Nose Tackle

Here's what's different from when the Ravens smashed Miami by two touchdowns in October: Jason Ferguson is healthy at nose tackle, anchoring the middle of the defensive line that was pushed around. Here's what's different: Quarterback Chad Pennington is the bandleader of an offense that knows what it needs to do now. Here's what's different: The Dolphins aren't a team digging out from the rubble of its 1-15 season in 2007. It's a team that has won nine of its past 10 games. It's a team that conquered the AFC East.

COLLEGE PARK -- The stretch run is here for the Maryland football team, and senior nose tackle Delbert Cowsette seems more than ready to lead the charge.Strong finishes have always been Cowsette's style at Maryland.He finally broke away from all the double teams this season to rack up three sacks Saturday in a 45-7 pounding of North Carolina, after being held to one sack in the first six games.The mostly silent 6-foot-1, 274-pound player said he might even do some trash-talking on the way to the finish line, where he hopes a bowl bid will be awaiting the Terps.

SAN DIEGO -- If there is one thing Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway has discovered in his three Super Bowl losses, it's that a team needs a running game to be successful.The Broncos have a running game this time, for Super Bowl XXXII, but the opponent is the Green Bay Packers.No sweat. Here's some advice for Denver: Don't abandon the running game early and run away from nose tackle Gilbert Brown."I think we're all -- I'm talking about coaches -- pretty much in agreement that Gilbert Brown is the best pure run-stopper in football," said Broncos coach Mike Shanahan.

COLLEGE PARK -- The Melvin Fowler story could have been a big hit this season if the Maryland football team had played a better supporting role with more wins.But still Fowler has won the hearts of his coaches and teammates by doing what is supposed to be nearly impossible at the major college level.In just 10 days, Fowler made a remarkable transformation from a nose tackle to a competent starting center on a patched-up offensive line.In the second game of the season against 12th-ranked Virginia, the 6-foot-3, 267-pound redshirt freshman stunned the experts by leading the blocking on several big running plays against the vaunted Cavaliers defense.

NEW ORLEANS -- The Green Bay Packers have the NFL's No. 1 defense because they have the league Most Valuable Player in nose tackle Gilbert Brown, according to several Packers.One player who may not disagree is New England Patriots center Dave Wohlabaugh, who must try to block Brown onSunday in Super Bowl XXXI."The guy is pretty huge, and what impresses me most is his lateral movement," said Wohlabaugh. "This guy engages in contact, gets off a block and into the flow. He has that rare blend of size and athleticism."

James Jones recorded only one tackle in yesterday's 31-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the contributions of the 6-foot-2, 290-pound nose tackle go deeper than the stat sheet.Jones spent most of the day tying up Pittsburgh All-Pro center Dermontti Dawson, and freeing up linebackers like Ray Lewis (eight tackles) and Mike Caldwell (six) to contain Steelers running back Jerome Bettis. After rushing for 57 yards in the opening quarter, Bettis was held to 48 yards the rest of the way.Jones also had to fight through a rough second half, after he suffered an ankle injury during the Steelers' opening possession early in the third quarter.

When Baltimore challenges the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for first place in the CFL's Eastern Division Saturday, it will shuffle its defensive deck.Free safety Michael Brooks, who played the second half of Saturday's 48-31 win over the B.C. Lions with a broken right hand, is out.Nose tackle Jearld Baylis, who left the Memorial Stadium on crutches, is doubtful this week with a partial tear of his right calf.And linebacker Ken Benson, who had a sack against B.C., was to have the metal plate removed from his previously broken right ankle because three screws came loose.

Four months after Baltimore formally was annexed into the Canadian Football League, it's time for another milestone.Four weeks after the CFL Colts first assembled as a football team, it's time to play a game.Tackling the unknown and the Louisiana heat, the Colts mark their CFL debut against the expansion Shreveport Pirates tonight at 8:30 in an exhibition opener at Independence Stadium.It's not a minute too soon.Not for marquee quarterback Tracy Ham, who is eager to go against a defense that doesn't recognize his audibles.

Looking goodThere was something to savor for everyone in the CFL Colts' scripted intrasquad scrimmage at York, Pa. yesterday:* Running back Mike Pringle ran for two touchdowns in the no-tackle workout, one for 60 yards. Quarterbacks Tracy Ham (13-for-20) and John Congemi ( 17-for-33, 2 interceptions) had their moments in the passing game, too.* The defense picked off three more passes, including one that veteran cornerback Karl Anthony returned for a touchdown four plays into the mock game.

More than a few football coaches have been known to look to the heavens and thank their lucky stars when they catch a break, no matter how small.Jim Margraff is certainly entitled because, thanks to the Johns Hopkins Space Consortium, the Blue Jays coach caught a 1990 first-team All-Metro defensive lineman from Poly -- Jelani Rucker.Normally in Division III, where there are no athletic scholarships, a coach must recruit an athlete, then get him into school and scramble to put together a financial aid package for him. Rucker, in a reverse twist of the recruiting process, almost fell out of the sky onto Homewood Field.

