That hatred pulsates nowhere quite like it does at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, where the Ravens linebacker’s impact is very real, unlike the heel wrestler cutting a scripted promo or using a steel folding chair when the referee isn’t looking.

Suggs is perfectly fine with the hostility and the crude gestures. In fact, he loves it all.

“This is my Madison Square Garden,” Suggs said. “I love playing in this stadium. I love the way the people treat me, the welcoming they give me with the [No. 1 fingers] — think of it. I love it. We’re going on the road in probably the toughest stadium to play in in the NFL. We’re expecting a physical football game, and this is football. I guarantee you the NFL, the world will stop for this game, and everybody wants to see it.”

Though not quite the Super Bowl — or Wrestlemania, for that matter — all eyes will be glued to the Ravens’ second meeting with the Steelers on Sunday night with Suggs figuring to play a prominent role as he always does against Pittsburgh. Past characters such as Shannon Sharpe, Tony Siragusa, and Chris McAlister have long moved on, but Suggs still carries the torch as the loudest talker on the Baltimore side of the biggest rivalry going in the NFL.

And the 28-year-old linebacker expects an angry Pittsburgh team with the bad taste of a 35-7 beating the Ravens gave them in Baltimore less than two months ago still lingering in the Steelers’ mouths.

“They’ve already declared war on us,” Suggs said. “We’re taking 53 men to the apocalypse and we ain’t bringing flowers. We’re going to make it as hard as we can for them to get organized.”

If anybody can say whatever he wants to Pittsburgh, it’s the one-man wrecking crew Suggs has been against Ben Roethlisberger. Including the playoffs, Suggs has sacked the Steelers quarterback 15 1/2 times, the most any NFL defender has gotten to the two-time Super Bowl winner.

Suggs has accumulated 13 1/2 sacks in 17 regular-season games against Pittsburgh, the most he has against any opponent and the most any active player has collected against the Steelers. The trend continued in Week 1 as the four-time Pro Bowl linebacker compiled three sacks and forced two fumbles to earn AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors in the dominating victory in Baltimore.

His six sacks has led a renaissance in the Baltimore pass rush in which the Ravens have collected 25 sacks through their first seven games, the best start in franchise history and two fewer sacks than the defense had all of last season. While Suggs has likely benefited from improved outputs by other veterans and contributions from young players, there’s no doubt the Ravens’ leading pass rusher makes the job of everyone else far easier.

“We’ve had more one-on-one wins,” coach John Harbaugh said. “Our pass rushers have done a better job of winning some one-on-one battles. That’s all those guys. You look at the young guys along with Terrell Suggs, all those guys have done a good job in one-on-one situations of beating the man over them.”

In his last trip to Heinz Field, the Ravens’ 31-24 divisional playoff loss last January, Suggs tallied a playoff career-high three sacks, which trumped his previous two-sack performance in the 2008 AFC Championship game in Pittsburgh.

Even with tremendous individual success against Pittsburgh, the hunger is visible in Suggs’ eyes as he talks about the Ravens’ aspirations to reach the Super Bowl, acknowledging the team standing in their way nearly every season. Metaphors and WWE promos aside, the facts are very real when it comes to the Ravens’ past failures against Pittsburgh when it matters most.

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Grubbs practiced on a limited basis on Wednesday, but defensive tackle Haloti Ngata was noticeably absent from the workout and did not participate due to a thigh injury. Ngata appeared to get banged up in Sunday’s win over the Cardinals, but the Pro Bowl defensive lineman returned to action quickly without further incident.

Despite optimism created by Grubbs returning to the practice field, there was no change to wide receiver Lee Evans’ status as the 30-year-old did not practice on Wednesday. Evans has not practiced since the week following the bye when he returned on a limited basis.

Kick returner David Reed did not practice on Wednesday and was listed as having a knee injury.

In addition to Grubbs, cornerback Danny Gorrer and running back Anthony Allen returned to the practice field after both players missed Sunday’s game against the Cardinals. The rookie Allen has missed the last two games with a thigh injury.

The Steelers saw their three injured linebackers — James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley, and James Farrior — practice on a limited basis despite major doubts whether any of the three will be available against the Ravens. Veteran receiver Hines Ward was also listed as a limited participant several hours after Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs appealed directly to him about returning to the field for Sunday night’s game.

Speedy wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders did not practice as he battles a knee injury.

