OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Cornerback Lardarius Webb celebrated with his teammates in New Orleans following the Ravens win in Super Bowl XLVII, but knowing he didn’t make an impact on the field left him unsatisfied.

That feeling has been the driving force behind his recovery from a torn ACL suffered in mid-October that sidelined him for the rest of the Ravens’ championship season. As Ray Lewis rode off into the sunset of a brilliant 17-year career and Ed Reed played his final game as a Raven raising the Vince Lombardi Trophy, Webb could only watch from the sideline as he cheered on the rest of his team.

He wants an opportunity to get back — as a player on the field this time.

“It feels good to be a Super Bowl champion, but I want to play,” Webb said. “I want to play in it. That’s still my motivation to this day. I want to play in a Super Bowl.”

Regarded by many as the Ravens’ best defensive performer in the first five weeks of the 2012 season, Webb entered a Week 6 game against the Dallas Cowboys with one interception and was tied for third on the team with 25 tackles. However, the 27-year-old suffered the second devastating injury of his career in tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee less than three years after experiencing the same injury with his other knee.

The news devastated Webb as he could only focus on the long road to recovery as the Ravens experienced an up-and-down regular season before finally getting hot at the right time en route to their second NFL championship.

“It was hard at first. I couldn’t believe it had happened again, going through that adversity,” Webb said. “After a week or two with my family, friends, and this locker room, I was able to keep my head up. Being strong. What I did was just came every day, just worked my butt off. The head trainer [Mark Smith], he’s pushing me hard and he’s taking great care of me.”

Webb has begun running and appears on track to be 100 percent by the summer, but the Ravens have made it a point to take it slow to prevent any setbacks. He had the advantage of a longer recovery time with his second ACL injury compared to when he injured his left knee in the final month of his rookie season in 2009.

The former third-round pick signed a six-year, $50 million contract last offseason and appeared on the cusp of becoming a Pro Bowl cornerback entering the 2012 season. Beginning with the start of the 2011 season, continuing with the 2011 playoffs, and concluding at the time of his knee injury in Week 6 of last year, Webb’s nine interceptions were tied for the league lead.

“He’s coming along well,” strength and conditioning coach Bob Rogucki said. “Right now, as far as the rehab, he’s still under the athletic training staff as far as his legs. I train his upper body; I train his non-involved leg. He is now beginning to run with us, so he’s coming along according to course.”

The Ravens will lean on Webb to provide more leadership along with Terrell Suggs and Haloti Ngata on the defensive side of the football to replace the cavernous void left by Lewis and Reed. That’s a major reason why Webb is reveling in the opportunity to continue his recovery at the team’s Owings Mills facility as the offseason conditioning program began last week.

Even though Webb struggled to make it back to play at a high level in the year immediately following his 2009 knee injury, simply knowing he was eventually able to return to such a high level of play has helped the Nicholls State product push through the difficult process.

“It did, just with my confidence level and what I’m going to have to go through,” Webb said. “It made it very easy. All I can do is come here and work every day and that’s what I do.”

Webb was very brief in answering questions about his progress — perhaps not wanting to look too far ahead — as he simply insists the knee is coming along well without delving into any specific timetable at which he’ll be 100 percent. The coaching staff sees no reason why he won’t be lining up for Baltimore’s first training camp practices in late July.

And with fellow starting cornerback Cary Williams departing for the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency, defensive coordinator Dean Pees will welcome Webb back as soon as he’s cleared.

“Lardarius is on schedule, at least, maybe ahead of schedule,” coach John Harbaugh said. “He looks really good. He should be ready to roll [for] training camp, it looks like. We are going to make sure we don’t have a setback. That’s the most important thing.”

It isn’t easy going through two ACL injuries in three years and missing the opportunity to play in the Super Bowl, but Webb displays the same confidence he had prior to the injury that ended his 2012 season prematurely.

He hears the doubters wondering if he can get back to the same level of play after another serious knee injury and he wears a chip on his shoulder proudly.

“I’m just working my butt off,” Webb said. “When the time comes, No. 21 will be back.”

CORNERBACK LARDARIUS WEBB

(on helping the team from the sidelines) “I’m just being supportive to the guys.  We talk back and forth about what they see before they go into the game or what I might see.  Just talking and being there when they need me and most importantly being a leader still.”

