Baltimore Ravens defensive end Cory Redding, left, and nose tackle Terrence Cody celebrate after making a tackle on the line of scrimmage during Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts in Baltimore. / AP

More In Sports

‘);
$(‘#ody-nextstoryslider’).append(‘Read More’);
return;
}
var _art,_right,wpElem;
var _beenzagged=(function(){
var _u = GEL.env.user;
return(_u.state || _u.yob || _u.zip )?true:false;
})();
var _laststate=(function(){
var _t = new GEL.util.Cookie(‘GCIONSN’);
var _closed = _t.getValue(‘lastNextStoryState’);
return _closed;
})();
if(!_beenzagged){
getContent();
var _slidestate=_laststate==’false’?'handle’:”;
_art=$(‘.ody-skin .content-container .ody-article’);
_right=$(‘.ody-skin .ody-aside’);
wpElem=_art.height()>_right.height()?_art:_right;
var slider=GEL.widget.slider(wpElem,’ody-nextstoryslider’,{
close: ‘‘,
closeCallback: function(){
var _t = new GEL.util.Cookie(‘GCIONSN’)
_t.setValue(‘lastNextStoryState’,'false’)
},
direction: ‘right’,
handle: ‘‘,
openCallback: function(){
var _t = new GEL.util.Cookie(‘GCIONSN’)
_t.setValue(‘lastNextStoryState’,'true’)
},
offset: function(){
var offSet=$.waypoints(‘viewportHeight’)-($(‘.ody-skin .content-container .ody-article .ody-article-bodytext’).height()-$(‘.ody-skin .content-container .ody-article .ody-ob-taboola-wrapper’).height());
if(($(‘.ody-skin .content-container .ody-article .ody-article-bodytext’).height()-$(‘.ody-skin .content-container .ody-article .ody-ob-taboola-wrapper’).height())

Baltimore’s three losses this season followed significant victories and occurred on the road against sub-.500 teams. The Ravens are determined to break the trend on Sunday at Cleveland (4-7).

“It doesn’t matter how many wins and losses they have,” linebacker Jarret Johnson said Monday. “They always play good against us. It’s going to be a dogfight, so we better bring it.”

Coach John Harbaugh believes the problem in Baltimore’s three defeats wasn’t so much mental as it was physical.

“What we didn’t do is, we didn’t play very well,” he said. “We certainly acknowledge that those three losses coming off big wins were not good performances. They’re there. They’re on the record. Now we face a similar challenge this week, but a tougher challenge, because now we’ve got to go play a team in our division.”

The AFC North is jammed at the top. The Ravens are tied with Pittsburgh for the lead and the Bengals are one game back.

“We expect it to be a tight race. We just want to uphold our end of the bargain,” Harbaugh said. “What you have to concern yourself with is winning. That’s the bottom line for us. We can’t be concerned what the others teams do. We have to be concerned with what we do.”

The Ravens couldn’t have asked for a better scenario entering the final five weeks of the season. Before facing Cleveland twice, winless Indianapolis and struggling San Diego, they received a lengthy break following a rugged 16-6 conquest of the 49ers.

“That was big to have,” defensive tackle Terrence Cody said. “We have a lot of guys banged up — nicks and bruises — and it was big to have (time off) at this point in the season.”

It’s been more than two weeks since middle linebacker Ray Lewis (sore right toe) has played a game, and no one on the team needed the break more than Baltimore’s 36-year-old defensive leader.

“The rest part is big,” Harbaugh said. “I’m hopeful. I think he’s got a real good chance” to play Sunday. “We’ll just have to see how it goes.”

Fortunately for the Ravens, they have flourished without Lewis. The defense had its ups and downs in a 31-24 win over the Bengals, but Baltimore had nine sacks and yielded only two field goals in turning back San Francisco.

“They were two huge wins in five days. You can’t say enough about it,” Johnson said. “It’s a tough thing to do. We played a really good game against the Niners, but we’re moving on. We need to get win No.9 and we’re going to try and get it this week.”

Much will be written and said in the next few days about Baltimore’s tendency to stumble against sub-par teams. As far as defensive tackle Cory Redding is concerned, the toughest team the Ravens will face down the stretch will be … the Ravens.

“It’s not the Indianapolis Colts, it’s not the Cincinnati Bengals or anybody else that’s left on our schedule. It’s us,” Redding said. “As long as we continue to beat the negatives, beat the things that can hinder us from getting a win and overcome the mistakes we make on Sunday, we’ll get those victories. But we’ve got to beat the things that can hurt us, and that’s us. As long as we make our plays and not make any careless mistakes, then we’ll be great.”

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

BALTIMORE (WJZ)—The Ravens once again show they’re great on and off the field by giving back to the community.

Monique Griego was there as they handed out winter gear to some deserving fans.

Big guys with big hearts. That’s the Ravens.

