It took a season but Ravens linebacker Elvis Dumervil appears to have hit his stride in Dean Pees’ defense and opposing quarterbacks are on notice.
Adjustments have been made both on the field and off the field for the Ravens sack leader who has five through the first six games of the season.
“Yes, most definitely. I think more than anything, it’s just kind of life off the field is more settled here,” Dumervil told reporters following practice on Wednesday.
“So, going from Mountain West to here was a bit of an adjustment. But getting situated, understanding the package more and what I’m expected to do, I’m definitely a lot more comfortable than I was last year.”
Dumervil was elated with the way the Ravens defense played last week against Tampa but certainly stopped short of calling it a “breakout game”. Instead the veteran pass rusher looks at it as a building block for the Ravens defense that has recorded 10 sacks on the season.
“I won’t say it’s a breakthrough, just an opportunity to continue to get better,” said Dumervil.
“I think we’ve been rushing pretty well all year. Sometimes the numbers don’t show [that]. But we just try to be effective, and the guys in the back helped us out.”
As the team sets its sights on the Falcons for their regular season match-up on Sunday in Baltimore with Matt Ryan under center, Dumervil and the rest of the Ravens defense look forward to taking on a struggling Atlanta offensive line that has allowed 10 sacks of quarterback Matt Ryan.
“Obviously, when you have two guys in the backfield in a shotgun formation, typically you get a head’s up that you’re going to get chipped. So, if they plan on doing two-, three-man routes against seven-, eight-man coverage, we’ll see how that works out.”
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