NOTEBOOK: YANDA SITS OUT; NEXT TWO REF ASSIGNMENTS

By Joe Platania

OWINGS MILLS -- As far as preseason games go, this is "the" week.

It's the week starters get the most playing time, usually deep into the third quarter. It's the week when first-stringers re-assume their dominance at the top of the depth chart, and depth makes itself known via rookies or first- and second-year standouts.

It's the third week, the one that plays the role of "Moving Day" just as the third round of The Masters does. It's the Saturday that decides who gets to tee off on different-colored jerseys on Sundays.

Practice-field repetitions still mean a lot, but not as much as they did early during camp or during the spring workout season. It's time for players to make their move ... either toward a locker with a permanent nameplate or in the general direction of a jet plane heading out of town.

It's been well-documented how much flux -- indeed, how much movement -- the Ravens have had to go through this offseason, a rather inordinate amount for a team that was close to playing in the Super Bowl.

But in the ever-changing world of the parity-ridden NFL, a team -- even one with four straight playoff appearances and eight during the last 12 years -- can't sit still or it will be bulldozed into oblivion.

The Ravens certainly haven't stagnated, for it's been far from a boring preseason. There's been plenty of movement, and some are bound to get left behind.

For these players, this is the week to get moving ... or else, it will be time to get going.

1. RB DAMIEN BERRY
Right now, all indications point to rookie third-round pick Bernard Pierce as having the edge in the four-way battle to be the top running-back reserve behind Ray Rice. Anthony Allen, the leader before camp, has taken a precipitous fall because of poor blocking, and the electrifying Bobby Rainey hasn't assumed the mantle probably because he has a Rice-like body type. That leaves Berry, who is two inches shorter (5-foot-10) but five pounds heavier (223) than Pierce; he also has a year in the system because of his practice-squad status. Berry has 17 total touches this preseason -- five fewer than Rainey -- and is averaging 3 yards per carry and 10 yards per reception. Backups will play less this week, so Berry has to come up big.

2. LB COURTNEY UPSHAW
An injured shoulder and inconsistent play have jeopardized the starting job Upshaw was thought to have inherited on one of the edges once Terrell Suggs got hurt and Jarret Johnson left as a free agent. Upshaw did not play against Atlanta, but saw plenty of snaps against Detroit and did not register a sack or even a single tackle against a ball carrier. It was thought that more work in pass coverage on the practice field would easily take off the extra weight with which he played in college, but that hasn't quite happened yet. This week, he'll go up against a young quarterback in Blaine Gabbert, who is playing with a lot more confidence, so it's up to Upshaw to boost his ego -- and stock -- by rattling Gabbert's.

3. QB TYROD TAYLOR
The Ravens have placed a lot of faith in this former sixth-round pick, so much that they have walked a tightrope the past two seasons by carrying just two signal callers. It might not be the best thing for a quarterback to be a team's leading rusher, but that's what Taylor is through two games, with 111 yards and a 9.3 yards-per-carry average. He'll have to keep showing that versatility to keep a roster spot that could be used for an extra lineman, for he has played to a passer rating slightly higher than 50, completed 41 percent of his passes and been sacked twice. For all intents and purposes, the "Wildcat" is dead in the NFL, so Taylor will have to earn his keep some other way.

4. CB CARY WILLIAMS
Williams has the kind of long, lean build and deceptive strength to be a good corner in the NFL, and he has a full season of starts behind him to prove it. But experienced receivers such as Detroit's Calvin Johnson have shown that Williams could still use a little work when it comes to body position and ball awareness in the air. This week provides a perfect opportunity to show what Williams can do, as Jacksonville's nine-man wideout corps contains just two rookies (Mike Brown, Kevin Elliott) and only one player shorter than 6 feet (Brown, 5-foot-10). Jimmy Smith's balky back condition might be the one element that keeps Williams in the starting lineup this year, but it would help Williams -- who made a risky move recently, turning down a contract extension --  if he could earn the job on his own.

5. K BILLY CUNDIFF/JUSTIN TUCKER
In our two previous "Five To Watch" entries, we've included one of these two competing kickers. This week, we'll put them both in here, because although Tucker has been more accurate and consistent on the practice field, they are dead even in games. Tucker has made all three game-condition kicks of 36, 45 and 50 yards, while Cundiff has been good from 33 and 44. We might be splitting hairs here, but Tucker has gotten three chances at extra points to Cundiff's one, but all four have been good. On kickoffs, Cundiff is a known quantity, but Tucker is no slouch in that department, either. The team wants to see how well its kick coverage team performs, so touchbacks won't be allowed again this week.

