NOTES: CAM FELT GOOD ABOUT CALLS; PATS HAVE RUNNING THREAT

COMMENTARY
By Joe Platania

OWINGS MILLS -- It has been said that timing is everything. Then again, for some people, so is perception.

But for now, one thing is perfectly clear: the NFL's replacement officiating crews are scheduled to work the season's first five weekends, so everyone might as well get used to them.

There are no caustic comments from players, coaches or former officials that are going to move the needle as far as settling the dispute are concerned.

"That's out of our hands," Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said earlier this week.

Reportedly, the league office and the NFL Referees Association have not even met since Sept. 1, which is when the league went ahead with a plan to use the replacements through Week Five (games of Oct. 4, 7 and 8).

The 2001 officials' work stoppage lasted for only one week; the season-opening games were handled by top-level collegiate officials who were no longer needed after an unscheduled two-week break because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks helped the two sides work out an agreement.

There has been no such sudden breakthrough this time around.

That means that when the Ravens and New England Patriots take the field for a crucial Sunday-night showdown between 1-1 teams at M&T Bank Stadium (8:30 p.m.; WBAL-TV; WIYY-FM), the replacements will be there.

It means that when the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles meet the following week in an always-pivotal NFC East clash, the replacements will be there.

It means that when the Houston Texans show off their contending team during an Oct. 8 Monday-night clash with the never-dull New York Jets, the replacements will be there.

And, after each of the next three weekends -- at least -- the same television reports and newspaper/Web site stories about longer games and allegedly bad calls are going to circulate throughout the pigskin zeitgeist.

This is where timing and perception come in, for the key question at this point is, which is more important and valid?

A case can be made that the answer is timing.

After all, television is football's lord and master, and if the replacements' constant ball-spotting errors and unnecessary deliberations about simple calls keep taking longer than they should, games that are supposed to last three hours to about 3:05 are going to take roughly 3:40, which the Ravens-Philadelphia game approached. As things stand now, games are taking about six minutes longer, on average.

It may seem like a heartless, assembly-line approach to take, but the fans' loudest protestations so far have to do with this point. They want their games fast, loud, entertaining and -- most importantly -- finished when they are supposed to be finished.

But then again, is it really worth it for the fans to have their game finished at a certain time if they feel their favorite team is getting robbed?

The main perception through the four preseason weekends and the regular season's first two rounds of play is that the replacements aren't good.

Although that may be true, are they not at least attempting -- much as the regular officials -- to govern and administer the game in the same fashion as the regulars?

Not only are they doing just that, they seem to be performing their tasks with the same objective intent, even though the as-yet unproven stories about replacement officials and fantasy football tie-ins need to be watched closely.

On top of that, a broadcast report earlier this week stated that -- contrary to perceptions that penalties are up because flag-happy replacements want to get noticed -- the number of penalties per game is actually less through the first two weeks than the same period last year, 14.7 as opposed to 15.2.

And in the player-safety department -- calls regarding roughing, face-masking, horse-collar tackles and the like -- there has been virtually no change in the number of violations this year (75) from the first two weeks of 2011 (74).

One area where the replacements' inferiority would be sure to show up is instant replay. Although the number of reviews is up, the percentage of reversed calls is down from almost 50 to roughly one-third.

So, which is it? What is ruining the game for the fans more: the way the replacements are performing their tasks or how long it is taking to perform them? It's probably a little bit of both.

That's because it is the officials' goal not to be noticed and the fans' hope not to have to notice them at all. But when do they get noticed?

It happens during that key moment of every game when timing and perception meet, when a questionable call is made against an elite team at a most pivotal time. It is that one flag, one call, one point in time that can undo a week's worth of practices, as well as an entire tailgate spread.

It is that one moment when the public's superficial tendency kicks in and renders all other aspects of the game meaningless, such as Jacoby Jones' offensive pass-interference call, which wiped out what would have been a game-clinching touchdown in Philadelphia.

