Glauber: Tough Ravens eager to face Jets in opener

WESTMINSTER, Md.

It is a few minutes after a two hours-plus session in brutal heat and humidity, and a sweat-soaked Terrell Suggs sits on a golf cart off to the side of the Ravens' practice field. Tucked away in the rolling hills of bucolic Carroll County, about an hour's drive west of Baltimore, this is about as far from the intensity of the Monday night regular-season opener against the Jets as you can imagine.

But for Suggs, the Jets are never really far from his thoughts. Rex Ryan isn't, either.

While the Jets' coach boasts that his team is ready to win it all this season, the team Ryan left behind simmers. There is legitimate confidence here in Ravens country, just more muted than the bluster coming from the Jets.

"I've got as much confidence in my team as Rex does in his," Suggs said of Ryan, who was the Ravens' defensive coordinator before taking over the Jets in 2009. "Rex knows it's going to be a street fight. We'll show up. He knows we're going to be there. It's like that big fight at 3 o'clock out in the schoolyard that the whole school hears about."

Sept. 13 at the New Meadowlands Stadium can't get here soon enough. Not for the Jets, not for the Ravens, arguably the AFC's two biggest contenders.

"We'll be there," Suggs said.

Even the Ravens' mild-mannered quarterback, Joe Flacco, lights up when our discussion turns to the opener.

"They're a team that's on the rise and they're doing a good job, but we'll see the first game of the year," Flacco said. "The Jets and all that's going on with them, that's fun. It's good stuff. It's good for the league. But we'll play Monday night and that's where the real fun is, on the field. It's where you decide whether you're a winner or a loser."

It will be a particularly interesting matchup, given the hype surrounding the Jets and the respect accorded the Ravens, who have been to the playoffs in each of Flacco's two seasons. But while the Jets will come in with the kind of swagger Ryan demands, the Ravens are a far more subdued bunch under no-nonsense coach John Harbaugh.

"I don't believe in hype, because no football game has ever been won on paper," Suggs said. "We have to go out and show the world how good we are, not where people are predicting us to be.

"The NFL is a marathon, not a sprint. In March, April, and May, everyone looks good. The real thing is to look good in the months that count, November and December and, if we're fortunate, January."

There is a lot to like about this Ravens team, even if it's not demanding the same kind of attention as the Jets do.

Flacco is coming into his own, showing an increased mastery of the offense.

"He has a lot better command," general manager Ozzie Newsome said. "You can see him out there telling guys, 'No, no, you need to be here,' or 'Your split's right here.' He knows where everyone's supposed to be, which helps him do his job better.''

Third-year running back Ray Rice is coming off a breakout season (1,339 yards, seven touchdowns), and the Ravens obtained receiver Anquan Boldin from the Cardinals.

The defense looks terrific with Suggs as the primary pass rusher, along with perennial Pro Bowl inside linebacker Ray Lewis, tackle Haloti Ngata and end Trevor Pryce.

Areas of concern? You bet. The Ravens lost starting cornerback Domonique Foxworth on the first day of training camp to a season-ending knee injury. Newsome said he'd like to trade for another cornerback (forget about Darrelle Revis, though; the Jets aren't dealing him).

"A GM at another team said each year there's a virus at one position, and ours is at corner this year," Newsome said. "That's probably the only negative we've had to deal with."

There's also concern about All-Pro safety Ed Reed, who is coming off hip surgery and might not be ready for the start of the season.

All in all, though, the Ravens look ready to make a run. And who knows? Maybe the Monday night opener won't be the only time they face the Jets this year.

AFC Championship Game, anyone?