OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- The Baltimore Ravens bid to reach the postseason will depend heavily of their second-ranked defense, a unit that has performed effectively despite an assortment of injuries.Baltimore leads the NFL in stopping the run and is seventh against the pass. Thus far, thats been good enough to offset a spotty offense that ranks 22nd in yardage and is averaging only two touchdowns per game.The Ravens (5-5) long ago built a reputation for hitting hard and playing rugged defense, and this team is a throwback to the days when Ray Lewis and Ed Reed made life miserable for the rest of the league.Its your typical Baltimore defense, said Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton, who will face the Ravens on Sunday. They do a really good job against the run and get you into third-and-long situations. Thats the way Baltimores been for a long time.The most impressive aspect of the current unit is that rarely has it been at full strength.Linebackers Terrell Suggs and C.J. Mosley, along with cornerbacks Jimmy Smith and Shareece Wright, all have missed at least one game because of injury. Linebacker Elvis Dumervil has suited up only once this year while recovering from foot surgery, but hes hopeful of returning against Cincinnati (3-6-1).Linebacker Zach Orr leads the team with 86 tackles and safety Eric Weddle ranks second with 51. Weddle also has two of the Ravens 11 interceptions.Signed as a free agent during the offseason after a nine-year run with San Diego, Weddle has been an integral part of a defense he expects to ultimately finish as the best in the business.Theres only so many opportunities you have in this league to do something special and be No. 1, he said Wednesday. You always will have that.The Ravens owned the top-ranked defense before sputtering in a 27-17 loss to Dallas on Sunday. Try as he might, Weddle couldnt get that game out of his mind.We did a lot of good things in last weeks game but it wasnt good enough, he said. We didnt do our part to get a win.Dallas scored all its points over the final 36 minutes. That left the Baltimore defense with the feeling that theres plenty of room for improvement.Our defense has played really well, coach John Harbaugh said. And the thing I love about our defense is theyre not satisfied with anything theyve done in the past. Theyre going to keep building on what theyve done well and keep trying to improve. Thats the beautiful thing about it. As well as theyve played, we can play better.Weddle understands the importance of defense for Baltimore. Yet, he doesnt believe the success of the team depends upon it.We want to play great, week-in, week-out, regardless whats happening on offense, he said. I know deep down theyre going to win us some games and were going to need them when it matters most. Until that happens, weve got to go out and play great. Weve got to keep the ball out of the end zone, eliminate the big plays and stuff the run like weve been doing.Game notes Dumervil and TE Crockett Gillmore (thigh) practiced Wednesday. ... Smith (back) missed the session but Harbaugh expressed hope the DB would practice on Thursday. ... RB Lorenzo Taliaferro (hamstring) also missed practice.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap Nike LeBron James Basketball Shoes China . Both players have lower body injuries that will keep them out of the lineup until at least January 31, which is the first game they can be activated from IR. Cheap Nike Kyrie Irving Basketball Shoes China .Y. -- Jayna Hefford scored the winning goal Friday as Canada survived a scare with a 4-3 win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hockey tournament. http://www.cheapbasketballshoesstore.net/ . Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off. Cheap Basketball Shoes Authentic . Duchene scored two goals and had an assist, helping the Colorado Avalanche beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Friday night to match the best 10-game start in team history. Cheap Basketball Shoes China . PETERSBURG, Fla. POMONA, Calif. -- Ron Capps won his first NHRA Mello Yello Series Funny Car season title Saturday at the Auto Club NHRA Finals.Capps earned enough points in qualifying in the NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T to build an insurmountable lead over Matt Hagan.It hasnt sunk in yet, Capps said. I almost gave up, not winning a championship, but trying so hard and wishing so hard, and just focused on winning races and all the accolades Ive gotten this year, especially the 50th win, passing some people I really looked up to in the sport. Thats mind-boggling to me every ttime Im mentioned with those names.ddddddddddddWe got to the Countdown with a big lead and I thought, OK, now we really got a shot at this. We said at the beginning of the year this is the toughest Funny Car class ever. Then it was the 50th anniversary of the Funny Car, which was awesome. It just kept snowballing. We kept digging and digging and digging, and [crew chief] Rahn Tobler just had that eye.The final eliminations are Sunday. ' ' '