That was a contentious call, but how many fans remember that the reconfigured offensive line had just one penalty called on it all day? How many fans know that so far, the Ravens are averaging one fewer flag per game this year than last?

And how many among us -- fans, media, football lovers in general -- really know that stepping back and looking at the bigger picture can actually bring it into sharper focus?

In other words, it would be wise to scrutinize all aspects of the game before blaming its alleged demise on those who may not have the experience to administer it.

Timing may be everything. Perception is reality. But reality can only come from totality.

***

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

Last week, New England quarterback Tom Brady passed John Unitas for 13th place on the all-time passing yardage list.

On that list, who is the highest-ranked quarterback with Baltimore ties?

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

***

INFIRMARY/PRACTICE REPORT: During the midday locker room period, safety Bernard Pollard (rib), linebacker Jameel McClain (knee) and defensive end Pernell McPhee (knee) each expressed confidence that they were healthy and would play Sunday.

As things turned out, it didn't matter that they were three of five players that did not practice Wednesday, for all of them were indeed participating in Thursday's shorts-and-shells session, held in near-perfect conditions.

The other two Wednesday absentees, guard/tackle Jah Reid (calf) and cornerback Lardarius Webb (knee), were both on the field, and Reid was the only non-participating Raven on the entire roster.

Two players were limited on Wednesday, linebacker Paul Kruger (back) and tackle Michael Oher (ankle), but they were dressed and participating Thursday.

***

CAM DEFENDS CALLS: Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron knew the questions were coming. He tried his best to deflect them by moving on to this week, but without much success.

It's been well-documented how the Ravens had a half-dozen third- and fourth-down plays with 2 or fewer yards to go Sunday in Philadelphia, and ended up passing the ball rather than running it.

But apparently, "third-and-short" doesn't mean the same thing to Cameron as it does to the fans. Cameron said that if the third-and-2 plays were third-and-1, the Ravens would have run the ball.

"On third-and-2," he said, "I kind of like the idea of the quarterback with the ball in his hand."

Perhaps the most glaring example came with about five minutes left during the third quarter, after the Eagles had driven 11 plays and gotten the game-tying field goal. The Ravens needed to maintain possession.

Starting from the Ravens' 20, Ray Rice ran on two straight plays, gaining 8 yards. On third-and-2, Joe Flacco tried to find tight end Ed Dickson, but overthrew him near the sideline.

"I felt good about the calls that were made," Cameron said Thursday afternoon. "In Pittsburgh last year, we had the same situation, we executed, we won the game and it was a non-issue.

"We just have to execute better."

***

PATS FACTS: Recently, a Ripley's "Believe It Or Not!" museum opened here in Baltimore. These days in New England, believe it or not, a guy named Ridley is actually giving the Patriots more of a running identity.

Stevan Ridley, a 2011 third-round draft choice from LSU, started two games during his rookie season, but did not take over the starting job until veteran BenJarvus Green-Ellis departed for the Cincinnati Bengals as a free agent.

The stocky 5-foot-11, 222-pound Ridley has made the most of his opportunity, leading the team in rushing with 196 yards at 5 yards per carry. He has also caught five Tom Brady passes.

All last year, the eventual AFC champions got only one individual 100-yard rushing effort, coming when Green-Ellis gained 136 yards against the Jets.

Ridley matched that during Week One, running for 125 yards during a 34-13 road blowout against the Tennessee Titans.

"We had a pretty good back last year," Brady said in a conference call with Baltimore-area media. "... Ridley got a chance to seize that opportunity, which he's done.

"We've got to continue to be balanced on offense, and obviously Stevan runs hard and everyone has a lot of confidence in him."

So far, New England has shown great offensive balance so far, running the ball 63 times and attempting to pass it on 82 occasions (including five sacks allowed) for a respectable pass-run ratio of minus-19.

***

AROUND THE LEAGUE: A few notes and tidbits about upcoming events:

- With the Ravens at home this week, they and the other 15 home teams will begin the league's annual month-long tribute to its Hispanic audience. Hispanic Heritage Month will feature special logos on the field, as well as some play-by-play aired in Spanish. Also, the national anthem at M&T Bank Stadium will be sung by Javier Colon, the most recent winner of NBC's "The Voice."