“It’s not all about football x’s & o’s. It’s about what have you done to the man next to you to get better,” said Cory Redding, Baltimore Ravens.

Redding is one of several players who handed out winter gear to 250 men staying at the Helping Up Mission.

Many of these men are homeless or recovering from addiction.

“It’s an opportunity for them to have a moment they wouldn’t normally have,” said Wade Brown.

Brown, from Daikon Kathryn’s Kloset, provided the jackets, gloves and hats – but says it’s the players that make it an experience.

“It’s just like a dream come true to see one of these guys,” said Trent Cunningham, who received a jacket.

“They feel like they’re a part of us, and it’s a great feeling to have,” said Terrence Cody, Baltimore Ravens.

For many of the people it’s more than just receiving these items. The fact that the players came down motivates them in their own lives.

“It’s an incredible morale boost,” said one recipient.

Harlem Globetrotter Choo Smith wanted to send a message.

“You have hope. You can do well and make it to the next level,” Smith said.

The players know it’s not about the coat. It’s the confidence that comes with it.

BALTIMORE – Thirty minutes into the first game of the season, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis stood before his teammates and delivered an inspirational and insightful speech that set the tone for the entire season.

Baltimore held a 21-7 lead over the defending AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers, the identical score at halftime of their playoff game in Pittsburgh nine months earlier. In that one, the Ravens came apart in a 31-24 defeat.

Lewis placed himself in the middle of the locker room and emphatically spiked the comparison.

“Everybody was saying, ‘We’ve been here before,’” Lewis said. “And I was like, ‘We haven’t been here before, because 2010 is 2010, and 2011 is a whole new year.’ If you understand it that way, then you understand that this is a new team.”

And so it is. The retooled Ravens went on to hammer the Steelers 35-7, and they enter this Sunday’s bye with a 3-1 record, alone atop the AFC North and charging toward a fourth straight playoff appearance.

Baltimore general manager Ozzie Newsome retooled the team during a whirlwind off-season shortened by the NFL lockout.

Almost every move he made has thus far appeared to be the right one, beginning with a salary cap purge of wide receiver Derrick Mason, tight end Todd Heap, running back Willis McGahee, defensive tackle Kelly Gregg and fullback Le’Ron McClain.

At this point in the season, the Ravens don’t miss any of them. Not even a little bit.

Ricky Williams has proven to be a capable backup to running back Ray Rice; Lee Evans and second-round draft pick Torrey Smith have made up for the loss of Mason; Vonta Leach is an upgrade from McClain; Terrence Cody has proven to be just as immovable on the line as Gregg; and the tight end tandem of Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta has made it easy for Ravens fans to scrap the “HEAP!” cheer that resonated throughout M&T Stadium for the past decade.

Newsome also added safety Bernard Pollard and a pair of offensive linemen who made an immediate difference.

The signing of free agent tackle Bryant McKinnie enabled Michael Oher to move back to the right side — where he is more effective — and free agent guard Andre Gurode has been invaluable during Ben Grubbs’ absence with turf toe.

Oh, and the defence under first-year co-ordinator Chuck Pagano has been spectacular.

As Lewis said, this is indeed a new team. And it’s not outlandish to believe the Ravens could become even more formidable with the sooner-than-later return of Evans (ankle injury) and cornerbacks Chris Carr (hamstring) and Jimmy Smith (ankle).

“The scary part is, I think we can only get better,” Rice said. “What you’re seeing is a token of hard work. Guys are not afraid to work.”

The Ravens aren’t good enough to just show up and win. That was proven in Week 2, when they followed up their emotional victory over the Steelers with a 23-13 defeat at Tennessee. Then came a 37-7 rout in St. Louis and a surprisingly easy 34-17 win over the New York Jets.

Against the Jets, Baltimore scored three touchdowns on defence and allowed only seven first downs to hit the first quarter of the season tied with five teams for the best record in the AFC.

“We can’t ask for anything else,” Lewis said.

Moments after the Jets game, there was an aura of cautious confidence in the locker room.

“We feel good,” centre Matt Burk said.

“Certainly we wish we were 4-0, but we’re 3-1. We take pride in what we’ve done to this point, but when we come back from the bye it’s a whole new deal. There’s still a long, long way to go in this thing. They didn’t pass out the Lombardi Trophy after this game. Good teams get better as the season goes. We’ll see where this thing goes and where this journey takes us.”

The goal is to get to Indianapolis, site of the Super Bowl, and the easiest way to get there is to play at home leading up to the game.

The Ravens were eliminated at Pittsburgh in 2008 and 2010, and in 2009 their post-season run ended in Indianapolis.

Baltimore has won 12 of its past 13 at home, including two this season in which it outscored the two participants in the 2010 AFC title game by a combined 45 points.

“We’re only going to get better, but getting better is a choice. It’s based on how hard we decide to work,” coach John Harbaugh said. “I’m excited, I’m proud of these guys, yet, hey, we have a long way to go.”