ANNAPOLIS PRACTICE SUNDAY; LIONS COME TO TOWN FRIDAY

By Joe Platania

BALTIMORE 31, ATLANTA 17

The Ravens will return to the Under Armour Performance Center fields Saturday. On Sunday, the team will travel to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis for a stadium-style practice (5 p.m.) before working out at the UAPC on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. They have Thursday off before hosting Detroit (8 p.m., Friday; WBFF-TV; WIYY-FM). ...

Thursday's game marked the ninth preseason meeting between the two, with seven of them having taken place in Atlanta. The Falcons have been the third-most frequent Ravens foe in August, surpassed only by the New York Giants (12 games) and the Philadelphia Eagles (11). The teams will likely meet next August, because the two won't play during the 2013 regular season. ...

Before Thursday, the Ravens had won five of the previous eight preseason meetings with the Falcons. The most notable occurrence took place in 2003, when Adalius Thomas tackled Michael Vick from behind and broke his leg, keeping him out for the season's first 11 weeks. ... The NFL Network's only scheduled re-air of Thursday's game took place at 3 a.m. Friday. ...

Going into this year's preseason schedule, the Ravens had compiled a lifetime August record of 38-25. During the John Harbaugh era, Baltimore was 11-5 during his first four preseasons, winning 10 of the last 12 games. The Ravens haven't lost more than two games during a single preseason since dropping three in both 2007 and 2008. ...

The Ravens and Falcons haven't met in Baltimore during the preseason since 2008; the Falcons haven't visited for a regular-season game since 2006. ... Running back Anthony Allen turned 24 years old earlier this week. ... Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders, who played for both teams, turned 45 on Thursday. He once famously declared the Georgia Dome was his house. ...

During the past four years, the AFC's eventual Super Bowl representative has eliminated the Ravens during the postseason. Atlanta has been through that as well, as the first victim of the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants during last year's Wild Card Weekend, when the Giants' defense shut out the Falcons and won, 24-2, at MetLife Stadium. ...

The Falcons won the coin toss and chose to receive. ... The Ravens wore their white jerseys and white pants, while the Falcons wore red jerseys and white pants. ... Thursday's NFL game marked the first right tackle Kelechi Osemele has ever attended or played in. ... With eight playoff appearances during 12 years, the Ravens are tied with Pittsburgh and Green Bay for third during that span. ...

As expected, the Ravens deactivated their most senior veteran players (linebacker Ray Lewis and center Matt Birk, among others), those that have had long-term injury concerns (corner Jimmy Smith, tight end Dennis Pitta and defensive end Arthur Jones are examples) and several other players that were out for a while and have only recently returned to the practice field. ...

Three stat patterns bore fruit during the game: under head coach Mike Smith, the Falcons have led the NFL with 173 points on their first offensive possessions of games. Also, Atlanta has posted 80 points during two-minute offensive situations, sixth best in the league, and during the past three seasons, has held opposing teams to just 17 points in the hurry-up, second best in the NFL...

Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff has been named the league's Executive of the Year -- an honor the Ravens' Ozzie Newsome won in 2000 -- twice during his four-year tenure with the Falcons. Last year, the youthful Dimitroff also won the Jack Horrigan Award, a honor bestowed by the Pro Football Writers' Association of America for being helpful to the media. ...

Despite its reputation as having a fickle fan base, Atlanta has sold out 78 of its last 80 home games. The Falcons have won 50 of those games, good for a 62.5 win percentage that is eighth best in the NFL during that span. Since 2008, Atlanta has 26 home wins, third best in the league. That total is one fewer than the Ravens' and two less than the New England Patriots'. ...

Chris Redman, a 2000 Ravens third-round pick, returns as the Falcons' backup. He threw a meager total of 28 passes last year. ... Last season, the Falcons' defense had 19 interceptions -- four more than Baltimore's -- and got one from 11 different players. ...

Falcons head coach Mike Smith, the brother-in-law of ex-Ravens head coach Brian Billick, was a Baltimore linebackers coach from 1999-2002. Defensive coordinator Mike Nolan was a Ravens wideout coach in 2001 and the defensive coordinator from 2002-2004. Also, Falcons offensive line coach Pat Hill was the Ravens' first tight ends coach during the debut 1996 season. ...

The Ravens-Falcons game was one of six around the NFL -- including the all-Pennsylvania battle between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia -- as the preseason officially opened. There are six more games on Friday, including the New York Jets-Cincinnati and Cleveland-Detroit games; two contests on Saturday; and one each on Sunday and Monday to wrap up the weekend. ...

The head official was replacement referee Craig Ochoa, who was in the middle of a firestorm upon his assignment to the Hall of Fame Game. The league has claimed that the former Lingerie Football League ref worked in the Big Ten Conference, but that has been disputed. During the first half, Ochoa mistakenly said "Arizona" twice when he meant "Atlanta" during replay calls. ...

Thursday's temperature at kickoff under the dome was a climate-controlled 72 degrees.

Posted Aug. 10, 2012