WP: Ravens Show Little Offense

[spanishomelette]

Ravens Show Little Offense

Tennessee Holds Baltimore to 182 Yards, Just 14 on the Ground: Titans 25, Ravens 10

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/18/AR2005091800765.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/18/AR2005091800765_2.html

By Camille Powell

Washington Post Staff Writer

Monday, September 19, 2005; Page E13

NASHVILLE, Sept. 18 -- Maybe Kyle Boller wasn't the problem with the Baltimore Ravens' offense after all.

The much-maligned quarterback was on the sidelines for the Ravens' 25-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans at The Coliseum on Sunday afternoon, his right foot encased in a boot that protected his hyper-extended big toe. He watched as the Ravens endured their worst offensive half (a first half in which they failed to pick up a single first down) and posted their worst rushing output (14 total yards).

Ravens running back Jamal Lewis is toppled by Lamont Thompson, top, Keith Bulluck, Peter Sirmon and Randy Starks, bottom right. (Mark Humphrey - AP)

The Ravens dropped to 0-2 heading into their bye week.

"It's hugely disappointing to play the way we did," Coach Brian Billick said. "I couldn't begin at this point to tell you intelligently, isolate specifically what it is we have to do coming up. We'll look at the film, we'll discuss it as a staff, we'll go through the process and do everything we can to put ourselves in a position to not play like that again."

That was the theme that was echoed by players throughout the Ravens' locker room following the game: We need to look at the film to see our mistakes, we need to correct the mistakes, the Titans played better than we did. Few players would even try to express the emotions -- frustration, perhaps? -- of the day.

"Usually I would, but this week all I can say is, they played better than us," guard Edwin Mulitalo said.

Boller was injured in the third quarter of last week's season opener, a turn of events that was met with cheers from the Baltimore fans because it resulted in what many wanted to see: backup Anthony Wright at quarterback. Several Tennessee players said during the week they would rather face Boller than Wright, who was making his first start in nearly 21 months.

But Wright struggled. He completed 25 of 40 passes for 212 yards and bobbled a couple of snaps. He was intercepted by linebacker Brad Kassell in the fourth quarter -- Kassell returned the ball 21 yards for a touchdown -- and was sacked six times. Wright led two scoring drives in the second half, including a 12-yard touchdown pass to former Titan Derrick Mason, but they had little effect after a poor first half.

Most disturbing was the Ravens' inability to run the ball. The Titans gave up 206 rushing yards to the Pittsburgh Steelers last week -- including 161 yards to running back Willie Parker -- and that seemed to bode well for a Baltimore offense that is built for the ground game.

The Ravens gave running back Jamal Lewis the ball on the first two plays from scrimmage, and he was brought down behind the line on both carries. All told, Baltimore ran the ball 13 times (which tied the franchise low for attempts), and six of those carries resulted in losses. Lewis broke loose for a 13-yard run in the second quarter, but he finished with just nine yards on 10 carries. It was the first time in Lewis's career that he didn't average at least a yard per carry.

"Just watching them on film from last week, they looked like a totally different defense," Lewis said. "They played well; they played great out there as a team."

Baltimore failed to score a single point in the first half for the second straight week, but at least last week against the Indianapolis Colts, the Ravens could say they moved the ball. That wasn't the case in the first 30 minutes on Sunday, when they trailed, 13-0. Baltimore's offense had the ball for only 10 minutes 32 seconds and gained 23 yards on 20 offensive plays. Each first-half drive seemed to feature a different humiliation for the offense.

On Baltimore's second possession, cornerback Andre Woolfolk ripped the ball out of Lewis's hands, giving the Titans the ball on the Ravens 25-yard line. That set up Tennessee's only offensive touchdown of the game, a two-yard pass from Steve McNair to fullback Troy Fleming.

On Baltimore's next possession, penalties on the offensive line wiped out what would have been two first-down passes by Wright. In the second quarter, right after the defense caused its first turnover of the season (cornerback Samari Rolle forced a fumble that safety Will Demps recovered), Wright was sacked on back-to-back plays by Kyle Vanden Bosch and Keith Bullock. Another drive featured Wright tripping over center Mike Flynn as he took the snap, and another had Wright bobbling a shotgun snap.

"We just have to get on the same page," Wright said. "Right now we're still not on the same page. There are a couple of things we need to iron out. We're going to pull this thing back together and get it where we want to be."

This is the third time in Billick's tenure the Ravens are 0-2. Baltimore opened with two losses in 1999 and 2002 and failed to finish with winning records. But the Ravens are trying to put a positive spin on the situation.

"It used to be 0-2 was a death wish," Flynn said. "Now you have the Patriots winning the Super Bowl [after starting 0-2]. It's still not a good thing; you want to get off to a good start. I've found when we've had some good seasons here, we've started out strong."

When the schedules were released, the Ravens weren't happy to see the bye fall so early in the season. Now it appears as if the break is coming at a perfect time. Baltimore has two weeks to figure out what went wrong before it hosts the New York Jets on Oct. 2. Under Billick, the Ravens are 4-2 in the week following a bye.

"You can't hit the panic button yet. There's still 14 games left," defensive end Anthony Weaver said. "This bye week, it's important to us. We've got to continue to try to get better both offensively and defensively. We'll come out and put on a good showing that fourth week and try to get a win."

Ravens Note: Boller's toe will be examined by a specialist this week, according to a team spokesman. Billick said throughout the week that the team was optimistic that Boller would be able to return in two to three weeks. Comcast SportsNet reported on Saturday that Boller will see another doctor and that surgery is a possibility, which could end his season. Rookie Derek Anderson was the backup quarterback. Kordell Stewart, who was signed on Wednesday, was inactive but designated as the third quarterback.

[MidwayMonster31]

Tennesee's blitz's ripped right through Baltimore's line. Anthony Wright isn't all that better than Boller. He's just less of a scapegoat.

[Skinsfan1311]

Tennesee's blitz's ripped right through Baltimore's line. Anthony Wright isn't all that better than Boller. He's just less of a scapegoat.

Yup...everytime I watched the Titans blown through the middle of the "O" line, all I could do was laugh...and thank the Ravens for giving us Rorbach....