OLB Terrell Suggs and WR Steve Smith should be ready by 2016 regular season

Two of the Baltimore Ravens main leaders on its roster in outside linebacker Terrell Suggs and wide receiver Steve Smith both went down with unfortunate injuries to start the 2015 season. Suggs tore his Achilles in week 1 against the Denver Broncos and Smith tore his Achilles in week 8 against the San Diego Chargers.

Both of their seasons came to end immediately, but both players are in the middle of their own respective rehabs to get ready for the 2016 season. Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome noted that he has recently spoke to Suggs and that Suggs is doing well as he discussed via BaltimoreRavens.com.

[Suggs is] progressing well," Newsome noted. "I spoke with Dr. Anderson, because he's on one of the medical committees, and he had just saw Steve Smith, and he said he was doing very well also. And I fully anticipate that by the time we play our first game - first regular-season game - that they'll both be ready to go."

Suggs, 33, will be entering his 14th NFL season (All with the Ravens) and will look to continue to add to his career sack total which is 106.5, a franchise record. Suggs certainly wasn't going to retire due to his season ending injury last season so he clearly has a chip on his shoulder for this upcoming season.

Smith, 36, will be entering his 16th NFL season (Third season with the Ravens) and will be looking for one goal that has escaped him his entire career: A Super Bowl ring. Smith is also in the final year of the three year contract he signed with the Ravens during the 2014 offseason and his teammates will look to send him out on top.

India will be tough to beat in World T20, Steve Smith says

Sydney: Australia skipper Steve Smith is determined to secure the one major international cricket trophy his country has never won but thinks India are going to be tough to beat when they host the World Twenty20 next month.

The Australia squad, world champions in 50-over cricket and No. 1 in the Test world rankings, flew to South Africa on Sunday morning to prepare for the March 8-April 3 tournament.

Their best result in the five previous versions came when they reached the 2010 final, however, a 3-0 drubbing by India in a recent Twenty20 series has given them plenty of food for thought.

“On any given day in T20 cricket any side can be dangerous, an individual can take a game away from you,” Smith told reporters at Sydney airport.

“[But] I think India in Indian conditions are going to be very tough to beat. They’re a very good side as we saw out here in the three Twenty20s we played in Australia so I think they’re going to be right up there.”

No Australian cricket captain goes into a tournament or series believing victory is impossible, though, and Smith is no exception.

“It’s one that’s eluded us, the T20 World Cup, and it would be great to win that trophy, that’s our goal,” Smith added.

“It’s going to be a tough tour in India, in conditions that are foreign to us. But it’s really exciting and I think we’ve got the squad to give that tournament a real shake.”

Deprived of the advantage that their pace bowling brings them on home soil, Australia will look more to the batting line-up to make the difference in India — even if Smith is not yet sure how it will look.

“I’m not really sure of the make-up of our top three or four yet, obviously, there’s a lot guys who that fill those position,” Smith said.

“We’ve got three games to have a look at that before the World Cup. We’ve got some very destructive and talented batters up the top of the order that we can choose from.”

Smith said all four injury concerns — Aaron Finch, Shane Watson, James Faulkner and Nathan Coulter-Nile — were “tracking well” and should be in contention to feature in the three matches in South Africa.

Australia get their World T20 campaign under way against New Zealand in Dharamsala on March 18.