Depth concerns along the Ravens defensive front certainly seemed like an issue when Kapron Lewis-Moore and rookie Brent Urban sustained season ending injuries during training camp.
It didn’t get much better as the season got underway when rookie Timmy Jernigan went down with a knee injury against Pittsburgh, while veteran Chris Canty has missed time after having hand surgery last week.
The piece-mealed unit consisting of Haloti Ngata, DeAngelo Tyson, Lawrence Guy, Christo Bilukidi and Brandon Williams, through six games has done an admirable job on opposing offensive lines, pressuring quarterbacks and stalling the run game.
Much of the success has been attributed to the play of second-year defensive tackle Brandon Williams.
On Thursday Ravens defensive coordinator Dean Pees spoke about the issues that opposing offenses encounter when facing the mighty Williams.
“He played a great game. He really played a solid game. The thing that has really helped us with him right now is it has really been hard for people to single-block him with a center.
“So, all of a sudden, if you have to devote a guard and a center to him, that’s going to help the linebackers a whole lot. Anytime you have a nose tackle, and if he can block one-on-one in almost any scheme like we play, that’s not going to be a good situation. So, he really had, I thought, his best game of the season.”
Williams who returned in 2014 to give the Ravens defensive front much needed boost, has started all six games thus far in 2014. The 6-1, 335 pound beast out of Missouri Southern State who has recorded 15 total tackles (8 solo, 7 assists), 0.5 sacks and has forced one fumble, played his best game yet last week in the Ravens defeat of Tampa Bay.
Against the Buccaneers, Williams graded out with a +2.4 according to Pro Football Focus, excelling in run defense containing both Doug Martin and former Raven Bobby Rainey.
In week seven Williams along with the rest of the Ravens defensive front should certainly take advantage of a bad Falcons offensive line. With both Williams and Ngata drawing multiple double-teams, the linebacking corps should have a field day disrupting Matt Ryan in the pocket.
The stellar play of Williams has been a fun thing to watch so far this season. If the big guy can stay healthy, he could have a legitimate shot at earning Pro Bowl honors.
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