Sports: Ravens offense falters

Ravens offense falters

Baltimore gets 90 yards on the ground and 205 passing and allowed five sacks, leading to the team's downfall.

By DARRELL FRY, Times Staff Writer

TAMPA -- The signs were there early that things weren't going to go smoothly for the Ravens offense.

In the first five minutes of Saturday night's game at Raymond James Stadium, quarterback Elvis Grbac threw an interception and nearly had another. It was a grind from there as the Ravens stumbled to their lowest point total of the season, tying the points they scored in a 21-10 loss to Cincinnati in Week 2. Playing on the same field where it won Super Bowl XXXV in January, Baltimore's offense looked anything but super in losing 22-10 to the Bucs. The Ravens had two interceptions and a fumble, averaged 3.5 yards a carry and had all sorts of trouble picking up blitzes.

The Ravens offense struggled to get anything going. It started with Grbac, who had one of his worst games. He was 21-of-37 for 205 yards but was out of synch with his receivers, overthrowing them at times and mistiming other throws.

That left Baltimore powerless because the running game, almost nonexistent all season, managed just 90 yards. Terry Allen was held to 74 on 20 carries.

As a result, the Ravens couldn't keep many drives alive; only three went more than six plays. Baltimore's longest was a 10-play possession capped by its only touchdown.

Typical of the Ravens' night, they had a six-play drive in the third quarter that started on their 42 and ended a yard back at their 41.

The Ravens simply couldn't convert third downs, going 4-of-17 (24 percent). If Grbac didn't miss his intended receiver, the receiver would catch the ball but be short of the first-down marker.

Late in the first quarter and early in the second the Ravens pulled off that 10-play scoring drive. They did it by cleverly mixing the run with the pass before Grbac showed great touch in hitting receiver Travis Taylor on a fade route in the right corner of the end zone for a 7-3 lead.

"That play is called Y-spot, where the tight end is the primary receiver on a spot route," Taylor said. "I ran a route to the outside and Elvis just made a great throw, and I just came down with it."

But, through all its inconsistency, the Ravens offense finally broke the team's back when Grbac was picked off by linebacker Derrick Brooks, who returned it 53 yards to the Ravens 1-yard line late in the second quarter.

The Ravens still were in the game, down 16-7 at the half, but they had no momentum. Perhaps their last real chance to turn things around came with 13:49 left in the game when the Ravens faced third and goal from the Bucs 1-yard line. Grbac threw a touchdown to tight end Shannon Sharpe, but the play was wiped out by a procedure penalty.

The Ravens couldn't convert on the next play on third and 6 because of a Grbac incompletion, and they had to settle for a field goal.

Part of the Ravens' difficulty on third down was the Bucs' blitz. Tampa Bay frequently sent a cornerback or a safety and the Ravens had trouble picking them up. The Bucs had five sacks.

Perhaps leery of yet another Bucs blitz, Grbac seemingly rushed the throw on fourth and 10 on the Ravens' final possession. Qadry Ismail caught it but was tackled 5 yards short of a first down with 1:53 left.