With an electric offense and a dominant run defense, the Ravens probably didn't need any help starting 3-0. But they received it anyway. Injuries to other teams' starters have been one of the reasons the Ravens sit atop the AFC North. In the season opener, the Kansas City Chiefs played without their quarterback (Matt Cassel) and a cornerback (Brandon Flowers). In Week 2, the San Diego Chargers didn't have their running back (LaDainian Tomlinson), two offensive linemen (Nick Hardwick and Louis Vasquez)

SAN DIEGO - - Nose tackle Jamal Williams was placed on injured reserve Saturday, which means the San Diego Chargers will be without two starting defensive linemen against the Ravens. Williams suffered an elbow injury during Monday night's victory over the Oakland Raiders and had been listed as questionable on the team's injury report. The move ends Williams' season. He will join defensive end Travis Johnson (groin) on the sideline, leaving San Diego with only one defensive tackle (Ogemdi Nwagbuo)

Ravens Man indicted in gun sale to McNair's mistress A convicted felon accused of selling the gun used to kill former NFL quarterback Steve McNair has been indicted on a firearm charge. A federal grand jury in Nashville, Tenn., on Wednesday charged Adrian J. Gilliam Jr. with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Gilliam, of La Vergne, Tenn., is accused of selling a loaded 9 mm pistol to McNair's mistress, Sahel Kazemi, for $100 two days before McNair was shot. Laurel Park Heros Reward main attraction in Saturday's Mister Diz Heros Reward, who in his last start became the 19th Maryland-bred millionaire with a second-place finish in the Grade III Jaipur Stakes at Belmont Park, returns home to headline the $50,000 Mister Diz Stakes at Laurel Park, a 5 1/2-furlong turf test Saturday.

Depth at the defensive tackle position might have some observers thinking that Brandon McKinney is on the outside looking in. But McKinney, who was signed by the Ravens on Oct. 8 after he was released by the San Diego Chargers, said he is eager to become a major contributor now that he has been a part of the defense for almost 10 months. The Ravens signed McKinney to a three-year deal in February. "That makes me want to come out and work harder and work on my technique and get the defense down pat," he said.

Kelly Gregg attacked his offseason knee rehabilitation with single-minded devotion - scuttling through all the minicamps, pressing all that iron, going deep into therapy without mishap. But the moment of truth - the moment the Ravens knew their Buddha-like nose tackle was back - came one morning at practice when they saw him perform his ritualistic frog jump. "He squats down like a frog almost, with his hands on his knees," said defensive tackle Trevor Pryce, "and he bounces up and down, three or four bounces to squat his weight.

Here's what's different from when the Ravens smashed Miami by two touchdowns in October: Jason Ferguson is healthy at nose tackle, anchoring the middle of the defensive line that was pushed around. Here's what's different: Quarterback Chad Pennington is the bandleader of an offense that knows what it needs to do now. Here's what's different: The Dolphins aren't a team digging out from the rubble of its 1-15 season in 2007. It's a team that has won nine of its past 10 games. It's a team that conquered the AFC East.

Kelly Gregg will have microfracture surgery on his left knee today, ending the season for the Ravens nose tackle, his agent said last night. A starter since the 2002 season, Gregg likely won't be cleared to return until offseason workouts in May or June, agent Jack Bechta said. "It wasn't responding to anything," said Bechta, who first reported the story on the Web site nationalfootballpost.com. "He knew it was time to move on." A phone call to a Ravens spokesman was not returned last night.

Ravens run offense vs. Browns run defense: : Willis McGahee, who isn't listed on the injury report, is expected to play in his first game, but the Ravens have yet to define his role. The Ravens probably will go with a running back by committee that will include rookie Ray Rice and fullback-tailback Le'Ron McClain. The key matchup is Ravens center Jason Brown against Cleveland nose tackle Shaun Rogers, one of the most dominant interior linemen in the NFL. In two games, the Browns have allowed 4.6 yards per carry and three touchdowns on the ground.

Ravens nose tackle Kelly Gregg vs. Bengals running back Rudi Johnson George Kokinis, the Ravens' pro personnel director, sizes up a critical matchup against the Bengals: The players Gregg, cut by the Bengals and Eagles before joining the Ravens' practice squad in 2000, has been a starter since 2002. He has had at least 89 tackles each season and ranks fourth on the team in tackles (44) this year. He also has forced a fumble and recovered two others. Johnson broke the Bengals' season rushing record in 2005, gaining 1,458 yards.

Today, 4:05 p.m.--Cleveland Browns Stadium--Chs. 13, 9 -- Line: Ravens by 6 1/2 Ravens run offense vs. Browns run defense The Browns have struggled against the run this season, giving up more than 150 yards on the ground against the New Orleans Saints and Cincinnati Bengals. But much of the Bengals' yards were gained when Cleveland was not playing 365-pound nose tackle Ted Washington, who will make it tough for the Ravens to run inside. Ravens running back Jamal Lewis has not gotten on track yet, failing to crack 80 yards in his first two games.