Ravens get ready for prime time

Team faces Miami in nationally televised contest

After pausing briefly to savor the victory over the Jaguars, the Ravens are busy this week preparing to meet the Miami Dolphins in ESPN's Sunday Night Football matchup. The two teams have met only once, with Miami winning 24-13 on October 9, 1997, at Memorial Stadium. The game should prove to be a test of resolve for the Ravens. After coming off of an emotional and historical win over Jacksonville, they face a tough Miami defense on the road in the public eye. As in last week's contest, this matchup will tell much about the character of the team. This is a very winnable game and if the Ravens wish to maintain their contender status, this is an excellent opportunity to shine before a national viewing audience. Patrick Johnson will fill in for the injured Qadry Ismail at wide receiver. The game will feature two of the NFL's top middle linebackers in Ray Lewis and Miami's Zack Thomas. These two men play with a passion and level of pride reminiscent of the old days and should put on quite a show. Sunday night's game also offers cornerbacks Duane Starks and Chris McAlister a chance to redeem themselves for a poor showing last week against Mark Brunell & Co. The Dolphins plan an extended halftime ceremony to honor and retire the number of legendary quarterback, Dan Marino.

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Ravens' goal: Maintain momentum

Milestone win behind them, team faces another challenge

No sooner had the final gun sounded Sunday than Brian Billick must have given some fleeting thoughts to the week ahead. Words like Miami Dolphins, road game and letdown may have entered his mind. With a huge hurdle now behind them, the Ravens face a new, albeit exciting challenge. To maintain. To build. Finding themselves in new territory as a legitimate power in the NFL, the team cannot afford to back off, not even momentarily. It has long been debated which is more difficult to accomplish: Getting there or staying there. On paper, the Ravens have a better team than Miami but much like last week's challenge, the team must step up and prevent the Dolphins from raining on their parade. The game should prove to be an excellent pairing of two outstanding defenses, with the wild card being the Ravens' offense. To legitimize further the notion of Baltimore being a true player in the NFL, the offense needs to show consistency, week in and week out. No one is expecting Tony Banks to throw five touchdown passes each week but the hope is that he can avoid costly mistakes, spread the field and use the many weapons afforded him by the Ravens front office. Barring rare exceptions, the defense will keep the team in games and Tony merely has to perform adequately for the Ravens to win. The most disappointing loss in the team's history came in the final game last year. After building up hopes and facing the prospect of their first-ever winning season, the Ravens let down and sleepwalked through a 20-3 loss to an inferior New England team. If Brian Billick is indeed the motivator that he appears, hopefully he will remind the team of this tough lesson. My belief is that these complacent days are behind the Ravens and that their talent will prevail.

Prediction: Ravens 28, Miami 13

Discuss the game with Dolphins fans

Miami to honor legendary QB Marino

Dolphins Announce Schedule Of Events For Dan Marino Honor Roll Ceremony

(Courtesy www.miamidolphins.com): The Miami Dolphins will retire Dan Marino’s number 13 jersey and induct the NFL’s all-time leading passer into the Dolphins Honor Roll during halftime of the Dolphins-Ravens game on Sunday, September 17. The ceremony will be broadcast live by ESPN as part of the station’s game telecast.The extended 19-minute halftime ceremony will involve over 800 on-field performers, featuring a dance routine with Dolphins dancers and the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders, a video highlighting Marino’s record-setting 17-year NFL career, as well as a music and fireworks display. Former Dolphins quarterback and current Hall of Famer Bob Griese will emcee the festivities, while former Dolphins and Hall of Fame Head Coach Don Shula will be on hand to direct Marino’s induction to the Honor Roll. Over 90 Miami Dolphins Alumni will also join in to congratulate Marino. In addition to the official retirement of Marino’s number 13 jersey and his induction to the Dolphin Honor Roll, team President Eddie Jones will present Marino with a life size statue of the quarterback to be placed in front of Pro Player Stadium.

Ravens get stuck in the mud

Team's effort matches sloppy field conditions

It had all of the makings of a nightmare: Heavy rain, eerie fog, flashes of lightning and ghosts from football past. The Ravens awoke on Monday morning to the realization that bad dreams come true too. Against a backdrop that would have made Edgar Allen Poe proud, the Ravens turned in an uninspired performance and were outplayed, out-manned and outclassed by a hungry Miami Dolphins team before a crowd of 73,464 Dan Marino-homage-paying fans. What a setting it was. There was Marino, emerging from a dense fog and thick cloud of smoke to stand alongside Don Shula, Bob Griese and many other Dolphin greats. Amid hundreds of "We Love Dan" banners and thousands of fanatical fans donning #13 jerseys, there was quarterback Jay Fiedler, a virtual unknown, going 7 for 7 in the second half and leading Miami on two impressive touchdown drives."I'm not going out there trying to be Dan Marino", said Fiedler. "I'm just going out and trying to make the plays that I can make. Those aren't the plays Dan made, but I don't feel the pressure of Dan's shadow on me at all". Yeah right....I guess you had to be there. For all intents and purposes, one loss on the schedule will not carry much weight in the way of playoff ramifications for the Ravens. The troublesome part of the game was the manner in which the team carried themselves. With a little over 5 minutes to play and down by 13 points, Tony Banks and Co. seemed in no particular hurry to score. Strolling to and from the huddle, the Ravens seemed intent just to get out of the rain. Late-tuners-in might have thought that ESPN had the score backwards. It was mind-blowing, actually. In this age of parity in the NFL, there is not a large gap in talent level between most teams. Someone needs to light a fire under the Baltimore Ravens so that this lackadaisical display is not repeated. The team has too many great players to put out an effort like this one.

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