- When this weekend's games are done, the league's bye weeks get under way in earnest, with Pittsburgh and Indianapolis having Week Four off. The Ravens and Cincinnati are among the idle teams during Week Eight (Oct. 28) with Cleveland not playing during Week 10 (Nov. 11). The byes conclude during Week 11 with Minnesota, Seattle, Tennessee and the New York Giants.

- It's rare that a network gets the Sunday doubleheader for two straight weeks, but CBS has that distinction again this week. While fans prepare themselves for the Ravens' Sunday-nighter on NBC, they can watch Cincinnati-Washington and Pittsburgh-Oakland back-to-back on WJZ-TV (Channel 13).

- After the Ravens play two home prime-time games during a five-day stretch (Patriots on Sunday; Cleveland on Sept. 27), they will have nothing but Sunday games the rest of the way, except for the Oct. 28 bye. Even if one of their games gets "flexed" to the 8:20 p.m. start time, it remains on Sunday.

***

QUOTE OF THE DAY I: Pollard appeared on a Boston radio station and delivered a harsh, public criticism of the replacement officials:

"It's too fast, guys are too crafty and they cannot control the game. My issue is we have our commissioner [Roger Goodell] who is jumping on board to hammer every other issue down in the NFL. He is jumping on board to get meetings with players when things are happening, but we have something on hand that is messing up the integrity of the league and nothing is being done about it.

"These guys need to be out. They need to be out. I respect them as men. They were put in a position they can't handle it. But who is going to turn down an NFL officiating gig when you probably are going to get paid more than you got paid in the Lingerie League or whatever? Who is going to turn that down? But when it's all said and done, the commissioner needs to do something about it.

"I think for us as players, all we can do as players is go play football. We get paid to perform and we have to go out there and perform. I understand that sometimes in the heat of the battle, we get pissed off at the refs because when we see that it's a blatant call that they missed or a call that they made. You have guys out here calling a holding penalty, and it's a 10-yard penalty and they're giving us 15 yards or they're pointing at the wrong team. It's just stuff like this that is just bad."

***

QUOTE OF THE DAY II: Pro Football Weekly fantasy football editor Pat Fitzmaurice apparently hasn't seen Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta get into space or outfight defenders for passes.

Fitzmaurice has been getting plenty of inquiries about Pitta, who has a team-high 13 receptions and has been elevated to the top of the depth chart this week. He had this to say:

"[We're getting] a lot of Dennis Pitta questions this week. He's certainly a viable tight end play, but hype is getting a bit heavy.

"[He has] no special athletic qualities."

***

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

Last week, New England quarterback Tom Brady passed John Unitas for 13th place on the all-time passing yardage list.

On that list, who is the highest-ranked quarterback with Baltimore ties?

ANSWER:

The top of the all-time passing yardage list naturally consists of some of the biggest names and greatest players in NFL history.

The top six in this category are, in order: Brett Favre, Dan Marino, Peyton Manning, John Elway, Warren Moon and Fran Tarkenton. All are either in the Pro Football Hall of Fame or soon will be inducted.

In the seventh spot, with 46,233 career yards accumulated while wearing the uniforms of seven different teams, is the Ravens' first-ever starting quarterback, Vinny Testaverde.

The 1986 Heisman Trophy winner was known for a strong throwing arm, as well as a prolific number of interceptions.

But he was not named to a Pro Bowl team from either conference until he became a Raven in 1996, moving with the team from Cleveland to Baltimore.

As far as other locally tied quarterbacks are concerned, the aforementioned Unitas (40,239 yards) is in 14th place, former University of Maryland star Boomer Esiason is 16th (37,920), long-ago Colts starter Y.A. Tittle has the 26th-most yards (33,070) and ex-Ravens starter Steve McNair is 33rd (31,304).

Posted Sept. 20, 2012