RAVENS TO HAVE 11 PICKS IN '13?; A DETROIT/BALTIMORE WEEKEND

By Joe Platania

DETROIT 27, BALTIMORE 12

A published report early Friday night indicated the Ravens could receive the maximum four compensatory picks in next April's draft, pushing the team's total to 11. The "comp pick" formula is based on the quality and quantity of free agents lost the previous year. If the Ravens make 11 picks, it would be the most since taking 10 in 2006 and 2008 and 11 in 2003. ...

This weekend marked the third time the Ravens and Orioles played NFL and MLB teams from the same city during the same weekend. In September 1997, the Ravens and Orioles respectively played the New York Giants and Yankees, and in September 2009, the teams took on the Cleveland Browns and Indians. Both times, the Ravens won on Sunday and the Orioles lost. ...

The Ravens, who forced an NFL-best 21 fumbles last year, have forced four during two games. Linebacker Omar Brown has three recoveries and he also pounced on an onside kick during the fourth quarter. ... Third-string quarterback Curtis Painter was 10-for-20 for 86 yards and an interception, playing to a passer rating of 40.8. ... Fourth-stringer Chester Stewart did not play. ...

Friday's game against the Lions marked the start of the 15th season of operation of what is now called M&T Bank Stadium. It had been previously called The New Stadium at Camden Yards (1998), PSINet Stadium (1999-2001) and Ravens Stadium (2002). Also, this year marks the 10th season since the Ravens switched from grass to the new SportExe Momentum turf. ...

After the usual day-after-game off, the Ravens will resume practices with their third so-called "off-campus" practice at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at Stevenson University's Mustang Stadium, at the site of the Colts'/Ravens' former year-round facility. Gates open at 2:30 for those that have acquired tickets to the practice via an online lottery. Training-camp mode ended last week. ...

For the first time, the team will take on the Jacksonville Jaguars during a preseason game, with the teams meeting at M&T Bank Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Thursday (WBAL-TV, Comcast SportsNet; WIYY-FM). The teams built up a vibrant rivalry in the old AFC Central before the league realignment in 2002 separated them. The Jags have won 10 of 17 lifetime meetings. ...

Before Friday's game, the Ravens had won both of their previous preseason meetings with the Lions, with both games having taken place in Baltimore in 2002 and 2004. ... The NFL Network's first scheduled re-air of the Lions-Ravens game will take place at 7 a.m. Sunday. ... Detroit has played both Cleveland and Baltimore, and will head to Oakland next week. ...

The kickoff time of the Ravens' Aug. 30 preseason finale at St. Louis has been changed to 7 p.m. because of the Republican National Convention in Tampa. ... NBC made a  similar programming move for the NFL regular-season opener, shifting it from Thursday, Sept. 6 to Wednesday because of the president's speech to the Democratic Convention in Charlotte. ...

Apparently, winning matters: going into Friday's game, the Ravens had compiled a lifetime August record of 39-25. During the John Harbaugh era, Baltimore was 11-5 during his first four preseasons, including wins during 10 of the last 12 games. The Ravens lost one game during each of the last two years, and haven't lost more than two since dropping three in 2007 and 2008. ...

The last time the Lions visited Baltimore was in December 2009, as the Ravens tied team records for most points and biggest victory margin during a 48-3 win, despite a daylong rain shower. The Ravens lead the regular-season series, 2-1. ... Punter Sam Koch (47.2 average on six punts) turned 30 years old earlier this week. Guard Tony Wragge turned 33 recently as well. ...

This year marks the 55th anniversary of one of the Colts' most epic collapses, and it came against the Lions. After routing Detroit in Week One, the Colts got out to a 27-3 lead during the return match before the Lions, paced by wideout Hopalong Cassady, rallied for a 31-27 win. Detroit won the division by one game and took the NFL title, which it hasn't won since. ...

