Ebony Bird
FanSided

Baltimore Ravens All-Decade Team: Defense edition

By Chris Schisler

NEW ORLEANS, LA - FEBRUARY 03: Ed Reed #20 of the Baltimore Ravens holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy following their 34-31 win against the San Francisco 49ers during Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on February 3, 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - FEBRUARY 03: Ed Reed #20 of the Baltimore Ravens holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy following their 34-31 win against the San Francisco 49ers during Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on February 3, 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 5
Next
PITTSBURGH, PA – NOVEMBER 02: Haloti Ngata #92 celebrates with Terrell Suggs #55 of the Baltimore Ravens after sacking Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second quarter at Heinz Field on November 2, 2014 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – NOVEMBER 02: Haloti Ngata #92 celebrates with Terrell Suggs #55 of the Baltimore Ravens after sacking Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second quarter at Heinz Field on November 2, 2014 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

The Baltimore Ravens have had some incredible defenses in the past decade. They have also had good special teams units.

Defensive Line: Haloti Ngata, Brandon Williams, Michael Pierce, Arthur Jones

We get things started with the defensive line and these were the obvious players that had to be on the list. Haloti Ngata is a top 10 player in franchise history. Brandon Williams is one of the best space eaters in football. Michael Pierce has become one of the most important pieces to the Ravens defense over the past couple of seasons. Jones played for the Ravens from 2010-2013 and was part of the Super Bowl XLVII team. These are the players that absolutely had to be on the list.

The biggest name on this list is obviously Ngata. Ngata made the Pro Bowl for five straight seasons from 2009-2013. The 2014 season was his last year in Baltimore. Ngata is in the elite group of Ravens’ defensive legends. Ray Lewis and Ed Reed are on their own stratosphere, Ngata and Terrell Suggs start the next tier of greatness. Ngata is in the Baltimore Ravens ring of honor and he remained a fan favorite even after he played for two other NFL teams.

While the Ravens have always had a reputation for great defense, along the defensive line there wasn’t much separation between the All Decade candidates. Cory Redding and Timmy Jernigan came to mind. Kelly Gregg played for the Ravens in 2010, however he belongs on the All Decade team of the previous 10 years. The same thing is true about Trevor Pryce. A handful of players could be involved in the conversation, yet these are the five defensive linemen that most identified the best of this decade.

Home/Ravens News