A new era has begun in Baltimore

Ray Lewis is retired, Ed Reed is retired, Haloti Ngata is in Detroit, Terrell Suggs is injured,and according to the good doctor Esbrandt, he might never be the same.

Which makes Sunday's game against the Raiders the dawn of a new era on defense.  The young guys are taking over. C.J. Mosley, Will Hill, Jimmy Smith, Brandon Williams are now the core players on this defense and they are showing the abilities which will result with their names added to the list of great Ravens.

C.J. Mosley received nothing but praise during his phenomenal rookie season and it doesn't look like he's in for a sophomore slump. Will Hill is a top safety and the Ravens have him in his prime. Jimmy Smith is a shutdown corner who can and has taken the best receivers in the NFL out of the game. Brandon Williams has been able to come in and replace Haloti Ngata without the defensive front missing a beat. Time will tell what the future holds in store for players like Za'Darius Smith, Carl Davis, Kapron Lewis-Moore,Terrence Brooks, Brent Urban and Timmy Jernigan.  This Ravens fan can't wait to find out.

The Ravens have spent the last few drafts restocking the shelves on defense and they're about to enter into a new era of defensive dominance.