(on being hurt and not able to play at the Super Bowl) “Just a little bit but it feels so sweet just to make in to the Super Bowl, just to even be here for Joe Flacco to finally reach that spot and Ed Reed after all those years of playing and never making it here. Those guys get a chance for their dreams to come true. Haloti Ngata, Terrell Suggs,  I am happy for those guys.”

(on Joe Flacco’s performance) “I don’t know why people are surprised I mean he’s winning games and going to the playoffs and having a winning record every year. He’s a quiet guy but very talkative in the locker room. I guess he just comes off as a quiet guy. He’s a great guy.”

(on being on pace for playing next season) “Yes, I am coming back next season and everything is great.”

(on being part of the Super Bowl without participating) “I am part of it, I feel a part of it. I wish I could play, but I am happy for the guys. I am happy Joe Flacco could possibly win his first one.  Ed Reed, Haloti Hgata, the guys who have been playing a while and never made it. That’s why I am happy.  You know I am here after four years, and I will have another chance to make it in the near future with the team we have, with coaches we have and the organization we have.  We will be back, or somewhere close to being back here, I will wait for the future but we’ll be back.  Take advantage of the time we’re here.”

With top cornerback Lardarius Webb already lost for the season and starter Jimmy Smith hampered with a groin injury, the Ravens boosted their secondary depth Tuesday with the signing of former Raiders cornerback Chris Johnson.

To make room on the 53-man roster, Baltimore placed rookie running back Bobby Rainey on injured reserve with a knee injury.

The 33-year-old Johnson was released in March after spending the last five seasons with the Oakland Raiders. He played in only four games last season before finishing the year on the non-football injury list as he dealt with the fatal shooting of his sister.

Johnson made 29 starts in his five-year run with Oakland, intercepting eight passes and and forcing three fumbles. The cornerback was originally drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2003 draft but didn’t make his NFL debut until 2005 with the St. Louis Rams.

With Smith’s status in question after he was unable to loosen up an injured groin to play in the 55-20 win over the Oakland Raiders in Week 10, the Ravens will likely elect to activate another cornerback against Pittsburgh this Sunday. Rookie Asa Jackson was the only cornerback on the 53-man roster not to be active against Oakland.

Nickel back Corey Graham started in Smith’s place and second-year corner Chykie Brown played in the team’s nickel package in Sunday’s win.

Rainey, an undrafted free agent from Western Kentucky, was inactive in his only three games on the 53-man roster. The pint-sized running back was waived at the start of the season after initially making the team but was then promoted from the practice squad following the season-ending injury to Webb in mid-October.

The team also announced the re-signing of quarterback Dennis Dixon to the practice squad and the release of safety Omar Brown.

Alright, immediately after Big Ben left the game last night after hurting his shoulder, I was already seeing tweets and comments from Ravens fans that they hope Roethlisberger plays because we want to beat them at their best.

WHAT??? This is the NFL, you never take on a team at their best, every team in the NFL has a starter that is hurt at least 99.99% of the time so you are never beating a team at their best. Do you think Steelers fans are up in the steel city saying I wish Ray Lewis and Lardarius Webb were playing so we can beat them at their best? NO WAY!! They, like myself, just want to beat the opposition.

I want to see Baltimore go up to Pittsburgh Sunday Night and beat the tar out of the Steelers with or without Roethlisberger, I don’t care who is playing, a win is a win. At the end of the season when you look at a team’s record, does it have an asterisk next to it stating, well they beat X Team without X Player….NOPE.

Having said all of that, Baltimore should not be thinking that without Roethlisberger this is going to be an easy win, it certainly helps their chances, and they should win, but its not a gimme. Leftwich is a professional quarterback and will be prepared, but the Ravens are still going to have to stop Dwyer and Redman as the Steelers are going to run the football and run it right at the Baltimore defense.

I will be wearing my purple Sunday Night and rooting for a Ravens victory, no matter who is on the field.

There’s a policy in the NFL that all teams get a 10-minute “cooling off period” before the media is allowed to enter the locker room following a game.

Today, in the aftermath of the shellacking in Houston, I gave myself a two-hour grace period before sitting down to opine on what we all witnessed at Reliant Stadium.

Strangely, my opinion hasn’t changed much since 4:15 pm.

The Ravens appear as if they’ve become “homers”.

