OWINGS MILLS, Md. – The Ravens are going into their Week 6 home contest against the Dallas Cowboys, not dwelling on last week’s 9-6 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Cowboys are not a regular opponent of the Ravens as the last time they faced the AFC North division leader was Dec. 20, 2008, when Ravens head coach John Harbaugh led the Ravens to victory during the final home game for the Cowboys at Texas Stadium. Former Ravens Willis McGahee and Le’Ron McClain broke the game open with touchdown runs of 82 and 77 yards to bury the Cowboys, 33-24.
The Ravens had a solid week of practice in preparation for the 2012 edition of the Dallas Cowboys. While the Ravens do not face the Cowboys regularly each season, Harbaugh seems generally pleased with this week’s preparation.
“It’s different because you start from scratch a little bit more,” Harbaugh says. “You’ve got more of a foundation of information on teams you play all the time. You have to go back from the beginning and build from the ground up a little more when you play a team you haven’t played.”
The 2-2 Cowboys are coming off of their bye week and are looking to steal a win where the Ravens have been undefeated in their last 13 games. Harbaugh says Dallas is not being taken lightly by anyone, despite their up-and-down nature.
“Most teams are up-and-down in the NFL because everyone is so good,” Harbaugh says. ” I don’t think it’s different for any other team.”
Going into Sunday’s game, the Ravens are relatively healthy once again. Haloti Ngata was limited at practice, like he has been all week, with a shoulder injury, but is listed as probable for the game against the Cowboys. Jah Reid was a full participant all week and is listed as probable despite his nagging calf injury.
For the Cowboys, the injury report is a bit more extensive. However, the only confirmed player that will miss this week’s game is punter Brian Moorman with a right groin injury. Morris Claiborne returned to practice and was a full participant today after missing practice Thursday with an illness.
Here is the final injury report for this week:
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BALTIMORE
PROBABLE: DT Haloti Ngata (shoulder), T Jah Reid (calf)
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DALLAS
OUT: Brian Moorman (right groin)
QUESTIONABLE: C/G Ryan Cook (hamstring), P Chris Jones (left knee), LB Anthony Spencer (shoulder)
PROBABLE: LB Alex Albright (neck), WR Miles Austin (hamstring), CB Morris Claiborne (illness), DT Kenyon Coleman (knee), C Phil Costa (back), S Matt Johnson (hamstring), NT Jay Ratliff (ankle), DT Marcus Spears (knee)
Ravens receivers looking to gain separation
The Ravens could not produce a touchdown last week in the 9-6 victory over the Chiefs. This week, the wide receivers are matched up against Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne, one of the best corner duos in the game today. At six-foot, 210 pounds, Carr is one of the bigger corners in the game today and is looking to press the Ravens receivers preventing them from gaining separation off the line of scrimmage. Claiborne was the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft and his transition to the NFL has been smooth.
Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith is excited for the opportunity to face such a fierce tandem. He says they are a quality match-up for anyone and will be a tough test for this receiving group.
“When they are pressing, they aren’t worried about getting beat deep,” Smith says. ” They do a great job, but with tight coverage the throws have to be better and you have to make more contested catches.”
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