The Ravens defense has been much more forgiving than in past years, particularly when it comes to stopping the run, and the injuries suffered by defensive tackle Haloti Ngata are one of the causes for the change.
Ngata has been dealing with knee and shoulder injuries this season and they have limited both his playing time and his performance. Ngata was limited to 53 snaps last weekend, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun, and turned in a game that was below the All-Pro level we’re accustomed to seeing. Ngata didn’t record a single tackle as Trent Richardson ran for 105 yards and says that the injuries are taking a toll on him.
“Now, it’s limiting me,” Ngata said. “I just can’t do what I want to do most of the time.”
Ngata said he doesn’t want to take a week off to recuperate and said he doesn’t think the injuries will require surgery after the season, which pretty much leaves him to do whatever he’s capable of doing given the limitations. That’s a problem for a Ravens run defense that’s already playing without linebacker Ray Lewis and we’re likely to see more teams attack Baltimore on the ground until Ngata or someone else is able to make that a less successful plan of attack than its been the last few weeks.