You know the story by now.  They’ve won 14 straight games at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

They can’t break an egg on the road.

But they sure can lay one.

I saw a lot of armchair coaches pointing the finger at Joe Flacco and the offense on Sunday as the Texans piled on the points in that 43-13 beatdown.

And I observed gobs of folks blaming the Baltimore defense for “not being able to stop anyone” as Houston controlled the ball and the game for the final 53 minutes.

Here’s the truth.

On the road, the offense isn’t very good.  Remember last week against Dallas?  They put up 31 points in a 2-point win over the Cowboys.  There was that 31 point effort at home against New England and the 44-pointer over the Bengals on September 10.

At home, the Ravens offense is alive and creative and mobile, not to mention efficient both on the ground and in the air.

On the road, they have as much energy as a hammock. They don’t do anything well.

The rest of the truth?

The defense isn’t very good, home or away, but Sunday in Houston it was pretty much a disaster throughout the afternoon as the Texans picked them apart in the air and ran through them on the ground.

If you’re of the mindset that “someone” has to get the blame, go ahead and blame away.

Cam Cameron absolutely deserves to be criticized.  At home, he puts together a game plan that helps garner points and win games.  On the road, his game-plan mostly brings snickers and f-bombs from those of us who don’t cover our eyes when the Ravens go on offense.

There was a point mid-way through the 4th quarter on Sunday when the Ravens were faced with 3rd and 3 and they were in four-down territory, trailing 36-10.  The third down play was a pass.  As was the fourth down play.  The Ravens were saved by a questionable pass interference call that extended the drive, but you get the point.  Looking at 3rd and 3 and knowing his offense was in a four-down situation, Cameron elected to pass on 3rd down.  Why not run there?  If you only pick up one or two yards, you run again on 4th down to get the first down.  If you can’t pick up three yards on two running plays in the NFL, you – as the coordinator of that sorry group – and your offensive line and running back shouldn’t get a meal or refreshments on the plane flight home.

Joe Flacco is going to get the hot-seat treatment this week from fans and media and let’s be fair, he deserves it.  He had the ball in his hand and the game in the balance in week #2 at Philly and couldn’t do anything.  Under his direction, the Ravens offense managed three measly field goals in a sleepy 9-6 win at Kansas City three weeks ago.  At home, he’s been spectacular at times.  On the road, he’s looked like a 15-handicapper playing against Tiger Woods.  There were also some lackluster offensive efforts last season in Jacksonville and Seattle, but in all fairness to the quarterback, last year is last year.  I’m only worried about this season.  And so far, in three away games, the offense and the quarterback of John Harbaugh’s team have been borderline woeful.

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Only 18 months ago, the Ravens selected Jimmy Smith with the 27th overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft with thoughts of the Colorado product becoming a shutdown cornerback.

Needless to say, the start of Smith’s professional career hasn’t gotten off to the start he anticipated as an ankle injury in the 2011 season opener and the emergence of Lardarius Webb and Cary Williams had relegated Smith to part-time duty over the first 18 games of his career. However, with the season-ending ACL injury suffered by Webb in the Ravens’ 31-29 win over the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday, Smith now finds himself in the starting role he and the Ravens initially envisioned on draft day two years ago.

The 24-year-old is ready to prove the Ravens made the right decision in tabbing him as a first-round talent, even if he’s had to wait patiently for his first extensive opportunity to start. Though Smith sustained a groin injury against Dallas, he is expected to make the start against the Houston Texans this Sunday.

“First, second, third, seventh [round], it doesn’t matter,” Smith said. “Once you get drafted, you want to prove what you’ve got. You want to prove to everybody that you belong, and it [stinks] that my opportunity came at a time when another player was hurt, but at the same time, you’ve got to step up and show what you’ve got.”

In reality, Smith’s role had increased this season anyway as defensive coordinator Dean Pees has made extensive use of the nickel package, with the second-year cornerback playing on the outside on the opposite side of Williams as Webb slid inside to assume the nickel spot. Prior to Sunday when Webb went down with the knee injury in the first quarter, Smith had participated in 55 percent of the Ravens’ total number of defensive snaps (205 of 373) through the first five weeks of the season.

Veteran special-teams standout Corey Graham is expected to play in the nickel package and line up at the inside position previously occupied by Webb.

