Operating in the middle of the Baltimore Ravens defensive line
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Although the task is instrumental to the success of Baltimore's gritty defense, it often goes unnoticed by the casual fan and does not produce impressive statistical numbers.
"I'm totally fine with what I do," Williams said after practice Monday. "I know it's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it and I'm happy to raise my hand and volunteer. As long as my guys have my back and are making plays around me, that's all I care about."
Told it's not exactly a sexy job, the 6-foot-1, 336-pound Williams smiled and said, "Oh, it's sexy. As long as I'm there
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Drafted in the third round of the 2013 draft out of Missouri Southern State, Williams has been Baltimore's starting nose tackle for the past five years. He follows a long line of players who have effectively filled an unglamorous, pivotal position.
"A lot of interior linemen who have come through here and had the honor of being considered a Raven for life, the No. 1 thing they had was toughness," Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs said.
"Can you be mentally tough? Can you physically dominate the man across from you? I think Brandon Williams embodies that. He can be considered in the rare group of the Tony Siragusas, the Kelly Greggs, the Haloti Ngatas."
The Ravens showed their appreciation to Williams in 2017 when they provided him with a five-year contract rather than allow him to test free agency.
Last year, he started the first two games, both of them victories in which Baltimore allowed a total of 10 points and forced 10 turnovers.
Williams missed the next four games with a foot injury
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"When we lost him, we sunk a little bit," defensive line coach Joe Cullen said. "Brandon is the epitome of what you want an inside tackle to be. He's really quick for a big guy, but so strong he can get big knock-back at the point of attack."
Williams has 188 career tackles, 4陆 sacks and one touchdown 鈥?on a fumble recovery he took in from the 1.
These facts and figures do nothing to convey his importance to the Ravens.
"I'm a big Brandon Williams fan," coach John Harbaugh said. "Ask the offensive line coaches and the offensive linemen around the league how they feel about blocking him. He's a force in there. He takes up two blockers, sometimes more. He's very stout.
"You want great players everywhere, but in the middle of your defense it's important to have an anchor that can keep people from running inside and can create better angles for your defense. It's nice to have a big, physical run stopper. The Ravens have always had that. It's really been a staple here historically."
Williams certainly doesn't mind being Baltimore's next man in the middle
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"I want to play how I play," Williams said. "I'm not Haloti, even though he was a great player and I learned a lot from him. I want to do my own thing, just be whatever I can be for the team."
鈥?Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott is not pleased with receiver Kelvin Benjamin questioning why the Carolina Panthers drafted him, and criticizing former teammate Cam Newton’s accuracy.McDermott says “there’s a time and a place” to discuss those things, adding “this was not one of them.” McDermott says he’s informed Benjamin this is not how he wants his players to air their grievances.McDermott spoke Sunday before the Bills returned to practice following a day off, and two days after Benjamin voiced his criticisms in an interview with The Athletic.Benjamin was quoted as saying getting drafted by the Panthers was “a bad fit from the get-go,” when asked to assess his final 2陆 seasons in Carolina. Without mentioning Newton specifically, Benjamin said he could have been more productive with “any other quarterback.”He then pinpointed several star quarterbacks
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Atlanta Braves pitcher Mike Foltynewicz was beginning to emerge as a top-of-the-rotation type starter when he experienced some tightness in his right tricep.
After spending 10 days on the disabled list
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Foltynewicz (5-4, 2.16 ERA) will be opposed by Cincinnati’s Tyler Mahle (6-6, 3.89) in the first game of a three-game set at SunTrust Park.
It won’t be an easy assignment for Foltynewicz. The Reds have won seven straight — 10 of their last 11 — and are coming off a sweep of the Chicago Cubs. On Sunday, the Reds scored seven runs in the seventh inning and swept the Cubs in a four-game series for the first time since 1983.
Since Jim Riggleman became the team’s manager, Cincinnati is 29-30 and the Reds have won 24 of their last 42.
The Braves and Reds split a four-game series in April in Cincinnati.
Foltynewicz has only pitched five innings in the two starts after his complete-game shutout against the Washington Nationals on June 1. He threw five scoreless innings against the New York Mets before leaving with the arm issues on June 12.
The former first-round draft choice
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Foltynewicz received no decision in his April 23 start against the Reds. He left after 4 2/3 innings, having allowed two runs on three hits and four walks, with seven strikeouts. In four career starts against the Reds, he is 1-0 with a 2.31 ERA.
Mahle has been hot
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“Tyler did a great job,” Riggleman said after Mahle’s last start. “It seems like we’ve got six and eight innings from a lot of our starters. You’ve got a chance to win the ballgame. When you do that, you get a chance to use your bullpen the way it should be used and a lot of times good things are going to happen.”
Mahle started against the Braves on April 24 and gave up three runs in six innings with a career-high 11 strikeouts. Mahle took a no-hitter into the seventh before losing it on a leadoff homer by Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman. The Reds eventually lost that game in 12 innings.
The Braves’ bullpen took a jolt on Sunday when closer Arodys Vizcaino was placed on the 10-day disabled list with right shoulder soreness. Vizcaino
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“His shoulder is not responding like we wanted it to,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “It was one of those situations where if he wasn’t ready to pitch (Sunday), we had to back off it and get it right, because it wasn’t working.”
Atlanta activated right-hander Evan Phillips to take Vizcaino’s spot on the roster. Phillips had 50 strikeouts in 35 innings and a 2.33 ERA for Triple-A Gwinnett.
Authorities say a former Green Bay Packers player has been found shot to death in his home in Alabama.
The Jefferson County Coroner's Office says former Packers defensive lineman Carlos Gray was found shortly before 10 p.m. Monday near Birmingham
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Al reports that sheriff's deputies and Center Point Fire and Rescue were dispatched to the house after a friend found Gray wounded and unresponsive.
Gray played at North Carolina State University and signed with the Packers as a free agent in 2014.
Al reports that he was released from the Packers in 2015 and returned home to Alabama. He was the father of two young children.
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