We have reached the month of December, the time when the best NFL teams begin pulling away from the pack, and to that end: Look out for the Baltimore Ravens.The Ravens have won four of their past five games and sit a game outside of first place in the AFC North?entering Monday nights showdown with the New England Patriots. While the Ravens made news earlier this season by changing offensive coordinators, and averaging 23.1 points per game since, the overriding force in their turnaround is a defense that in some aspects is challenging the historic 2000 group that led it to victory in Super Bowl XXXV.Largely unnoticed outside Baltimore, the Ravens defense is destroying opponents running games and hasnt been much worse against the pass. Lets take a closer look at the numbers, with a huge assist from ESPN Stats & Information senior statistics analyst Jacob Nitzberg, as well as some custom crunching from Aaron Schatz of Football Outsiders.First, just for kicks, well look broadly at what the Ravens have done this season alongside numbers from that 2000 unit through 12 games.Comparing 2016?Ravens defense to 2000 unitPoints allowed are the most important statistic for any defense, and the Ravens are tied for No. 2 (with the Patriots) in the league this season. When comparing that to 2000, keep in mind NFL scoring efficiency has inflated over the past 16 years. In 2000, teams scored about two points fewer per game than they have scored this season.But lets drill down on the Ravens run defense in particular. It has allowed 101 fewer rushing yards than the next-closest team, the Dallas Cowboys,?and opponents have attempted 23 more carries against the unit. The Ravens 3.4 yards allowed per carry leads the NFL, and though it is a half-yard higher than what their 2000 defense gave up through 12 games, its important to consider that through a contextual prism.Football Outsiders DVOA statistic takes into account the strength of opponents, among other data points, to level out comparisons. According to Schatz, DVOA judges the Ravens 2016 opponents rushing games to be stronger than what the 2000 team faced, and thus, their run defense efficiency rating is actually better this season (-39.7 percent) than in 2000 (-36.9 percent). In fact, the 2016 Ravens have the best run defense DVOA in Football Outsiders 27-year dataset. Its also worth noting that the Ravens allowed an 85-yard rushing touchdown to Cleveland Browns running back Isaiah Crowell in Week 2. On their other 259 attempts, Ravens opponents are averaging 3.09 yards.Put simply, the Ravens havent allowed opponents to use their running games in ways they are used everywhere else in the league. (Note: The Titans, also listed below, rank second.)Rushing first downs allowed, 2016You cant have a strong run defense without good tackling, of course, and the Ravens have demonstrated that across the board. Linebacker Zach Orr?is tied for No. 4 in the NFL with 112 combined tackles, and the addition of free-agent safety Eric Weddle has added stability to the back end.The Ravens arent allowing opponents to tack on many extra yards, whether thats against the run or pass. They have allowed the NFLs fewest yards per attempt after contact on rushing plays and are also tackling receivers after the catch quicker than all but five NFL teams.Average yards allowed after first contactDont let the focus on tackling and the run game cloud any perceptions about the Ravens pass defense. When facing the Ravens, opponents have the NFLs third-lowest Total QBR (57.0), and in an era when quarterbacks are throwing fewer interceptions than ever, the Ravens have the leagues second-highest total.Team interceptions, 2016Opponents are averaging 9.53 yards per pass completion, the second-lowest total in the NFL. The Ravens have been particularly stingy on the deep ball, allowing the second-lowest completion percentage (32.5) on passes that travel at least 15 yards downfield.Put it all together, and the Ravens are making opponents earn their yards and points. They have allowed 67 explosive plays, defined as a run of 12-plus yards or a pass of 16-plus yards, four more than the NFL leader.Number of explosive plays allowed, 2016The 2016 Ravens defense probably wont find itself next to the 2000 unit in the history books. But this seasons edition of the Ravens defense is stronger than you probably realized and the biggest reason the team is poised to return to the playoffs in 2016.All numbers entering Week 14.Kurt Warner Jersey . U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield in Manhattan agreed that lawyers on both sides could make their formal requests by Nov. 8. A hearing is scheduled for a day earlier. Jordan Siev, a lawyer for Rodriguez, wrote in a joint letter to the judge from lawyers on both sides that MLB lawyers planned to ask that the lawsuit be dismissed. Robert Woods Rams Jersey .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. http://www.footballramsshop.us/authentic-cooper-kupp-rams-jersey/ . