Ravens Have Nose for Big Plays

The Houston Texans were at the 1-yard line on Nov. 9, facing Baltimore's goal-line defense, when nose tackle Haloti Ngata made a play his teammates will never forget. The versatile third-year player, a massive load at 6 feet 4, 345 pounds, was one of few Ravens not to rush the passer, instead reading quarterback Sage Rosenfels's eyes, dropping back in coverage, and sliding to his left to impede a pass to a wide-open tight end in the end zone.

Ngata backpedaled, then leapt, both feet well off the ground, to tip the high pass. The big fellow then landed, immediately spun and made an over-the-shoulder, diving catch in the end zone for his second interception of the season, a total some interior linemen might go a career without reaching.

After the game, Ravens Coach John Harbaugh was adamant that for as stunning as that play was, it wasn't even Ngata's greatest performance of the game. To Harbaugh, the brute strength Ngata shows regularly taking on multiple blockers in the run game and all of the Herculean plays he makes in the trenches that are revealed only on film are just as impressive, and a huge reason why Baltimore has the NFL's second-best defense.

"If there's a better [defensive tackle] in the league, I haven't had a chance to spend any time watching him," Harbaugh said. "He's a dominant player in there and he can do a little bit of everything. He can rush the passer, he can play the run, he plays screens and he lines up at tight end and runs routes, and he's a great guy to be around. He's one of the finest human beings I've ever been around."

Stopping Ngata -- whether he is running routes, blocking field goals, playing on the edge to rush the passer or manning his normal nose tackle spot -- will be imperative if the Redskins are to win tonight, and thus far few teams have succeeded. The chore will fall most heavily to center Casey Rabach, a slightly undersized, athletic center who may not even get help all the time from a guard, Coach Jim Zorn said.

The Ravens believe no center in the league can come close to handling Ngata, and when he is occupying multiple blockers, Baltimore's defensive playmakers such as Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs, Trevor Pryce and Bart Scott are usually exploiting easier matchups to generate sacks and big plays.

"No one man can block Haloti," Suggs said. "He's a physical man-child. He's a beast out there and it's proven that it takes more than one guy to block Haloti, and that frees up a lot of guys on the defense."

The Redskins have struggled with some nose tackles playing in 3-4 formations this season, and Rabach expects they will try to attack the perimeter often in the run game, forcing Ngata to run laterally in an effort to tire him. It's an approach they used on Cleveland nose tackle Shaun Rogers with success, though the Ravens believe Ngata is far better conditioned and is the NFL's best defensive tackle in the fourth quarter, when most big men wilt.

Rabach knows there will be times when he will need help, particularly on combination blocks when the Redskins try to get their shots in on Ngata, hitting him before he hits them.

"You're obviously aware of him, but you don't change your game or change the way you block and play," Rabach said. "We may set him up for a guard to cut him on the back side or something like that, but otherwise it's not different."

The Ravens would disagree.