BALTIMORE
DID NOT PARTICIPATE – LB Dannell Ellerbe (thigh), WR Lee Evans (ankle), DT Haloti Ngata (thigh), WR/RS David Reed (knee)
LIMITED – RB Anthony Allen (thigh), C Matt Birk (neck), CB Danny Gorrer (thigh), G Ben Grubbs (toe)

PITTSBURGH
DID NOT PARTICIPATE – G Doug Legursky (toe), WR Emmanuel Sanders (knee)
LIMITED – LB James Farrior (calf), LB James Harrison (eye), T Jonathan Scott (ankle), WR Hines Ward (ankle), LB LaMarr Woodley (hamstring)

Left guard Ben Grubbs returned to practice for the first time since the week following the bye when he practiced on a limited basis but was held out against the Houston Texans. An injured right toe has sidelined the offensive lineman since playing in the season opener against the Steelers on Sept. 11.

However, the news was not as promising for wide receiver Lee Evans (left ankle), who was not present for the portion of practice open to the media. The veteran wideout has not played since the Ravens’ Week 2 loss to the Titans.

Joining Evans as absentees during the open portion of practice on Wednesday were linebacker Dannell Ellerbe (thigh), return specialist David Reed (undisclosed), and defensive tackle Haloti Ngata (undisclosed). Ngata appeared to get nicked up at one point during the Ravens’ win over the Cardinals on Sunday but quickly returned to action.

Cornerback Danny Gorrer (thigh) and running back Anthony Allen (thigh) also returned to practice after both were inactive against Arizona. Allen has missed the last two games while Gorrer was injured during Thursday’s practice last week.

The Ravens also announced they’ve signed linebacker Edgar Jones to assume Prescott Burgess’ spot on the 53-man roster. Jones spent three-plus seasons with the Ravens, playing both linebacker and tight end as well as contributing on special teams.

Coach John Harbaugh said prior to Wednesday’s practice that the Ravens will use Jones as an outside linebacker. The five-year veteran spent his 2011 training camp with the Washington Redskins and will wear No. 56.

Visit the BuyAToyota.com Audio Vault to hear from John Harbaugh, Ray Lewis, Ray Rice, Joe Flacco, Terrell Suggs, Lardarius Webb, and Jameel McClain prior to Wednesday afternoon’s practice.

The 25-year-old Wieters is the first Orioles catcher to claim the award after throwing out 37 percent of runners attempting to steal and being named to his first All-Star team this season. The catcher committed five errors and had one passed ball in 132 games this year. His .995 fielding percentage tied for the American League lead among catchers.

Markakis earned his first Gold Glove after committing the first error-free season by an Orioles outfielder playing at least 150 games. His 14 outfield assists was fifth in the American League. Since 2006, Markakis ranks second in the majors with 72 outfield assists, with only Jeff Francoeur (84) having more.

The 27-year-old outfielder is the third Orioles outfielder to receive the honor, joining Paul Blair (1967, 1969-1975) and Adam Jones (2009).

Wieters and Markakis became the 14th and 15th players in franchise history to win a Gold Glove. This season marks the 17th time the Orioles have received multiple winners but the first since 1998 when Roberto Alomar, Rafael Palmeiro, and Mike Mussina were named Gold Glove winners.

Since the award was created in 1957, the Orioles have earned 61 Gold Gloves, second-most in the American League behind the New York Yankees (63).

But they will likely be left guessing over who exactly will be on the field when they travel to Heinz Field to take on their bitter rival Sunday night for part two of the 2011 edition of the best rivalry in the NFL.

The Steelers’ second-ranked defense — ranking only behind Baltimore — has been decimated by injuries to its talented group of linebackers.

Four-time Pro Bowl linebacker James Harrison has missed the last four games with an orbital bone fracture in his face while inside linebacker James Farrior missed Sunday’s game against New England with a calf injury. A third starting linebacker fell during the Steelers’ impressive win over the Patriots when LaMarr Woodley sustained a hamstring injury in the third quarter of their 25-17 win over the Patriots.

A Tuesday report by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said Woodley will not play against the Ravens and could possibly be out until after the Steelers’ bye on Nov. 20. However, Woodley said on his Twitter page he’s not willing to throw in the towel for the Baltimore game just yet.

“Everybody counting me out … don’t count me out yet,” said Woodley, whose nine sacks have helped fill the void left by Harrison in the Pittsburgh pass rush. “Big game on Sunday.”

The information on Harrison has been even more conflicting, with his agent declaring him ready to return against the Ravens before the 33-year-old linebacker said otherwise on his Twitter page. Harrison has been cleared to practice, but the veteran said he will not be able to play on Sunday night.

“He has been cleared to practice and that is where we are,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday. “We will reevaluate the situation at some point later in the week and let that be our guide in terms of potential participation. But, right now, I just want to be clear that he has been cleared to practice.”