***

JOEY P'S TRIVIA TIME: Today's question:

When Jacksonville recently released wide receiver Lee Evans, the move raised a few eyebrows here in Baltimore. Evans will be remembered as the player that couldn't quite hold on to a Joe Flacco pass in the end zone during the final minute of the AFC Championship Game.

What might have gone unnoticed is the transaction the Jaguars made to fill Evans' spot on the roster. Which former Raven was signed to replace Evans?

The answer will be revealed at the bottom of this entry.

***

YANDA SITS OUT: As far as Tuesday's practice is concerned, the only new absence was that of right guard Marshal Yanda, whose legs were taken out from under him during the Monday session.

Head coach John Harbaugh described the injury as a tweak, and didn't seem to regard it as a serious matter.

Yanda and the rest of the starters on both sides of the ball are expected to play into the third quarter of Thursday night's game against Jacksonville, the standard three-quarter format, according to the coach.

During Tuesday's practice, safety Sean Considine (head) and linebacker Sergio Kindle (shoulder) again wore red mesh no-contact jerseys, but did participate in the shorts-and-shells practice.

The rest of the absences were expected: defensive tackle Ryan McBean (broken, dislocated ankle), defensive end Pernell McPhee (death in family), tight ends Ed Dickson (sprained shoulder) and Dennis Pitta (broken hand), guard/tackle Jah Reid (calf) and linebacker Josh Bynes (cracked vertebrae).

Also, wideout David Reed (ACL surgery) remained on the Physically Unable To Perform list, the last of four players placed on that sheet when training camp began.

Linebacker Terrell Suggs (Achilles tendon surgery) is still on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury sheet, expected to miss at least half the season after incurring his injury in late April.

***

PRACTICE REPORT: Here are some highlights from the Tuesday midday practice, one that lasted a little more than 90 minutes, much shorter and earlier than usual:

- During the early team period, Joe Flacco and the first-string offense got to work against defensive backups. Predictably, the ball never touched the ground as the veteran quarterback found at least four different receivers.

- That period was followed by the first defensive unit working against offensive reserves, and top draft pick Courtney Upshaw had little trouble getting into the pass pocket multiple times against quarterback Tyrod Taylor. Also, Jimmy Smith picked off a floating pass near the sideline, which was intended for Tommy Streeter.

- Playmaking safety Omar Brown got his hands on another football during a 7-on-7 red-zone drill, tipping away an end-zone pass intended for Torrey Smith.

- Later during that same period, Jacoby Jones beat Jordan Mabin to the corner and hauled in a perfectly thrown Flacco ball for a touchdown. But safety Emanuel Cook knocked away a goal-line pass to Devin Goda.

- The defense wanted to teach the younger receivers a thing or two, but double coverage couldn't stop LaQuan Williams from making an end-zone catch or Patrick Williams from catching a Curtis Painter throw in the middle of the field.

- Painter moved well and, for the most part, threw with great accuracy. But Ed Reed tipped and picked off a pass down the middle for Anthony Allen.

- A rare sight in camp: Ray Rice had to extend himself vertically for a Flacco pass, leaving his ribs exposed to any possible tackler.

- Former Elkton High, Maryland and Ravens defensive tackle Larry Webster is now the head varsity football coach at Poly. He brought his entire team to the Ravens' practice Tuesday.

- Also spotted around the fields were majority owner Steve Bisciotti, team president Dick Cass, Maryland athletic director Kevin Anderson and Baltimore Colts legend Lenny Moore.

- Not much music was played at practice, but Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust" did make the Tuesday playlist.

***

FOE FRONT: The Jacksonville Jaguars, the Ravens' next preseason opponent (7:30 p.m., Thursday; WBAL-TV, Comcast SportsNet; WIYY-FM), certainly won't garner a lot of votes from fans as a Super Bowl team, or even a postseason-bound squad.

But because this week marks the always-important third preseason game, it's important to see what kind of team is coming to Baltimore.

For one thing, all 11 offensive starters and 10 of 11 defensive players are back, cornerback Drew Coleman being the exception. But is that necessarily a good thing for a team that was not only 5-11 last year, but hasn't had a winning record or playoff berth in five years?

