Baltimore Ravens veteran leadership is paying dividends

Its been a long held belief  the Baltimore Ravens lack the leadership they once possessed when Ed Reed and Ray Lewis formed one of the fiercest defensive tandems in NFL history.

The impact between the two cannot be overstated, and it is unlikely to be replicated. However, it is unfair to look at the current Ravens team and state that they lack leadership.

Starting with the longtime stalwart Terrell Suggs, the outside linebacker coming off an Achilles injury is certainly showing up in the clutch for his squad. His late sack on Tyrod Taylor against Buffalo essentially clinched the game. Two games later he had doubled down with two sacks against Jacksonville to the same effect. T-Sizzle may not bring the quarter-to-quarter impact you would like to see, but his three sacks through three games have led the Ravens to their perfect start.

Moving on, the team’s offensive heart and soul is proving to be once again the same competitor, Steve Smith Sr. The man had eight catches for 87 yards against Jacksonville, and several game changing plays for the Ravens to help turn the tide in a tough game. His feud with Jalen Ramsey is both entertaining and par for the course for Agent 89, and his "cleats with stronger thread than you" quote will be a hall-of-famer among many worthy moments and sayings from his career.

Finally, the Ravens appear to have the replacement that they’ve long needed at the safety position in Eric Weddle. Weddle was brought in to not only play the role of traffic cop for Dean Pees’ defense, but to also provide veteran leadership that the team has lacked on the back end. He has done that in spades by already snagging an interception and being a willing tackler. If he can continue his hot start with his new team, the Ravens should keep winning games, and Weddle will prove to be yet another veteran signing that Ozzie Newsome and company can be proud of.