Ravens: Rookie S Omar Brown hopes to prove he belongs on roster

With final cuts looming, Baltimore Ravens rookie safety Omar Brown is still treating the final preseason game against St. Louis like the previous three.

Brown, an undrafted rookie, has been a surprise standout through training camp, someone who's made plays in practices and games.

In the preseason opener against Atlanta, Brown recorded two fumble recoveries and an interception. A week later against Detroit, Brown recovered another fumble and pounced on an onside kick that fellow undrafted rookie Deonte Thompson tipped.

Brown arrived in Owings Mills from Marshall University, recorded 288 career tackles and nine interceptions over 43 games in four years.

But so far, he's done enough to survive the first round of cuts as he continues to state his case as to why he belongs on the 53-man roster.

"Being a free agent, you got to show up every day consistently no matter if it's practice, walk-through or pregame," Brown said. "To me, going against the Rams is just another game that I'll treat like I have since I got here."

Brown's had a nose for the ball in the first few contests, which has caught the eye of coach John Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Dean Pees.

"He maybe got a couple of lucky breaks but he put himself in position to get those breaks," Pees said. "There's something to be said for that. There's certain guys that have a knack for that and let's hope he's one of them."

Harbaugh added: "There wasn't much buzz about him in the draft, obviously, but all of a sudden, we came out of the first couple of days, even in the spring, and he's a guy that was around the ball. (DBs coach) Teryl Austin says it all the time: 'If you want to find Omar, look for the ball. He'll be around it.'"

Brown played free safety at Marshall but is cross-training at multiple positions, as most young prospects do, with Baltimore. He's lined up at free and strong safety and is even taking reps at cornerback.

He's open to playing cornerback, which would be a similar path Lardarius Webb took. Webb was a safety at Nicholls State before making the transition to corner with the Ravens.

"[Webb] told me he was a small guy coming out of a small school playing safety, just like me," Brown said. "They threw him in at corner and he had never really played it. He said he just had to keep getting better and better no matter what when he was out there."

Against St. Louis on Thursday, Brown will have another shot to show why the Ravens should keep him. His chances for a roster spot have increased due to his performances on the field. In addition, safety Emanuel Cook broke his right leg and will miss the 2012 season. Safety Sean Considine had concussions in consecutive weeks and his health status is unknown.

Brown's worked his way up the depth chart to place himself in the position he's now in. This final preseason game will allow the coaches to evaluate one more game that Brown figures to play a lot of minutes in before coming to a final decision.

"When I came in here I told myself I wasn't going to worry about the guys who got drafted, the numbers," Brown said. "I'm just going to show the coaches I can play at this level. No matter if it's practice or a preseason game. I feel if I do that, and i do it consistently, everything else will take care of itself. No matter if it's the first game or the last game, the first practice or the last practice, I'm going to give it my all no matter what."

Follow Ravens reporter Jason Butt on Twitter @CBSSportsNFLBAL and @JasonButtCBS.