You played on some great Ravens teams before winning the Super Bowl. What was the difference that got you guys over the line that season?

Haloti Ngata: Yeah, with that those two seasons in 2012 and 2013, we were so close the year before we won our Super Bowl. We just we just had some missing pieces and we filled those in the offseason with Anquan Boldin coming in and young guys stepping up with Paul Kruger and Jameel McClain. Guys like that were young guys before then and had to step up for the year when we won a Super Bowl.

I think guys stepping up and bringing in some pieces helped us win that Super Bowl when we did it. So yeah, I think that's, you know, some of the biggest. We're always kind of a close team. Most of the years I was there, we were close team. So camaraderie wasn't an issue. I think it was just bringing in the right pieces.

When you get guys that come on and sign on and you kind of give you--you don’t get that feeling early, I don't think. I think you just got to see how we gel together. Like I said before, Anquan Boldin, when he came in, seeing the way how professional he was with warming up, training, studying, all that, you're like, “okay, this guy can be a great piece for our young receivers.”

For Torrey Smith and Lee Evans and the young tight ends with Dennis Pitta. So, it was great to have him come in and see him, like bring those guys along and help them out. And defensively, it's just it's hard to fail when you have great leaders like Ray Lewis and Ed Reed and stuff like that.

You played with some of the greats, Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. What type of impact did they have on your career?

HN: Coming in as a young guy in 2006, it's hard to fail because those leaders like those guys won't let you fail. It wasn't just only them. You had a lot of great players with Trevor Pryce, Kelly Gregg, Bart Scott, Chris McAllister, guys like that. They're just- the whole team led. Obviously you had your leaders in Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, but just watching them the way they conducted themselves as professionals on the field or they worked our practice really hard- they practice harder than the game. Then you see them in the background and in our meeting rooms. They're studying their butt off. They're watching a lot of film outside the facilities. Their recovery is just amazing. They have so much work that they're doing on their bodies and they're working out really hard when they need to. It was hard to not follow those guys. And you asked your questions to those guys and they tell you what they can and what they've done and what's to help them be successful. And so it's been such a blessing to me to be able to be a player with those guys and be a defensive player because it was hard to fail with being around those guys.

You said something that sort of struck me: always trying harder in practice than in the games. When you came in 2006, how intense was training at the Ravens?

HN: My first training camp was definitely eye opening when I first came to Baltimore. I remember I used to pride myself in being such a good student and I messed up in a play. And so I, like I started the wrong way and accidentally hit Adalius Thomas. I’m like “Dang My Bad.” So I kind of like just stood there because I was frustrated. He goes, “What are you doing?” I'm like, “What?” And he goes, “Run to the ball! If you mess up, it doesn't matter, run to the ball. And I'm like, “Holy smokes.” Like, I'm here thinking about myself.

I mean, we're just organized chaos because even if you made a mistake, it didn't matter. Just run full speed to the ball. And a lot of times good things happen. You know, you cause a fumble, you recover a fumble, or you could break the ball for the play. So it's just the way we practice was we definitely made it harder than the game.

I remember our coach saying we don't condition. And I was like, “Yes!” For big guys that's the best thing. Hearing no conditioning is awesome. And then all of a sudden your leaders in the middle of like offensive team period are running gassers. And I'm like, “What are these guys doing?” They’re like “they're running guessers”. I'm like, “Well, we don't have to run, the coach said.” And he was like, “Now that's what your leaders are doing, so you got to go do it.” I'm like, “my gosh”. So then I'm running gassers with the team in between offensive periods. It's just so great to be around those guys and be around leaders like that. It just made me such a great player.

Talking about leadership, John Harbaugh. What is about him that has allowed him to become one of the longest-serving head coaches in the NFL?

HN: The great thing about John Harbaugh as a coach is he came in first as a special teams coordinator. It was very new to him. I think a lot of the stuff he was getting into, he learned from Andy Reid, guys like that. He came in kind of hard and strong. I think the key thing about John is that he's great at adapting, adapting to the team, adapting to what they need or what needs to be done.

He's a great coach that understands the players and tries to get great understanding with them. You see the relationship he has with Lamar. He's such a great coach that I think he tries to just put himself in the player's shoes where he can be more helpful to them. So it's great that he's able to adapt to a lot of players.

You were inducted into the Ravens Ring of Honor at the end of your career, how special was that?

HN: Yeah, getting inducted to the Ravens ring of Honor was such an emotional moment for me. Both my parents have passed away, and so to see my last name in the stadium was such a honor and privilege. Just to have my name in the stadium and have something there for people to see my dad's last name, my culture, and my family. It was bittersweet because my parents couldn't be there, but definitely a proud moment that I can share with my kids that they know that, you know, “Dad was pretty cool.”

What's the number one thing about being a Raven? What's that number one thing that you loved?

