Terrell Suggs looking for sacks to return Monday night against Lions

With Ray Lewis retired and Ed Reed continuing his NFL career elsewhere, Terrell Suggs became the leader of the Ravens' locker room entering the 2013 season — at least for those that play on the defensive side of the ball.

A physical presence at 6-3, 260 pounds, Suggs got off to a hot start with nine sacks in Baltimore's first eight games of the season. This included a three-sack game against the Dolphins in a 26-23 victory.

But over the past five games, Suggs has gone without a sack, as teams have tried to game-plan for the pressure the Ravens have been able to put on quarterbacks early on in the season.

The Ravens will need to hope Suggs is able to get to quarterback Matthew Stafford early and often to disrupt the Lions' quarterback's rhythm. The Lions are prone to mistakes, especially when Stafford can't get set and read through his progressions.

If he's able to, he can be dangerous.

Suggs did do a good job defending the run against the Vikings a week ago as Adrian Peterson was held to just 13 yards on seven carries before he injured his ankle.

Suggs will be counted on to get back in the sack column this week. As the one the other defenders look to, Suggs will need to be a disruption in Detroit's backfield if the Ravens are going to come away with a road win.