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. Gerald Everett Jersey . How great will be revealed in the next couple of days at the board of governors meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif. Taylor Rapp Jersey . With his new coach and six-time Grand Slam singles champion Boris Becker watching him during an official match for the first time, Djokovic appeared tentative early against the Slovakian player, who often appeared content to keep the ball in play.Mumbai 431 for 5 (Yadav 103, Pawar 100, Lad 86*) lead New Zealanders 324 for 7 dec (Latham 55, Williamson 50) by 107 runs ScorecardAmit Pagnis did it to Shane Warne in 1998; Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma traumatised Jason Krejza in 2008; Nathan Hauritz received a rude welcome from Ajinkya Rahane in 2010. On Saturday Suryakumar Yadav, Kaustubh Pawar, Siddhesh Lad, Armaan Jaffer and Aditya Tare continued the tradition of Indian domestic batsmen softening up the opposition spinners in their tour game. Rohit, himself a part of the Test squad now, failed to press claim for a slot in the XI, falling for 18 in an ungainly manner, but his Mumbai team-mates did a job for the India Test side by making New Zealanders three frontline spinners toil for 51 overs for 263 runs and just three wickets. A whopping 402 runs came in the day. Mumbais coach Chandrakant Pandit didnt brag too much, but cheekily said he hoped the India team would be happy that a state side had tested the visiting spinners.Doug Bracewell, though, said the New Zealanders werent too concerned about their performance, although there were lessons to be learnt. A lot of it was down to the flatness of the Feroz Shah Kotla pitch. New Zealanders spinners, though, seemed to be playing for the conditions expected in the Tests rather than trying to beat batsmen in the air on an unresponsive track. Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner and offspinner Mark Craig, in particular, kept bowling quick and flat, which works on the kind of raging turners that South Africa were given in Indias last home season. Legspinner Ish Sodhi was the only one who created regular problems.Be that as it may, the Mumbai batsmen matched the intent shown by the New Zealanders on day one, shot for shot. Jaffer, yet to make his first-class debut, had come in to bat on the first evening, at the fall of the opener Jay Bista for a duck, and hit Santner for a straight six in the first over he played. Now he hit Santner back over his head twice in his first over on the second morning.The only time it seemed Mumbai were under pressure was when Sodhi, the last spinner used, began to turn a few. One legbreak got rid of Jaffer for 69, after which Rohit played an edgy innings. It just seemed anything could happen every time Rohit faced up. One of those things was a clean six over mid-off after eight straight dots, but he never looked in. On 18 he looked to charge Sodhi, who dragged his length back, drawing an uncertain defensive shot. In the same over Rohit reppeated the charge without bothering about defending when beaten in the flight.dddddddddddd An easy stumping for BJ Watling ensued.It could have become 133 for 4 when Yadav skied a pull towards the stumps at the non-strikers end, but Sodhi, the bowler, dropped a dolly after going back a few steps, to herald an afternoon of pain. Having ridden his luck in the initial stages, Yadav got stuck into the spinners, hitting eight sixes in his 103 off 86 balls. He began with a swept four, and peppered the straight and midwicket region with his sixes. He brought up his hundred with a swept six off a full-toss.Pawar, known for his stodgy efforts, opened up in Yadavs company, repeatedly driving the spinners over cover and back over their heads. The late-cut was beneficial too, as the spinners dragged their length back. He retired with an even hundred to his name, off 228 balls. Towards the end of the day, Lad and Tare filled their boots too, putting on an unbroken 137 in 22 overs. Lad ended the day batting on 86, having hit seven sixes.Two worries for the New Zealanders will be the absence of reverse-swing, and the sameness of their spinners offerings, not as a group but individually. Perhaps preoccupied with getting their pace right for the expected rank turners, they kept bowling similar trajectories and similar angles through the day. Their release points and pace didnt vary much. When Santner did slow up the odd delivery, he caused some indecision, once even drawing a chance, but dropped a return catch from Pawar, who was 45 at that point.Release points changed for the quicks with both Trent Boult and Doug Bracewell trying the round-the-wicket angle, but they couldnt get much reverse swing. When Neil Wagner went to his trusted bouncers, the lack of pace off the pitch and friendly bounce rendered him ineffective.The surface didnt really break up and turn that much, Bracewell said. We are not really concerned at this stage. It is early on in the tour. They played really well. I definitely know our guys will take some learnings out of today.We know it is going to be a different surface for the first Test. Wasnt really any surprises [to be given a different surface for the warm-up game]. Whether it is a part of India trying to get us to not expect something that might be our way... we definitely expected something like this. You just get on with it. ' ' '