Starting tackles sidelined vs. Steelers
Stanley, J. Hurst out; defense in better shape with injuries
The Ravens will be without their bookend tackles against the Pittsburgh Steelers, as left tackle Ronnie Stanley ( ankle) and right tackle James Hurst (back) were ruled out for Sunday.
Outside l i nebacker Tim Williams (ankle) also will be sidelined Sunday.
Stanley was hurt after his ankle was rolled up on in Sunday’s loss to the Carolina Panthers, while Hurst has missed the past two games after back problems flared up. Their absences could loom larger against a Steelers defense tied with the Ravens’ for most sacks per game in the NFL (3.4).
Ravens guard-tackle Jermaine Eluemunor, a recent practice squad promotion, and rookie tackle Orlando Brown Jr. are expected to replace Stanley and Hurst, respectively. But the offensive line’s deployment could get creative, especially with guard Alex Lewis (neck) and rookie guard-center Bradley Bozeman ( calf ) limited in practice Friday for the second straight day.
On defense, the secondary could be stabilized somewhat. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey (thigh), inactive against Carolina, was limited in practice Thursday and Friday but appeared on track to be active against Pittsburgh’s dangerous passing attack. Safety Tony Jefferson ( hamstring), like Humphrey, is listed as questionable to play but said Friday he “wouldn’t miss this game for the world.”
Inside linebacker C.J. Mosley (thigh) practiced just once this week and is questionable. So, too, are running back Alex Collins (foot), who was a full participant Friday, and wide receiver Jordan Lasley (hamstring), who has not played yet this season.
The Steelers have no players ruled out and only offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert (knee) listed as doubtful. Cornerbacks Artie Burns (ankle) and Coty Sensabaugh (toe) are questionable for Sunday.
“We’re not as healthy as they are, but we’re healthy enough to win Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley is helped off the field after being injured against the Panthers on Sunday. the game, I promise you that,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “So I can’t wait to go out and play.” Lewis could play Sunday: Last week, Lewis, being of sound mind and body, walked into a local Floyd’s 99 Barbershop and asked for a mullet.
“Is this for Halloween?” the barber asked the Ravens guard, his brown hair down to his shoulders.
“No,” Lewis said. “This is for life.”
Lewis has missed the Ravens’ past two games after suffering a serious-looking neck injury in Week 6 against the Tennessee Titans that required him to be carted off the field on a stretcher. He returned to practice Thursday, and after Friday’s practice, he said he “felt good out there, running around fast, playing fast.”
But of greater interest was not what Lewis could do Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Rather, it was his new ’do. The business-in-the-front, party-inthe-back look was a “happy middle” on the mullet spectrum, he said, somewhere between Joe Dirt — David Spade’s janitor character in the 2001film of the same name — and former NFL linebacker Brian Bosworth.
“She hooked it up nice,” he said of his barber.
The mullet is not only practical during competition — strands of hair no longer fall into his eyeline, he said — but also represents a worldview. “It speaks freedom,” he said. His alarm clock is the screech of a bald eagle, an aural experience he compared to “waking up to ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ and a drumline going.”
Former NFL star Deion Sanders once remarked, “If you look good, you feel good. If you feel good, you play good.” Lewis was asked whether he subscribes to that philosophy.
“Well, if that’s the case, I might not play that well,” he said, laughing. “So no, I don’t believe in that. But, no, I feel good. It’s good to be back out there.” Terminology could help Montgomery: On Wednesday, a day after the Ravens had traded for Packers running back Ty Montgomey, Harbaugh was asked about similarities between his offense’s running game and Green Bay’s. He said he didn’t know.
On Friday, after three days of practice had lent him a little more familiarity with the team’s newest player, Harbaugh had a better sense of how Montgomery would fit into the Ravens’ power-running game.
“The good thing is, the terminology is somewhat similar,” he said. “Not exactly; there are always different terms, but the systems are rooted in the same kind of background, so he has a very good understanding of the plays.”
That bodes well for Montgomery’s chances of playing in his first game in Baltimore, even with Collins, Buck Allen and Gus Edwards active this past Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.
Montgomery also could factor into the team’s special teams, as he returned 10 kickoffs for 210 yards in seven games for the Packers this season. He fumbled away his last touch with the Packers, however, and the decision to run the Los Angeles Rams’ final kickoff out of the end zone in a 29-27 loss perhaps cost him in Green Bay. But Harbaugh said Montgomery will “have no problems” with special teams duties.
“We’ll just have to see how the numbers work out,” he said. Salute to Service: Quarterback Robert Griffin III was announced Friday as the Ravens nominee for the “Salute to Service Award presented by USAA.”
The award, presented annually by USAA and the NFL, honors a league member who demonstrates an exemplary commitment to honoring and supporting the military community.
Finalists for the award are announced in January. The recipient will be recognized at the NFL Honors awards show in Atlanta on CBS on Feb. 2, the night before the Super Bowl.