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The Ravens will be without defensive tackle Haloti Ngata for the final four games of the regular season after testing positive for a banned substance. Ngata has admitted the substance in question is Adderall.
That news is a crushing blow for the Ravens' defense, which needs all the help it can get up front due to a struggling secondary. Here's how the team and players reacted to the news:
According to The Baltimore Sun's Aaron Wilson, this news caught the Ravens' front office off guard.
Ravens organization blindsided by Haloti Ngata suspension, something they didn't see coming and consider to be out of character for him
— Aaron Wilson (@RavensInsider) December 4, 2014
Haloti Ngata was extremely upset and apologetic when meeting with team officials about his four-game suspension, according to a source.
— Aaron Wilson (@RavensInsider) December 4, 2014
Furthermore, Ngata's teammates are not happy with what happened.
Ravens learned of pending news with Haloti Ngata Wed. from team president Dick Cass, according to a source. Team is extremely upset with him
— Aaron Wilson (@RavensInsider) December 4, 2014
Torrey Smith, the de facto Ravens spokesperson, said it's time for players to step up, via WNST's Luke Jones:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Torrey Smith on Ngata: "We have a lot of guys who have the ability and they've got to step up. That's the philosophy around here." <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ravens?src=hash">#Ravens</a></p>— Luke Jones (@BaltimoreLuke) <a href="https://twitter.com/BaltimoreLuke/status/540610716362104834">December 4, 2014</a></blockquote>
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But it's also disappointing.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Torrey Smith on Ngata: "Difficult to hear. He's expressed how disappointed he is. I know he's hurt for it and we're going to be hurt by it."</p>— Luke Jones (@BaltimoreLuke) <a href="https://twitter.com/BaltimoreLuke/status/540610433607282690">December 4, 2014</a></blockquote>
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It seems apparent that this kind of stuff can wear on a coaching staff.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>dean pees 'nothing is shocking to me anymore it's disappointing'</p>— Aaron Wilson (@RavensInsider) <a href="https://twitter.com/RavensInsider/status/540596789364404224">December 4, 2014</a></blockquote>
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NFL.com's Ian Rapoport said Ngata wanted to start serving his suspension and didn't appeal, since he knows he's guilty.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ravens?src=hash">#Ravens</a> DT Haloti Ngata found out about his pending suspension Tuesday. He did not appeal or deny that he did it. Wanted to start serving.</p>— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/540536169961095168">December 4, 2014</a></blockquote>
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BaltimoreRavens.com's Ryan Mink believes the Ravens can overcome Ngata's suspension.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ravens?src=hash">#Ravens</a> can survive the loss of Haloti Ngata. Front 7 is still strong. Timmy Jernigan will step up. Biggest issue is still secondary.</p>— Ryan Mink (@ryanmink) <a href="https://twitter.com/ryanmink/status/540544281472020480">December 4, 2014</a></blockquote>
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WJZ's Mark Viviano drew a parallel to the Ravens and the Orioles.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>O's managed to excel w/o Wieters, Machado & CDavis. Ravens working w/o Rice, Pitta, Jimmy Smith & Ngata. It's always something.</p>— Mark Viviano (@MarkWJZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkWJZ/status/540610019059052544">December 4, 2014</a></blockquote>
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