HN: Crab cakes. Crab cakes and football. That's what Maryland does. No, the food in Maryland is amazing. In Baltimore I fell in love with the seafood there in Maryland. But that about being a Raven, though. It's just when I was young, before I got drafted, I’d seen Baltimore. It was just a physical defensive brand of football. And for me to get drafted here was just such a dream come true because, you know, I'm a defender and I love to be physical. And so that's just the way I played. And I tried to do that as much as I can.

On thing that has always been a passion with you is your connection to your Tongan heritage. Tell us more about that.

HN: Yeah, it’s weird because when I was raised -- I felt Tongan in America because both of my parents are from Tonga. We kind of were raised the way they were raised in Tonga. I feel a lot of pride and a lot of love in a lot of the things I do and very family oriented in everything I do.

Football for Polynesians is so big in our culture because it's such a big team sport and it's one of the biggest teams you can have. If you have enough players on there, they can- they'll fight for you, scrap, claw, you know, everything for you and no matter what. So being Polynesian, I think definitely helped me be a better teammate, have a lot of pride in my culture. But then in the team I'm playing for and helped me lead too. So, it's a lot of things I learned from my parents that I lived on in life and in football.

It's also great to see the Tongan players excelling now. Like, do you still have something to do with some of the kids coming out?

HN: Yeah, for sure. With kids coming out, like I'll get family or friends that would reach out if I could talk to kids or help train. And I love it just because, you know, for me, I was never able to reach out to anybody and kind of just went along with whoever was available. But to be able to reach out to some kids and help them all along, it's great to be able to give back and continue to try to make this game better.

Ravens Super Bowl Predictions – The Current Ravens

What do you think of the Ravens this season? Do you think they can go all the way this season?

HN: I think the Ravens this year have a great chance to go all the way. The difference between this year and the last couple of years is defensive ball. I think the past years we kind of got away from that and this year it totally feels like the Baltimore of old where defense dominates and helps win games and offense does enough just to win the game. It kind of reminded me of the year I was playing. We did it that way with the young Joe Flacco winning a Super Bowl. As long as the offense didn't turnover the ball, we could just control the other side and not let them score or score little points. And it's such a great feeling right now. Especially now that we can win coming off a bye. Now, we're two games ahead of Pittsburgh and Cleveland. It's just a good spot for us right now.

So obviously you lost Mark Andrews. He might be back at the end of the season, but is that something the Ravens can overcome this year?

HN: Yeah, I mean, you kind of saw it against the Chargers. You can never replace a guy like Mark Andrews. It's just so big and dominant. He can run, he can block a lot of things. But the backups have done pretty good. Likely has done some good things, catching is one of his specialties and so I think to me it seemed like it opened up the receivers to dominate more.

Losing his protection blanket with Mark Andrews. Now is having to rely on his receivers more and against the Chargers, I've never seen Lamar throw that much or that well with to his receivers. It's great to see that opened up in the playbook. It's just going to be awesome to see them continue to work with Mark until he can come back.

2023 NFL MVP Prediction – Lamar Jackson MVP Odds

One of the best feel good stories is Lamar coming back and being at full fitness and playing the way he's playing. Do you think he can win his second MVP?

HN: It's hard to take Lamar off that list of MVP prospects because he's so electrifying. He can light you up. He can run the ball and then just do so many things. As long as he can continue to do those things, and obviously stay injury free and then not having turnovers, then he can he can definitely win it because he's so, so great at making plays, creating plays and helping his team win.

You talked about the defense, they’re leading the league in sacks. Is that line the key to beating the best teams, especially when it comes to the NFL Playoffs?

HN: Always. Up front, O-line, D-line. It starts up front. I mean, without the big guys, you can't roll without D-linemen creating holes for your linebackers, without the O-line reading holes for your running backs. It's going to be tough. Our D-line has definitely been playing a great. Roquan Smith has been playing amazing linebacker with Patrick Queen. It's looking like it's going to be tough to play the Baltimore Ravens in December and succeed because the way we're playing defense right now is very, very exciting, especially up front.

You talked about Roquan Smith. Unbelievable play this season. Where does he sit as far as the best linebackers in the league?

HN: Yeah, he, to me, is like top three/top two linebacker. Such a versatile player, gets to the ball, he gets to the line of scrimmage to stop the run at the middle, can run sideline to sideline and he's great at getting back into the coverages. I love watching Roquan Smith. The things he's doing. I love his leadership. The way he kind of brought Queen up, all the backups up and it's just great to see dominant linebacker play again in Baltimore.

Who do you see as the biggest threats to Baltimore in what is a hotly contested AFC?

HN: It's tough. The good thing about it is we play the division leaders. You got Kansas City, you had the Dolphins, you have the Jaguars. So we played the Jaguars and the Dolphins and we kind of see where we line up. But to me, the Chiefs are- it's just hard to get with a healthy Mahomes. It's hard to count them out because he's such a great player. I'd say the Chiefs, we’ll kind of see what we line up with the Jaguars. The quarterback got hurt but the Jaguars and the Dolphins. We'll see how we do against those guys. But the Chiefs always worry me.

