Bronco Jimmy

From primary weakness to secondary strength
By Gary Lambrecht
Examiner Staff Writer 11/29/08
And then there’s four-year veteran Jim Leonhard, another offseason addition, who has stepped in to start eight games and has excelled in defensive coordinator Rex Ryan’s scheme....
You can’t overstate the importance of good cover guys in Ryan’s plan. The Ravens know that, on pretty much any Sunday, no one is running over that superb front seven. If the back end is protected, we’re talking about a defense that can approach airtight.
“When your corners lock up on the outside one-on-one the way they did [against Philadelphia], there’s so many things we can do up front,” Leonhard said. “We pretty much go into games thinking if they can’t throw the ball over our heads, we’re going to win. We take a lot of pride in that.”

Ravens' secondary is first-rate
David Steele
baltimoresun.com November 30, 2008
"Nobody wants to be the guy who lets the other guys down," Leonhard said. "We're all doing a good job just taking care of our own jobs. Nobody feels like they have to pick up the slack for anybody else."

Ravens bulldoze Bengals
By Aaron Wilson, Times Staff Writer Carroll County Times
The situation only got worse for Cincinnati when Palmer's younger brother, Jordan Palmer, entered the game in the final minutes. His first offering was thrown directly to strong safety Jim Leonhard, who gladly accepted the gift and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown to put an exclamation point on the victory.
"I couldn't believe he threw it," said Leonhard after scoring his first touchdown since high school. "I was shocked he threw it. It seemed like it took forever to get on it. It was like slow motion."

2-Minute Drill: Something has gone missing in the AFC
By SCOTT McCOY
smccoy@star-telegram.com
1 Pass it took for Cincinnati Bengals fans to turn on backup quarterback Jordan Palmer. Carson Palmer’s little brother was cheered when he replaced Ryan Fitzpatrick late in the fourth quarter. Boos followed when his first pass was intercepted by Jim Leonhard and returned for a touchdown. You know it’s bad when the defender isn’t even taking credit for the play. "I couldn’t believe he threw it," Leonhard said after the game. "I was shocked he threw it."

Going Deep: Adventure and intrigue from around the NFL
By SEAN BRENNAN
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Monday, December 1st 2008, 1:50 AM
Love this one: On our first 18 offensive plays yesterday, we managed all of 20 yards! Oh, happy day. We were a scintillating 2-of-15 on third downs, saw Fitz the Harvard Guy get sacked four more times and watched Jordan Palmer’s first pass (yeah, he’s Carson’s little bro and our third-string QB) was picked off and returned 35 yards for the first touchdown of Jim Leonhard’s career (glad we could help, Jim).

Ravens Report
By Jamison Hensley | jamison.hensley@baltsun.com
December 1, 2008
NOSE FOR THE END ZONE: Jim Leonhard's 35-yard interception return for a touchdown was the fifth touchdown scored by the Ravens' defense this season. Since 2003, the Ravens' defense has scored 26 touchdowns, going 22-3 in those games.

Baltimore Ravens Have Used Trickery, Defense to Succeed
Isaac Barrow
Right now, the Baltimore Ravens are feeling good.
Today, they absolutely wrecked the Bengals, 34-3. Joe Flacco passed for 280 yards and two touchdowns, Mark Clayton caught five passes for 164 yards, and Jim Leonhard got a pick-six.

Ravens Knockout Bengals: Quick Thoughts
Written by Dan November 30th, 2008
Defensively, the Ravens effort was strong all game long. The unit appeared to lose focus in the winding moments of the first half, but still only allowed a field goal. There was no singular stand-out, but a few players deserve mention. Fabian Washington had Chad Johnson locked down most of the game. Bart Scott scored big in protecting the run. Jarrett Johnson and Haloti Ngata both had great games pressuring the entire Bengals line. And of course Jim Leonhard deserves a sentence all to himself for doing his best Ed Reed impersonation - it was spot on.

Bengals Bungle In The Jungle, Lose 34-3
By Kevin Goheen
JungleInsider.com Editor
Posted Nov 30, 2008
The Bengals had 14 possessions in the game. They turned the ball over on downs on their final drive, which ended with 1:07 left on the clock, while Baltimore safety Jim Leonhard intercepted a Palmer pass intended for Reggie Kelly and returned it 35 yards for the game’s final touchdown with 2:28 to play.