Former Ravens tight end and long snapper Brian Kinchen -- who hauled in the first pass reception in team history -- was a finalist for this year's NFL Teacher of the Year award, one that took a new twist this year, in that it singled out 10 finalists that had all played in the NFL before they became teachers. Kinchen played 16 years with five different teams. ...

The Ravens' defensive unit was introduced to the crowd, and linebacker Ray Lewis did his "Hot In Herrre" dance, not preferring to hold it back for the regular season. ... The Lions were introduced as a team. ... The Ravens won the coin toss and chose to receive. ... The Ravens wore their purple jerseys and white pants, while the Lions wore white jerseys and silver pants. ...

The Ravens deactivated injured wide receivers Torrey Smith, David Reed and Devin Goda, linebackers Josh Bynes, Terrell Suggs and Darryl Blackstock, offensive guard/tackle Jah Reid, defensive tackle Ryan McBean and tight ends Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta. ... Friday's game didn't count, but the Ravens' 27-5 home mark since 2008 is second best in the league. ...

The Lions sat down four defensive starters: right defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch and three secondary players: safeties Amari Spievey and the injured Louis Delmas, as well as cornerback Alphonso Smith. Also among those not dressing were running back Mikel Leshoure, tackle (and former Pittsburgh Steelers starter) Jonathan Scott and defensive tackle Sammie Hill. ...

Sixth-year Lions cornerback Chris Houston has something in common with the Ravens' Lardarius Webb, as both players led their team in interceptions last year with five each. But Houston was one of only three players around the league with two pickoff runbacks for touchdowns, the others being Tampa Bay's Aqib Talib and Seattle's Brandon Browner. ...

Scott Mitchell, one of the most maligned quarterbacks in Ravens history, had a breakout year with the Lions in 1995 -- four years before leaving Detroit and coming to Baltimore -- setting many of the club's passing records before Matthew Stafford came along. Mitchell had five 300-yard games and threw for 32 touchdowns against 12 interceptions for a 92.3 passer rating. ...

Like the Ravens, the Lions faced a franchise-player crisis when defensive end Cliff Avril delayed his signing until after the extension deadline passed, agreeing to ink his franchise tender only before reporting. Last year, Avril became the sixth player in NFL history to have 10 sacks, a fumble-return touchdown and an interception-runback score during the same year. ...

For the second straight week, the Ravens faced an opponent that has a backup quarterback with local ties. Last week, it was the Atlanta Falcons' Chris Redman, the Ravens' third-round pick in 2000, and coming to town Friday was former University of Maryland starter Shaun Hill, who earned the greater share of the playing time when starter Matthew Stafford left the game. ...

The Lions have two locally born products on their roster, third-string guard Pat Boyle (Calvert Hall) and third-string safety Ricardo Silva, who played collegiately at Bowie State before transferring to Hampton. ... Former Ravens coach Brian Billick was part of the Fox broadcasting team that worked the game; he was paired with play-by-play man Thom Brennaman. ...

Lions head coach Jim Schwartz, a Mount Saint Joseph's graduate who was born in Baltimore, was a former University of Maryland and Ravens assistant. Defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham was a Colts assistant during the team's last two seasons in Baltimore. Running backs coach Sam Gash was a fullback on the Ravens' Super Bowl XXXV-winning team in 2000. ...

The AFC North Division kicked off Week Two of preseason play on Thursday with Cleveland's win at Green Bay and Cincinnati following the Ravens into Atlanta. Friday, the Lions-Ravens game was one of five around the NFL, and Saturday featured a seven-game slate. Sunday, the Indianapolis Colts are scheduled to play in Pittsburgh against the Steelers. ...

The head official was replacement referee Jerry Hughes, a former Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference referee who has worked many conference playoff games in that league. He and his crew worked last week's New York Giants-Jacksonville game. ... Friday's kickoff temperature was 83 degrees with overcast, rainy conditions. ... The game took three hours and 24 minutes to play.

Posted Aug. 18, 2012