Through six games this season, Smith has collected 16 tackles and three pass breakups. He’ll now be asked to play nearly all defensive snaps, though the expanded workload won’t really come with any new responsibilities while on the field.

“I expect him to play really well,” coach John Harbaugh said. “I have tremendous confidence in Jimmy Smith. We all do. Jimmy’s got tremendous confidence. He’s here for a reason. He’s talented, he works hard. He’ll play well.”

Despite an impressive 6-foot-2, 205-pound frame for a cornerback, Smith has been hesitant to use his impressive size to chuck wide receivers at the line of scrimmage, instead using his above-average speed. The defensive back is also inconsistent in trying to find the football in coverage, often in good position but failing to finish plays.

Smith seemed to adjust to the speed of the game late last season, intercepting two passes in the final seven weeks of the regular season and collecting another interception in the AFC Championship game against New England. However, he’s still getting used to the complexity of routes run by NFL receivers.

“There are a lot more route combinations up here, so you’ve got to always keep your eyes on the man, and then turning your head is kind of a skill that you’ve got to kind of perfect,” Smith said. “Then sometimes, you turn your head around, he stops, and then catches a comeback. It’s just a lot of discipline with that, and like I said, I worked on it a lot this offseason — when to turn, when not to look and how to play the hands.”

Both Williams and Smith have been maligned for suspect coverage this season as the Baltimore defense has struggled to find a consistent pass rush. With Webb no longer a part of the defensive backfield, the unit will face even greater challenges in trying to slow opposing passing attacks.

Smith beginning to realize his immense potential as a full-time player would be a shot in the arm to the 26th-ranked defense in the NFL. He expects to be challenged even more now that he’ll be on the field a lot more in his new starting role.

“I’m a second-year corner,” Smith said. “They’re definitely going to attack me. But, I’ve got to strap it on and be ready.”

With roster spots open following two season-ending injuries in Week 6, the Ravens have promoted running back Bobby Rainey from the practice squad to the 53-man roster.

One of the most surprising standouts of the preseason, Rainey initially made the 53-man roster following the preseason before the Ravens waived him in favor of fellow running back Anthony Allen for special-teams purposes just hours before the season opener on Sept. 10. The rookie confirmed his promotion via his personal Twitter account.

The undrafted free agent from Western Kentucky landed on Baltimore’s practice squad a day after being removed from the active roster. The 5-foot-8 running back rushed for 55 yards on 23 carries and was the team’s leading receiver in the preseason, catching 14 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns.

“Bobby Rainey is a big part of our plans,” said coach John Harbaugh about the decision to waive Rainey following the Week 1 win. “I texted Bobby before the game. He is, rightly so, kind of upset about it. Bobby is a guy that I cherish. We just did it for special teams reasons, pure and simple.”

The Ravens announced cornerback Lardarius Webb was placed on injured reserve to make room for Rainey’s promotion to the 53-man roster. The team has yet to announce the official move of linebacker Ray Lewis going to IR as well.

In the aftermath of the season-ending injuries to Ray Lewis and Lardarius Webb, the Ravens now look ahead to the eventual return of linebacker Terrell Suggs as a silver lining.

According to a CBS Sports report from Jason La Canfora, the Ravens will take Suggs off the reserve physically unable to perform list, which affords him the option of beginning to practice on a very limited basis.

It still remains a mystery when the 2011 Defensive Player of the Year will return to game action, however, as coach John Harbaugh said Monday the Ravens hadn’t decided whether Suggs would take part in practice this week. Placed on the reserve physically unable to perform list at the start of the regular season after suffering a partially-torn Achilles tendon in the spring, Suggs is eligible to begin practicing this week after sitting out the first six weeks of the regular season.

“We haven’t decided that yet,” Harbaugh said. “He’d be eligible this week, with the PUP rules, to start practicing. … We’ll make that decision, obviously, by Wednesday, and we’ll just have to see where we’re at then and see how he is doing.”

Under the rules of the PUP list, Suggs will now have three weeks to practice before the Ravens must place him on the 53-man roster. Of course, Suggs can be placed on the 53-man roster at any point prior to that since the intitial six-week requirement has been fulfilled.

The 30-year-old Suggs is expected to be brought back slowly and is unlikely to play until some time in November.

Lets start with the good news, which many are overlooking.  The Ravens have lost one game despite losing one of the most dynamic defensive players in the NFL earlier in the offseason.  This team could even be undefeated.

