"John Harbaugh is facing another critical point in his Ravens coaching career and he's coming out swinging. Whether it's calling out a fan on his radio show or getting in the face of a player, Harbaugh hasn't been afraid to fight back. With the Ravens trying to recover from what he called his "worst loss" in three years, Harbaugh's leadership has been put to the test as players and fans have vented their frustrations at an underachieving offense. Standing in front of his players Wednesday, Harbaugh shared responsibility for the loss. He stood in front of the public and defended players and coaches. He's absorbed the shots — and delivered them when needed. Harbaugh wants his players to show toughness, especially in the wake of a devastating loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. If that message didn't resonate immediately, players understood it by Wednesday afternoon when he put them in pads for a full-contact practice. "We never take a break from who we are identity-wise," Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said. "He just wanted to come back and put us in pads so we could just get back to [being] physical again. And everybody gets it. Everybody gets it as soon as he does it — whether we like it or not." Only time will tell whether Harbaugh's approach worked. On Monday night, the Ravens (8-4) play at the Houston Texans (5-7) in a pivotal prime-time game. The Ravens lead the San Diego Chargers by a game and a half for the sixth and final playoff spot in the AFC. Players sometimes question whether Harbaugh's laborious methods are the best ones, but he's been able to get results. The Ravens are 31-18 in the Harbaugh era, which is tied for the fourth-most wins since 2008. They haven't lost back-to-back games since October 2009. And Harbaugh is closing in on becoming the fourth coach since 1990 to lead his team to the playoffs in his first three seasons, joining Bill Cowher, Dennis Green and Barry Switzer." Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-sp-ravens-texans-advance-1213-20101212,0,1831478.story
