AFC north

BALTIMORE RAVENS

CB Corey Fuller has become a valuable player in the team's nickel and dime coverages. Fuller has lost a step over the years, but he still has enough speed to match up with any No. 2 receiver and enough bulk and strength to play against the run. Fuller helped the team sign CB Deion Sanders during the summer, even though he knew Sanders would become his replacement on passing downs.... The team was looking forward to the return of LB Peter Boulware from offseason knee surgery because of his pass-rush abilities, but he injured a toe while beginning workouts two weeks ago and was placed on injured reserve. SEE A DIFFERENT GAME: The Ravens are blitzing more than ever because of the quality of play they're getting from Chris McAlister and Gary Baxter, two outstanding cover corners. The Ravens like to use safety blitzes off the corner, or they can move around their linebackers. Either way, defensive coordinator Mike Nolan is confident the team can gamble because his corners can lock onto any receiver.--Mike Preston

CLEVELAND BROWNS

With the season in turmoil, several Butch Davis favorites--including RT Joaquin Gonzalez and QBs Jeff Garcia and Luke McCown--must think about impressing the next coach. The quarterback position is iffy all the way around, with Kelly Holcomb's contract up after the season. Holcomb beefed up his value with a sensational game against the Bengals. He is not mobile but did a good job of stepping away from blitzes.... MLB Andra Davis (knee) is out for the year and has been replaced by Barry Gardner (6-1,245), who is a willing hitter but a bit undersized. Davis beat out Gardner as a starter in 2003 because Davis was better against the run. SEE A DIFFERENT GAME: The goal of having a dominant running game fell apart early and collapsed during a five-game skid. TE Kellen Winslow was supposed to draw linebackers away from the run, but he was injured in Week 2. FB Terrelle Smith's blocking picked up the slack for an injured line, but using Smith so much made the offense predictable and led to early deficits. After the team falls behind, the running game doesn't matter much.--Steve Doerschuk

CINCINNATI BENGALS

RB Rudi Johnson has a low center of gravity to push the pile between the tackles, but he also has quick feet and can get outside and punish defensive backs. Johnson is doing a good job of reading the blocks of his physical offensive line.... C8 Keiwan Ratliff has taken control of the punt return job. He lacks great speed but has good lateral quickness. He is decisive, makes sharp cuts and has good vision. Ratliff is skilled at using a stiff-arm to gain additional yards.... Rookie DE Robert Geathers is drawing more attention from blockers because of his explosive first step, and that is freeing other linemen from double-teams. SEE A DIFFERENT LE Duane Clemens often turns to his film library to watch great pass rushers and learn their moves. He also uses the tapes to find tendencies of opposing offensive linemen that he can exploit. Clemons isn't the most powerful end, but he uses his long arms well. He gets leverage by creating angles with his body and using his strong hands to throw linemen off-balance.--Chick Ludwig

PITTSBURGH STEELERS

Aaron Smith is a a run-stuffing end who can get to the quarterback. He has seven sacks and is a vital part of a defense that crushes the rush. An end who can do both is rare, particularly in a 3-4 defense because the end plays more like a tackle. Despite his size (6-5,290), Smith gets good leverage and stays balanced. He also uses his hands well to shed blocks.... RT Oliver Ross has played well enough that rookie Max Starks is used only in goal line situations: Ross gets a decent push at the point of attack and uses his size (6-5,322) to lean on defenders. But he doesn't pass-block well. QB Ben Roethlisberger was sacked 11 times in the past two games, and Ross allowed at least four of them. SIDE A DIFFERENT GAME: The team has 36 sacks, in part because coordinator Dick LeBeau is using blitz packages to take advantage of OLBs Joey Porter and Clark Haggans, who each had two sacks in the victory over the Redskins. But LeBeau also is using more pressure up the middle from ILB James Farrior, who has four sacks after posting zero the past two seasons.--Gerry Dulac

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