Harbaugh: "We're Still the Ravens, Right?"

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

For the Ravens, it’s a simple equation.

They’ve combined one of the league’s best defenses with a relentless rushing attack and a productive quarterback to equal success in the National Football League.

It certainly worked last year when the Ravens transformed into a squad that was a victory away from the Super Bowl after winning just five games in 2007.

It’s also a formula the Ravens believe can get them to the game’s biggest stage this year—even if their defense is going to be run by Greg Mattison, who has just one season of NFL coaching experience.

“We’re still the Ravens, right?” Coach John Harbaugh said. “We’re always trying to get better. I think even with the guys who have been here in the past, we see differences. Individual players have improved; the scheme has improved.”

Last season, the Ravens won more games than any team in league history that had a first-year head coach and a rookie quarterback (Joe Flacco). They used the simple scheme of running the ball to control the clock to back a defense that held the opposition to an average of just 15.2 points per game, third-fewest in the NFL.

So don’t expect the Ravens to change much of their playbook, though Harbaugh had to replace Rex Ryan, one of the league’s top defensive coordinators, who was hired as head coach by the New York Jets.

Mattison was the team’s linebackers coach last year, but arrived in Baltimore having worked as a successful defensive coordinator at college powers Michigan, Notre Dame, and most recently, Florida, where he won a national title in 2006.

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