Ravens hope to halt run rut
League refuses to bend to pressure with stance on anthem protests Return of nose tackle Williams a positive sign for rushing defense
NEWYORK— Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones always has been a maverick.
Jones did deals with Nike and Pepsi when the rest of the NFL went with Reebok and Coke. He wasn’t a contrarian but a trendsetter, because where he went the rest of the league would typically follow.
That is not the case with his position on making it mandatory for players to stand for the national anthem.
Although Jones said last week that he would bench any player who refused to stand during the pre-game flag ceremony — a position endorsed by President Trump — he doesn’t seem to be building anything close to a consensus among fellow owners. In this case, Jones is the outlier.
At the close of the league’s fall meetings Wednesday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reiterated what he has said all along: Players should stand for the anthem, but the league is not changing its rules to make that a requirement.
“We believe everyone should stand for the national anthem,” Goodell said. “That’s an important part of our policy.”
He added: “Our players will Defensive lineman Brandon Williams returned to practice after missing the past four games.
With an Incredible Hulk shirt sticking out from under the bottom of his jersey, Brandon Williams manned his customary spot along the interior of the defensive line at the Ravens’ practice Wednesday and, suddenly, all seemed right again with the team’s beleaguered run defense.
Williams’ absence for the past four games because of a toe/foot injury has coincided with nearunprecedented struggles for the Ravens’ run defense under coach John Harbaugh. What has long been the foundation of a proud defense has crumbled in recent weeks as the Ravens (3-3) enter Sunday’s matchup with the Minnesota Vikings (4-2) at U.S. Bank Stadium with the league’s 30thranked run defense.
That’s why the mere presence of Williams and defensive lineman Carl Davis, who also didn’t play in Sunday’s overtime loss to the Chicago Bears, on the practice field seemed to lift the spirit of several of the Ravens’ defensive players who have grown tired of teams gouging them with persistent running attacks.
“We’ve got our $50 million man coming back,” Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith said before Wednes-