Tomlin also said Farrior will practice on a limited basis on Wednesday despite the Post-Gazette reporting the 36-year-old would miss a month with the calf injury.

Though it appears likely that all three will be unavailable against the Ravens, the gamesmanship already being exhibited will force the Baltimore offensive line to prepare for the Steeelers’ pair of dominating pass rushers in Harrison and Woodley. In the decisive 35-7 win over the Steelers in the season opener on Sept. 11, the Ravens limited Pittsburgh to one sack and ran for 170 yards in the blowout.

With Harrison being out for the last month, the Steelers have been forced to shift inside linebacker Lawrence Timmons to the outside. Veteran Larry Foote and rookie Chris Carter have played larger roles than anticipated with Farrior and Woodley now sidelined with ailments.

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The fifth-year linebacker sustained the injury in Sunday’s 30-27 comeback win over the Arizona Cardinals. Burgess appeared in three games with Baltimore this season, recording one assisted tackle and two special teams tackles. The 6-foot-3, 253-pounder led the Ravens in special teams tackles the past two seasons.

A sixth-round choice by the Ravens in 2007, Burgess was waived at the end of the preseason before being re-signed to take the place of cornerback Domonique Foxworth, who was placed on injured reserve on Sept. 28. The linebacker was waived again during the bye week in favor of defensive back Bryan McCann before being re-signed again on Oct. 18 after offensive lineman Mark LeVoir was released.

The Ravens also announced changes to their practice squad, releasing safety Mana Silva and re-signing wide receiver Rodney Bradley to take his spot.

No. 1 – 7 points
No. 2 – 6 points
No. 3 – 5 points
No. 4 – 4 points
No. 5 – 3 points
No. 6 – 2 points
No. 7 – 1 point

To hear the full explanation for our respective picks, click right HERE.

Luke Jones’ Top 7 …

7) Dennis Pitta

6) Ray Rice

5) Paul Kruger

4) Jarret Johnson

3) Joe Flacco

2) Anquan Boldin

1) Terrell Suggs

Drew Forrester’s Top 7 …

7) Ray Rice

6) Billy Cundiff

5) Dennis Pitta

4) Joe Flacco

3) Paul Kruger

2) Anquan Boldin

1) Terrell Suggs

SEASON TO DATE:
Luke Jones:
1. Terrell Suggs (29 points)
2. Ray Rice (26 points)
3. Haloti Ngata (24 points)
4. Joe Flacco (20 points)
5. Anquan Boldin (14 points)
6. Ed Reed (8 points)
6. Ray Lewis (8 points)
8. Bernard Pollard (7 points)
8. Cary Williams (7 points)
10. David Reed (6 points)
10. Torrey Smith (6 points)
10. Terrence Cody (6 points)
13. Bryant McKinnie (5 points)
13. Lardarius Webb (5 points)
13. Billy Cundiff (5 points)
13. Jarret Johnson (5 points)
17. Sam Koch (4 points)
18. Cory Redding (3 points)
18. Jameel McClain (3 points)
18. Paul Kruger (3 points)
21. Matt Birk (1 point)
21. Dennis Pitta (1 point)

Drew Forrester:
1. Ray Rice (22 points)
1. Terrell Suggs (22 points)
3. Joe Flacco (20 points)
4. Haloti Ngata (18 points)
5. Anquan Boldin (15 points)
6. Ray Lewis (12 points)
7. Lardarius Webb (11 points)
8. Ed Reed (10 points)
9. Bernard Pollard (9 points)
10. Bryant McKinnie (7 points)
10. Torrey Smith (7 points)
10. Sam Koch (7 points)
13. Ed Dickson (6 points)
13. Billy Cundiff (6 points)
15. Jarret Johnson (5 points)
15. Paul Kruger (5 points)
17. Jameel McClain (4 points)
17. Dennis Pitta (4 points)
19. Marshal Yanda (2 points)
19. Andre Gurode (2 points)
19. Cary Williams (2 points)

Not counting plays negated by penalty, the starting quarterback lined up in the shotgun 36 times in the second half while taking the snap under center just eight times as the Ravens produced 24 points and 249 yards of offense in the final 30 minutes to complete the largest comeback victory in franchise history. Flacco was particularly sharp in the comeback effort, throwing for 238 of his 336 passing yards after halftime.

With the Ravens having such success in the shotgun and often times running a no-huddle attack to slow an Arizona pass rush that gave them fits in the first half, the question was posed to coach John Harbaugh whether Baltimore would use a more shotgun-heavy approach moving forward. Of course, Flacco worked extensively in the formation during his days at the University of Delaware, which created questions about the quarterback’s ability to play under center prior to the 2008 draft.