Are the Niners a cut above everyone else in the NFC, or can the likes of Philly and Dallas really challenge them?

HN: Yeah. It sucks because, well Detroit and Philly are my NFC teams because I played for them. So, you know, I would love to say Philly. But the way they dominated the other night, it's hard to not put the Niners as the top team there in the NFC but Detroit can sneak up and bite you in the butt. Detroit, in my eyes, are a pretty good NFC team. They just kind of figure out ways to lose those games that they've lost. But yeah, to me I think that right now the Niners are a top team in the NFC.

NFL Contenders vs Pretenders

Which teams are contenders and which teams are pretenders?

HN: I think Miami is a contender. They're playing great offense. If they can figure out defensively to stop teams, then they're going to be contenders. Probably helps with them getting the number one seed if they can play at home. Get away from the winter would probably help them a lot.

Cowboys are contenders. The way they play both sides of the ball. They're pretty dominant right now. I hate to say that because I don't like Dallas at all, but they're playing really good football. It could be a tough game for Philly to beat them at Dallas coming up this month. They're contenders in my eyes.

Jaguars. I think they might be pretenders now because quarterback play. I don't know how much they're going to win without Trevor Lawrence. That's going to be a big loss for them. And so right now they're pretenders and to me.

Lions: contenders. Detroit just seems to get ahead and then they kind of lose at the end quite a bit. If they can just continue to create, play great football constantly, then they'll be a contender.

NFL 2023 Season Biggest Surprises

Which under the radar team has surprised you with their play this season?

HN: What's kind of shocked me is the Denver Broncos and how they've kind of turned on and turn their season around. I think they're even right now but I could see them get on a hot streak and just like scare some teams when if they get into the playoffs.

The Packers -- the way Jordan Love is playing now is crazy. I saw the last game. I think there's just been a sort of- just the way he was passing the ball was like “holy smokes”. But it seems like his relationships with his receivers are getting stronger. He’s just slinging it out there and those guys are catching it and the Packers are- And I hate the Packers, too. Golly. It's just they're playing good ball, good quarterback play. So it's just- it's hard to go against them right now too because they're kind of getting hot. You know, they played the Chiefs pretty well the other night.

Houston -- I think Houston could be a surprise team just because I think C.J. is becoming a leader of that team and more comfortable. Guys are protecting him or following him. I really like their coach. We came out together, we got drafted together. I root for him because he's we're in the same class.

NFL Power Rankings: Teams and Players  

Who’s the best defensive player in the NFL right now?

HN: It pains for me to say this because I'm a Raven. But like, T.J. Watt is just amazing. Last year's defensive player of the year, he's just so awesome. Like, he's just done so many good things for their team to be losing and for him to continue to make impactful plays and the way he's continued to make continue to make sacks and tackles for loss is just amazing. So I think he's such a great player and he has another chance to be MVP, a defensive MVP in NFL.

If you could type one quarterback in for the next five years, who would you put on your side?

HN: If I could pick a quarterback in the next five years, I would say C.J. Stroud. Just the way he's become such a leader and the guys rallying around him and I could just see him only getting better and better every year, every single year there. I feel like the Texans can be a team to be contenders year in and year out for a while because the quarterback play and C.J. Stroud and I would love to be a part of that if I if I was still playing to be able to watch that team grow and rally around CJ Stroud.

Which team do you see rising through the NFL ranks in the coming years?

HN: Yeah, the Texans will probably be that team for me that’s climbing the ranks. There are kind of hitting a little run and I'm glad Baltimore played him when he was like second game of the season because he didn't look that comfortable. But to see him now, because I went to the Houston Texans game against Baltimore --actually was the first game of the season. But just the difference, how much he's grown from first game to now is so amazing and so yeah hats off DeMeco Ryans and the coaching staff because they've done a lot of good things to coach them up.

Haloti’s Rams vs Ravens Pick - NFL Week 14

Who do you like in the Rams @ Ravens Week 14 matchup?

HN: Ravens. They're going to cover it, too. Yeah, Ravens all the way.

Haloti Ngata’s 2023 ACF Championship Prediction and Pick

Who wins the AFC Championship?

HN: Baltimore. I'll say that. I I'm really I'm really excited about Baltimore this year. Like I said before, the defense has been great and I’m loving the way they've been playing so I can see them going to the AFC Championship and winning it.

Haloti Ngata’s NFC Championship Prediction and Pick

Who wins the NFC Championship?

HN: I want to say Detroit because I want to see a Baltimore Ravens vs Detroit Lions Super Bowl. Yeah, I'll say Detroit.

Super Bowl LVIII Winner Prediction and Pick

Who wins the Super Bowl?

HN: I'll say Baltimore because they're on a streak right now and they're playing such dominant defense and defense wins championships. So, we'll go Baltimore.

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