RAVENS V. BROWNS NOTABLES
RAVENS: Under head coach BRIAN BILLICK, club is 51-6 (.895) when leading after 3 qtrs…In last 4 games vs. Browns, QB STEVE MC NAIR has 8 TD passes with 104.3 QB rating…RB JAMAL LEWIS has 1,329 yds rushing & 7 TDs in 10 career games vs. Cle (Bal 7-3). Top 3 career rushing games all vs. Browns, including 2 200-yard efforts (9/14/03, 295; 12/21/03, 205; 9/30/02, 187). In 16 career Sept. starts, RB Lewis has averaged 94.3 rush yds w/ 11 TDs…
WR DERRICK MASON had career long reception (71t) against Browns on 12/02/01. TE TODD HEAP needs 1 TD (21) to surpass WR/KR JERMAINE LEWIS for 2nd place on Ravens all-time TD list (Jamal Lewis, 39)…Club leads league in turnover differential (+8). Team tied club record last wk, forcing 6 turnovers…Defense has not allowed TD in 2006. Defense allowing NFL-low 152 yds/game & 32.5 rush yds/game (1.7 yd/carry avg.). DE TERRELL SUGGS has 10.0 sacks vs. Cle in 6 career games. LB ADALIUS THOMAS notched 2.0 sacks, including safety & INT last wk vs. Oak…In past 3 vs. Cle, K MATT STOVER is 10-for-10 in FG attempts…
BROWNS: Club has won past 2 at home vs. Bal…QB CHARLIE FRYE had career high 244 passing yds. vs. Cin last week. With 2-yd TD run last week, Frye became 1st Browns QB since BRIAN SIPE (10/27/84-11/4/84) to register rush TD in consecutive games…WR BRAYLON EDWARDS (110) recorded 2nd career 100-yd game last wk (107 vs. GB, 9/18/05). Edwards’ 75-yard catch was 2nd longest of career (80t vs. GB, 9/18/05). Team has scored TD in 4 of 6 (66.7 pct.) trips inside 20…Defense has limited Ravens RB Lewis to 286 rush yards on 86 attempts (3.3 avg.) in past 4 mtgs.
CB GARY BAXTER hosts former club (2001-04) after registering INT in 1st meeting at Bal…WR-PR DENNIS NORTHCUTT (12.3) stands 3rd in AFC PR avg. Ks PHIL DAWSON and Bal’s Stover rank 3rd & 4th respectively all-time for highest FG pct. (136/182, .840; 386/463, .834). Both attended Lake Highlands H.S. in Dallas. Dawson (3) is tied for AFC lead in TBs on kickoffs. P DAVE ZASTUDIL signed as free agent from Ravens (02-05) in past offseason. Kickoff coverage unit ranks No. 1 in NFL in opponents’ avg. drive start (17.7).
I’VE SEEN THAT MOVIE TOO: “I watch the way a receiver breaks the huddle. I read his body language. Is he coming out with pep in his step for a pass or is he jogging out because it’s a run? His mouthpiece, is it in or out? Maybe he only has a mouthpiece in if it’s a pass. Splits, lineup, there are a whole lot of little things that I maybe shouldn’t be saying, but hey, those are some of the details I look at. That’s what my coaches tell me – ‘Look at the little things,’ and you’d be surprised what you find.” That’s Steelers’ CB Ike Taylor. Hello Ravens receivers! Are you reading?
BYE, BYE HAPPINESS: The Ravens will soon be taking on teams coming off bye weeks. The Chargers have a bye this week prior to traveling to The Vault next Sunday to take on the hometown team. Following byes, the Chargers have a record of 8-8. The Broncos after they lose to the Patriots today will be heading home with a 1-2 record and an extra week to think about the Monday Night game against the Ravens on October 9. The Broncos after a bye week are 13-4.
DOWN BUT NOT OUT: History shows that 0-2 teams advance to the playoffs more often than people might think. Since 1990, 17 teams have begun 0-2 and still qualified for the postseason. The 0-2 Dallas Cowboys in 1993 won Super Bowl XXVIII, the 0-2 New England Patriots of 1996 played in Super Bowl XXXI, and in 2001, the 0-2 Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVI.
SOMETHING HAS GOT TO GIVE: The Ravens are ranked first in the NFL with an average start of just beyond the 41 (41.2) courtesy of B.J. Sams and the kick return team. However the Browns rank No. 1 in kick coverage, holding teams on average inside the 18 (17.7). The Ravens kick coverage team is ranked 15 in the AFC allowing teams to start drives from just beyond the 32 (32.1). Cleveland’s return team gets it out to the 26 yard line on average.
TURN ON THE TV: For the third consecutive week, all games of the NFL schedule have sold out in advance of the local TV blackout deadline, enabling every game to be televised in the home-team market, the NFL announced today.
This is the first time since the NFL blackout policy took effect in 1973 that all blackouts have been lifted in the season’s first three weeks. All blackouts were lifted on NFL Kickoff 2006 Weekend (September 7, 10-11) and in Week 2 (September 17-18).
It will be the 16th time in NFL history that blackouts have been lifted for all games on a single weekend. The previous 15 times have been on Kickoff Weekend in 1998; three times in 2000; once in 2001; four times in 2002 and 2005; and twice this season.
The NFL blackout policy states that games sold out 72 hours prior to kickoff can be televised in the home city.