Despite possessing the bottom-ranked offense in the league (259.3 yards per game) last season, the Jags did beat the Ravens, 12-7, in one of Baltimore's more perplexing efforts of the year.

Not only that, but the Ravens' secondary is sure to be tested by two new weapons, rookie wideout Justin Blackmon and veteran Laurent Robinson, who was productive in Dallas last year.

Although quarterback Blaine Gabbert posted a league-low 65.4 passer rating as a rookie, he now has had a full offseason of work to show off. He'll have to, what with marquee running back Maurice Jones-Drew still holding out. So far, with 70 percent completions and a 126.1 rating, Gabbert has risen to the occasion in August.

Despite MJD's absence, the Jags have scored 59 points during two preseason victories, against the New York Giants and New Orleans.

Defensively, Jacksonville had but 31 sacks last year, but it has eight during two games this month, thanks to solid veteran presences at linebacker -- a unit coached by ex-Maryland head man Mark Duffner -- and in the secondary, where ex-Ravens strong safety Dawan Landry is a Jags starter.

***

WINTERBERG, WHITE TO REF: Replacement referee Jim Winterberg will officiate the Jacksonville-Baltimore game on Thursday night.

Winterberg and his crew worked the Washington-Chicago preseason game at Soldier Field last Saturday night, a high-scoring affair the Bears won. There did not seem to be any high-profile mistakes that came out of that contest.

Winterberg did not have a Week One assignment during the preseason, but he and his crew have already been given the task of working the Carolina-Pittsburgh game at Heinz Field during the fourth and final preseason weekend.

Speaking of Week Four, all the games already have crews assigned to work them, including the Ravens-St. Louis game at 7 p.m. Aug. 30. The kickoff time was originally 8 p.m., but was moved because of television coverage of the Republican National Convention in Tampa.

That game will feature David White as the head referee, but information on him is scarce. A Google search of his name turned up the late actor David White, best known for playing Larry Tate on "Bewitched," a popular ABC sitcome during the late 1960s.

White was the lead official on the New England-New Orleans preseason opener before going without an assignment in Week Two. This weekend, White and his crew have the Chicago-New York Giants game on Saturday night.

***

QUOTE OF THE DAY I: Running backs coach Wilbert Montgomery, who played in Super Bowl XV with Philadelphia and coached in Super Bowl XXXIV with St. Louis, is usually prepared for anything.

But, apparently, he wasn't ready to be asked about the pitched battle between four candidates to back up Ray Rice.

"Oh, who's backing up Ray?" Montgomery said. "Well, I was told I can't ... right now, it's a huge question mark. I would like to think I know the answer to that."

***

QUOTE OF THE DAY II: This week, the Ravens are playing a Jaguars team that will replace St. Louis as the club that will play multiple "home" games in London during the next few years.

With nods to both the "Austin Powers" film franchise and the TV series "Family Guy," Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk had this to say about the Jags' London venture:

"When the Jaguars (actually, when playing in England, we'll be calling them the "Shaguars") host the first of four games at Wembley Stadium in 2013, they'll obviously be playing a team other than, you know, the London SillyNannies."

***

JOEY P'S TRIVIA TIME ANSWER: Here's the question we asked you earlier in this entry:

When Jacksonville recently released wide receiver Lee Evans, the move raised a few eyebrows here in Baltimore. Evans will be remembered as the player that couldn't quite hold on to a Joe Flacco pass in the end zone during the final minute of the AFC Championship Game.

What might have gone unnoticed is the transaction the Jaguars made to fill Evans' spot on the roster. Which former Raven was signed to replace Evans?

ANSWER:

In 2006, the same year the Ravens took Oregon defensive tackle Haloti Ngata with the 12th overall pick during the first round, they drafted Ngata's Ducks teammate Demetrius Williams during the fourth (111th overall).

Williams was billed as a speed merchant coming out of the Pacific Ten Conference, where he caught 162 passes for more than 2,600 yards and 20 touchdowns, averaging 16.4 yards per reception in the process.

But Williams, who the Jaguars signed on Aug. 12 to replace Evans before their second preseason game, proved to be one of many receivers the Ravens drafted that simply didn't play up to his potential.

The injury-riddled Williams played in 44 games for the Ravens from 2006-09, playing a full 16-game schedule only once, in '06. During that span, he caught 63 passes for four touchdowns before the Ravens released him.

Williams caught on with the Cleveland Browns in 2010, playing in two games and catching no passes before the team released him. He was out of football in 2011.

Posted Aug. 21, 2012