Ravens give thanks for good depth on roster…

No scathing Ravens’ fan rants on the radio tonight complaining about the usual: Joe Flacco’s quarterback IQ, Cam Cameron’s play calling, Ray Rice’s lack of touches on offense…

Silent Night, Holy Night…

Funny how “Just Winning…duh…” shuts up the fans who don’t know football…

The Ravens have methodically taken control of the 2011 season, at least to the point where they control their AFC destiny the rest of the way.   

A lot of malcontents in the Ravens fan base are starting to get it. This Ravens roster is deeper than they had imagined.  Much deeper. And Joe Flacco has proven he can win any way you need him to win…Joe gets it. Every game and every opposing scheme is different and changes from week to week. Some weeks it will be about using your young tight ends Hickson and Pitta…other weeks it will be about spreading the field and going vertical…others the key will be about defensive guys filling in big-time for a missing starter (Ray Lewis) like the Ravens did Thursday night.    

  
Garrett Downing had a nice piece at the Ravens’ official NFL website about just this kind of excellent depth on the Ravens. He wrote about the guys who stepped up big-time to fill the inside linebacker void left by Ray Lewis’ turf toe rehab absence.

Here’s a few great observations by Downing:

“When the Ravens’ defense took the field Thursday night against San Francisco, veteran linebacker Ray Lewis was on the sidelines, inactive for the second straight game with a toe injury.

“In his place was Albert McClellan, a second-year player who worked his way up from the practice squad to make the roster.
“Two years ago McClellan went undrafted. Thursday night he started in place of a future Hall-of-Famer. Even more astonishing, he had never played inside linebacker before in his life.”    

McClellan played the bulk of the game at linebacker, filling a key role for a defense that shut down the 49ers running attack and harassed quarterback Alex Smith the entire game. “We had to stop the run,” Head Coach John Harbaugh told the NFL Network after the game. “The problem is that they are physical and they’ve got Frank Gore and they’re a scheme-run team. So they run every run there is and we didn’t have Ray Lewis in there. If you have Ray in there reading schemes – I think Albert McClellan played a great game.”

McClellan and veteran Brendon Ayenbajedo filled in for Lewis and Dannell Ellerbe, who was also inactive with a thigh injury. Starter Jameel McClain moved over to middle linebacker and took over Lewis’ role as the quarterback of the defense, calling out the defensive plays.

“His leadership in the huddle during the game was essential,” defensive end Cory Redding said. “It was almost like Ray’s still out there. He’s seen Ray do it so much that he just made the defense his own.”

With Lewis on the sidelines, the defense put forth one of their best performances of the season, holding running back Frank Gore to 39 rushing yards and limited San Francisco to 170 yards from scrimmage.

The Ravens also tied a team record with nine sacks on the night.

“That’s the thing about this league, you have to be a pro at all times,” said safety Bernard Pollard, who led the team with six tackles.

“When your name is called, you got to be ready to step up. We miss Ray, but the game ain’t gonna wait for him to heal up. The game has to go on, and time is not going to wait.”

Before Thursday’s game, Lewis said that he wanted to play but it was a “coach’s decision” to keep him sidelined to allow his injury to heal and prevent further damage. When asked about reports that the toe injury could threaten his career, Lewis said those reports are “terrible.”

He now has 10 days to heal before the Ravens next game in Cleveland on Dec. 4.

“We’re hoping and praying that Ray has a speedy recovery,” Pollard said. “He hates sitting out and you can see it in his eyes. We know and understand what kind of player he is, but we have to be ready to go.

“Anytime you lose a player like Ray, a Hall-of-Famer, a legend, you take a shot, but the other guys got to be pros and step up.”
  
To use a baseball parlance— That’s deep depth.