When looking at the number departures on the Baltimore Ravens defense including Ray Lewis and Ed Reed many people expect for the defense to have a huge drop off. Although the Ravens lost 6 starters from last year's Super Bowl team the defense actually looks better than it has in the last 5 years. The improvement starts with the changes made to the defensive line. The Ravens return an improved defensive end in Arthur Jones and added defensive end Chris Canty and Marcus Spears which should help with the run defense. The Ravens defensive line also returns a healthy Terrence Cody and Haloti Ngata who can now return to his natural position of nose tackle as well as drafted overrated nose tackle Brandon Williams. The Ravens Linebacking core also is significantly improved starting with it getting back a healthy Terrell Suggs and replaces Paul Kruger with rush linebacker Elvis Dumervil. The linebacking core also replaces the iconic Ray Lewis with middle linebacker Arthur Brown and second year linebacker Courtney Upshaw should have a larger role this upcoming season. Even with the departure of Ed Reed, Bernard Pollard, and Cary Williams the secondary will be very much improved. The overhaul in the secondary begins with the addition of veteran safety Michael Huff and the drafting of highly productive safety Matt Elam. These two new Ravens safety are better in coverage and have more range than their predecessors. The Ravens also return their best cover corner Lardarius Webb who back from a ACL injury. With all of the changes that were made to this defense don't be surprised if the Ravens finish the season as a top 5 defense.
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