Harbaugh was quick to point out the Ravens have called many plays with Flacco in the formation, even if not as extensively as was witnessed Sunday.

“We’ve done a lot of it since he’s been here,” Harbaugh said. “We’ve been in the shotgun a ton. Will we do more of it? I think it depends on the situation. Yeah, if it gives us the best chance to move the ball more than we did last year, more than we did in one game.”

Playing exclusively in the shotgun has its drawbacks despite Flacco’s success against the Cardinals secondary. For one, it forces him to take his eyes off the defense when taking the snap. Though only for a split second, that time can make a major difference when trying to decipher a coverage or note any last-second changes a defense might make. Taking the snap under center allows a quarterback to keep his eyes on the opposition the entire time.

More importantly, however, extensive use of the shotgun limits what an offense can do with its running game. Draws, traps, and direct snaps are certainly options, but the sheer number of running plays in the playbook is pared down without the quarterback lining up under center.

For an offensive line generally equipped to play power football, the shotgun eliminates that attitude and makes an offense more predictable and one-dimensional. Despite the great success throwing the football against Arizona, it was apparent how the running game — or, at least the threat of it — was adversely affected as fullback Vonta Leach stood on the sideline for most of Sunday’s second half.

“You’ve got to have [Flacco] under the center, too,” Harbaugh said. “There’s formations that he’s going to be under center. There are certain concepts that run better under center, but we like him in the gun and we like him under center, too. But, he is [effective]. He’s been effective in the shotgun, that’s true.”

Perhaps the most interesting result to come out of the extensive use of the shotgun and no-huddle attack was the way in which it aided the offensive line in pass protection, an area where it struggled immensely in the first half. Both Flacco and Harbaugh believe it wore out the Arizona front seven as they continued to chase after the quarterback play after play with little rest in the second half.

“I think the tempo helped us,” Harbaugh said. “The fact that the no-huddle stuff kept them out of some of their pressure. They still pressured, but it’s hard to rush the passer when you start getting tired, so I think that helped us, too.”

For a line that’s struggled in pass protection for much of the season, it might be the biggest reason in support of using a more up-tempo approach of going no-huddle and using the shotgun more extensively the rest of the season.

It remains to be seen how much of an impact Sunday’s second half will have on the Ravens’ offensive attack, as future opponents will undoubtedly take a long look at what Baltimore was able to accomplish against the Arizona defense. The prospect of running it dramatically more than the offense has been is unlikely, but it certainly gives the Ravens another weapon on which they shouldn’t hesitate to rely when necessary.

Visit the BuyAToyota.com Audio Vault to hear John Harbaugh’s entire post-game press conference in Owings Mills on Monday afternoon.

After two turnovers and a special teams score essentially gift-wrapped 21 points to the Cardinals in the second quarter, the Baltimore defense buckled down after intermission, allowing a mere 56 total yards and minus-1 passing yards as Arizona quarterback Kevin Kolb had no answers for the pass rush. The Ravens finished the day with a season-high six sacks, including two from third-year linebacker Paul Kruger and one from Terrell Suggs, who also led the team with 13 tackles.

It continued an early-season trend of tremendous pressure and stellar defense in support of a maddeningly-inconsistent Ravens offense. Without it, the Ravens’ 24-point explosion in the second half may have been all for naught.

Five players collected sacks, giving the Ravens 25 through the first seven games of the season under new, aggressive defense coordinator Chuck Pagano. It’s a stark contrast to a year ago when the Baltimore defense produced a franchise-low 27 under former coordinator Greg Mattison.

“It was like we all had a knack to do it,” Suggs said. “The game that those guys were having, I was really flattered to be their teammate. I thought to myself, we can be special, we can be a special group. I think it’s like a confidence thing.”

That confidence didn’t waver despite just six points from the offense in the first half. Instead of buckling under the pressure of an 18-point deficit and taking unnecessary chances, the Ravens allowed only one second-half drive that was greater than 13 yards, a 38-yard, penalty-aided march that resulted in a 45-yard field goal by Jay Feely in the fourth quarter.

“Second half, what we did when we came out is we played Ravens-style football,” linebacker Ray Lewis said. “The offense got back to doing what they do. Joe [Flacco] threw the ball very efficiently. [Anquan Boldin] had a great day, and Ray [Rice] was Ray, and all the different pieces. I think, defensively, you go from the first half to the second half, I think we just turned our level up just a little bit. First half, they didn’t have that many plays on us, but they had enough to gain that lead. I just think overall as a team, we came out and did some great things.”

