right now," said Nolan with a chuckle, "we'd be running a 2-4." As in two defensive lineman and four linebackers, one fewer lineman than in the 3-4 formation Nolan plans to implement this year. The Ravens released three starters for salary cap purposes and lost four others. With only 13 defensive players under contract going into this weekend's NFL draft, Nolan's task of replacing Marvin Lewis has become substantially more difficult.

Kicking off -- BENGALS -- After giving up 29 or more points in four of his past six games, Marvin Lewis had better find a defense quick.

Prior to this season, the prevailing thought was that the Pittsburgh Steelers were the mountain that Joe Flacco had yet to conquer. That has obviously changed after the quarterback led the Ravens to their first regular-season sweep of the Steelers since 2006. But maybe the focus should have been on a different AFC North rival. In six career meetings against the Cincinnati Bengals — the Ravens' opponent this Sunday — Flacco has endured some of the poorest outings in his career.

The Cincinnati Bengals will meet the Ravens Sunday without wide receivers Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens . That, however, doesn't make the task any easier for the Ravens defense. On--field antics and chatter could be non-existent without Ochocinco ( bone spur in left ankle) and Owens (torn meniscus in left knee), but the Ravens insist that Andre Caldwell , Jerome Simpson and slot receiver Jordan Shipley are worthy adversaries. "You know, he and Owens are both great wide receivers," defensive coordinator Greg Mattison said Thursday.