So what does all of this mean?  It means that the Ravens are one of the most battle-tested teams in the NFL right now.  They are used to playing in close games and have shown they can win close games, which is an improvement from last year.

But, as many know by now, there is also bad news, very bad news.  The Ravens will be without Ray Lewis and Lardarius Webb for the rest of the season.  Lewis suffered a torn triceps injury and Webb tore his ACL in the first quarter of yesterday’s game.  Not only are Webb and Lewis great players, but they are also great leaders.

Webb is a lesser known player in the NFL.  Many people outside of Baltimore might not know who he is.  But when healthy, Webb is one of the best cornerbacks in the league.  He consistently shut down opposing wide receivers last season and is tied with Eric Weddle for the most interceptions since the 2011 season.

Carry Williams and Jimmy Smith will be the starters for the rest of the season.  Both are capable of taking Webb’s place but neither will play up to the level that Webb is capable of.  The Ravens were already struggling to defend the pass, so the outlook does not look very good.

Jimmy Smith was a first round pick in 2011 and played very well at the end of last season.  But he is still a young player and has not looked the same through the first six games of 2012.  He will be tested this week when he lines up across from Andre Johnson.

Losing Ray Lewis is devastating.  He is the heart and soul of the team and is still playing well in his 17th season.  Losing Lewis means that Dannell Ellerbe and Jameel McClain will be the two starters.  But, if Terrell Suggs returns in the next few weeks, the Ravens could change things around.

For one, Albert McClellan could move to the inside.  McClellan has been a starter at outside linebacker and has played well but has yet to register a sack.  McClellan started one game at middle linebacker last season against the 49ers when Ray Lewis was sidelined with an injury.  McClellan was impressive in that game and recorded four tackles.

The bottom line is that Joe Flacco needs to keep playing at a high level.  He was practically handed the starting job in 2008 when Troy Smith was sick and the rest is history.  If Flacco can keep playing at a high level and carry this team despite all these injuries, the Ravens will hand him something else, a blank check.

No matter what happens for the rest of the season, we are going to learn a lot about the Baltimore Ravens.

At least once or twice a season, I have to sit down and pound out one of these blogs to give everyone a dose of reality as it relates to the Ravens and the NFL campaign.

So…here goes.

I’ll cover a bunch of topics here, so please pay attention.

Let’s start with the obvious.  The Ravens defense isn’t all that good.  Their biggest problem of all?  They don’t really do anything in particular very well.  They can’t stop the run.  They surely can’t defend the short throw over the middle.  And if the other team has two or three different legit wide receiver options, there’s no way they can stop an elite quarterback, mostly because they don’t put any pressure on him.  Most teams with a “sub-par” defense at least have one element they consider “their specialty”.  The Ravens don’t really have anything we’d consider a specialty.

But…and yes, there’s a balance to this, hence the word “But” in there — their offense is virtually the exact opposite of their defense.  The Ravens can run it and throw it.  They can use Ray Rice’s feet or his hands.  They can focus on either Pitta or Dickson.  They can send Torrey Smith long or they can have Boldin run the slant and let Flacco feed him that all-world ball he throws to the sideline.  As bad as Baltimore’s defense is, their offense is probably just as good.

You people wanted offense.  Well, you got it.

You might see a lot more 31-28 games and a lot less of the 17-10′s and 20-14′s.

What will that get them?

Well…so far, it has them at 5-1, which is impressive on its own – except for that 9-6 stinker in KC that they won… a game they likely would have lost a season ago for whatever reason.

And do you know what the Ravens are focused on now, six games into the season?

The same thing they were focused on back on September 10.

The Ravens have one goal in front of them.  They simply want to make the playoffs.

As one long-time staffer said to me today, “You have to look at this like it’s a marathon.  You can’t finish 26 miles until you’ve reached the 5 mile mark, the 10 mile mark, the 15 mile mark, etc.  Eventually, the 26 mile mark comes into view, but not until you’ve completed the first 25 miles.  And that’s the NFL, too.  We need to get to at least 11 wins in our mind.  We have five already.  We have six more to go.  If it takes less than that and we get in, that’s fine.  If we have the best record overall, that’s great.  If we win the division, we’d be thrilled.  But our big thing is to make the playoffs.  After that, we’re 0-0 like everyone else.”

Class dismissed.

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