New offensive identity?

With the Ravens shifting to a no-huddle, shotgun attack for most of the second half, they produced 24 points and 249 yards of total offense after being held to six points and 156 yards in the first two quarters.

The Baltimore offense’s longest drive of the second half was only 3:12 despite scoring four times on their way to the comeback victory. Joe Flacco threw for 238 yards in the second half on his way to finishing the game with career highs in attempts (51) and completions (31) and his seventh career 300-yard passing game.

“I think we react well to the hurry-up,” Flacco said. “I think it can put a defene on their heels a little bit. I think it can wear them out a little bit. It’s tough to rush the passer, rush the passer, really be able to hold up in there and continue to get that good pass rush.”

It certainly appeared to help the offensive line after it turned in arguably it’s worst half of the season as Cardinals defenders were constantly in Flacco’s face prior to halftime.

Perhaps even more interesting was the Ravens’ extensive use of tight ends Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta in a pseudo four-receiver set with the two being used as slot receivers. Dickson and Pitta were targeted 17 times, finishing with a combined 12 receptions for 90 yards.

The Ravens only ran the ball 11 times in the second half while Flacco attempted 28 second-half passes. It’s not exactly the balanced attack critics are calling for, but the second half should convince offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and head coach John Harbaugh that the no-huddle offense should be a very realistic bullet in the Ravens offense.

Big day for Boldin

Though he downplayed the significance of playing his former team all week, wide receiver Anquan Boldin turned in a dominating performance against the Cardinals, producing the most receiving yards of his two-year stay in Baltimore with 145 yards on seven catches.

Boldin’s dominance was on full display with the Ravens’ second scoring drive of the third quarter when he caught four passes for 80 yards, even with defensive backs draped all over him. His 145 yards rank as the seventh-best output of his nine-year career.

The veteran receiver felt he could exploit the Cardinals’ young cornerbacks and thought he could be successful even with good coverage.

“That’s one of the reasons I was brought here,” Boldin said. “There’s a lot of times when you are covered. I mean, if a guy’s on you, in this league, that’s [still being] open. Joe was able to put the ball in the right place, and I was able to make a play on it.”

Odds & ends

The Ravens’ 21-point comeback victory was the largest in team history. The previous high was a 19-point comeback win against the Titans in Nashville on Nov. 12, 2006. … Running back Ray Rice posted a career-high three rushing touchdowns, becoming the third player in Ravens history to accomplish the feat. Jamal Lewis did it twice and Willis McGahee was the most recent back to do it. … Kicker Billy Cundiff hit the seventh game-winning field goal of his career when he connected on a 25-yarder as time expired. It was his third game-winner in his three-year career with the Ravens. … The Ravens are the only team this season that hasn’t allowed an opponent to score on a game-opening drive. … Baltimore has now started the season at 5-2 for the fourth time in team history (2000, 2006, and 2010 were the others). … There were no new injuries reported after the game, according to the Ravens.

While it may not explain the inexplicable losses to Tennessee and Jacksonville, the Ravens will try to bring some normalcy back into the picture against the 1-5 Arizona Cardinals Sunday afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium. Having lost five in a row after a season-opening win over Carolina, the Cardinals face the daunting task of coming east to take on an angry Ravens team with something to prove on the offensive side of the football.

Sunday marks the fifth all-time meeting between the teams, with the Ravens holding a 3-1 advantage in the series. The Cardinals’ only win over Baltimore came at Memorial Stadium in 1997.

The Ravens have won 13 of their last 14 games at M&T Bank Stadium and have not lost consecutive games since October 2009 when they dropped three straight to New England, Cincinnati, and Minnesota.

With cornerback Danny Gorrer injuring his thigh during Thursday’s practice, the Ravens will depend on rookie Jimmy Smith and returning veteran Chris Carr to handle duties in the nickel and dime packages behind starters Cary Williams and Lardarius Webb. In addition to Gorrer, rookie corner Chykie Brown is also inactive.

For Arizona, running back Beanie Wells (knee) will be active, but former Ravens tight end Todd Heap will miss his third straight game with a hamstring injury.

Here are today’s inactives:

Baltimore
CB Danny Gorrer
CB Chykie Brown
CB Sergio Kindle
WR Lee Evans
G Ben Grubbs
LB Dannell Ellerbe
RB Anthony Allen

Arizona
TE Todd Heap
LB Joey Porter
QB Richard Bartel
WR Stephen Williams
FS Kerry Rhodes
T D’Anthony Batiste
DE Ronald Talley