NOTEBOOK: DEONTE'S DARING; COWBOYS' O-LINE STRUGGLING

By Joe Platania

OWINGS MILLS -- When two strangers meet for the first time, it's a chance encounter that can lead to all kinds of good and bad possibilities.

Such an occurrence will take place Sunday when the Ravens meet the Dallas Cowboys for only the fourth time (1 p.m.; WBFF-TV; WIYY-FM).

Before this game, Dallas was tied with Detroit and the New York Giants as opponents the Ravens have seen less of than any other team. Baltimore has played those teams only three times each during regular-season play, and has beaten the Cowboys each time, winning by a combined score of 90-34.

Conversely, Baltimore is the team Dallas has played the least often of the other 31 NFL squads. It does make for preparation sessions that have to be even more thorough than usual.

"You kind of start from scratch a little bit," Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said. "We have more of a foundation of data against teams that we play a lot of times.

"It's all about a play here and a play there that can make the difference, and that's what makes the National Football League so good, so entertaining."

With the schedule rotation set up so that teams in opposing conferences get to go to certain cities only once every eight years, it makes for an uncertain outlook as far as how a team will be able to cope in a particular facility.

For instance, the last time the Cowboys came to Baltimore (2004), quarterback Tony Romo was a second-year player sitting third on the depth chart behind ex-Ravens starter Vinny Testaverde and backup Drew Henson.

Recently, ESPN declared M&T Bank Stadium -- the site of Baltimore's current 13-game home winning streak, the longest current one in the league -- the most pronounced home-field advantage in the league, but Romo said he had few, if any, memories of his previous visit.

"This will be my first time playing up there," Romo said this week. "I know it's loud. You can just tell what you hear from other people and watching the game. It's definitely going to create issues."

Fortunately for the Ravens, they don't seem to have many health issues going into the game. Defensive tackle Haloti Ngata has been limited with a shoulder problem, but the rest of the team has practiced fully.

Dallas has had to deal with uneven play in both interior lines, and some key members of those lines are still fighting through injuries after the team's bye week.

Even though he is expected back this week, former Maryland center Phil Costa (back) hasn't started since Week One. Also, two key defensive linemen, Kenyon Coleman (knee) and Jay Ratliff (ankle), are not quite at 100 percent. But those three and slot receiver Miles Austin (hamstring) have all been fully practicing.

On Thursday, the same could finally be said for outside linebacker Anthony Spencer (shoulder), whose presence is vital to take pressure off his opposite number, the dominant DeMarcus Ware.

"I'm good," Spencer told the Dallas Morning News. "I'm playing."

Spencer was inactive for the team's Monday-night pre-bye loss to the Chicago Bears.

Also, punters Chris Jones (left knee) and Brian Moorman (right groin) have been injured, and what complicates things further is that both have been place-kick holders as well.

If neither of them can perform that task, then it will be up to Romo, whose muffed snap of a new, slicker "K" ball cost the Cowboys a wild-card playoff win in Seattle six seasons ago.

Romo recovered his own drop and tried to run for the end zone, but was tackled by Jordan Babineaux 1 yard short of the goal line.

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

Earlier this week on Ravens Report, we told you that the Ravens' plus-6 turnover ratio through five games put them far ahead of the pace set last year, when they finished with a plus-2.

Has there ever been a full season when the Ravens finished with an even (zero) turnover margin?

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

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DEONTE'S DARING: Undrafted rookie kick returner Deonte Thompson, a former University of Florida wide receiver, made the 53-man roster the same way any rookie would, by excelling on special teams.

Currently, Thompson's 25.9-yard average on kick returns is first among AFC rookies, second among all first-year players (the New York Giants' David Wilson is at 26.3) and sixth in the AFC.

Thompson committed one of the team's four fumbles on the second-half kickoff in Kansas City. He said he would have scored had that not happened, and special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg seems to be in agreement.

"When we watched that particular return, there were so many good things," Rosburg said. "We're going to reinforce the positive and correct the things we need to correct and go to the next opportunity and look forward to a better result."

Thompson did break off a return touchdown against the Detroit Lions during the preseason, but it was called back by a penalty.

But the former Gator speedster has shown more than one occasion that he can break a long return, using the same speed he's shown while separating from cornerbacks in training camp.

Thompson will have to continue to bring training-camp intensity to his job, as David Reed's impending return from the Physically Unable To Perform list gives Rosburg and Harbaugh the options they like.

"We'd like to have multiple returners on our team," Rosburg said. "So, when David comes back, he'll certainly have that opportunity."

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DALLAS DOINGS: An offensive line that brought in some new pieces is struggling to achieve and maintain the kind of cohesion needed to be effective.

Sound familiar?

The same thing that the Ravens have had to go through with their front five is happening in Dallas. As we told you in our opponent preview, the line has kept quarterback Tony Romo upright, allowing just eight sacks in four games.

But in run-blocking mode, the line has been less than stellar.

According to Pro Football Focus, 14 of the Cowboys' 79 run plays this year -- roughly one in every five -- have been stuffed for losses. The line is getting no push at all and has forced the team to go to the air 169 times (including sacks allowed) for the fourth-biggest run-pass imbalance in the NFL.

It seems hard to believe, but the franchise of Calvin Hill, Walt Garrison, Duane Thomas, Tony Dorsett and NFL all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith is having trouble running the ball.

"I'd just like to see us be able to get in there and have movement when we want it in the offensive line rather than zero-yard plays or minus-yard plays," owner/general manager Jerry Jones told the Dallas Morning News. "I'd like to see us have our offensive line be more consistent."

The line added a pair of unrestricted free agents in ex-Cincinnati guard Nate Livings -- the Cowboys' answer to the Ravens' pickup of Bobbie Williams -- and former Carolina Panther guard Mackenzy Bernadeau.

But Bernadeau grades out fourth from the bottom among all NFL guards and tackles. Doug Free and Tyron Smith are among the league co-leaders with six penalties each, most of them of the pre-snap variety.

Costa hasn't started since the opener with a back problem, but he has been less than effective even when playing.

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FOR THE BETTOR: For the top teams in the Super Bowl odds race, according to the wagering Web site Bovada, it's almost a case of "as you were."

Odds shortened slightly on the fortunes of the top teams, including the fifth-choice Ravens, who moved from 17-2 to 15-2 to take home the Vince Lombardi Trophy at Super Bowl XLVII Feb. 3 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.

The original PressBox prediction, Houston and San Francisco, remained as the two teams with the shortest odds on the board, at a respective 4-1 and 5-1. Following them once again were New England (11-2), Atlanta (7-1) and Baltimore.

The two oldest archrivals in the league were next, with the Chicago Bears at 12-1 and the Green Bay Packers now at 15-1. The defending champion New York Giants currently stand at 18-1.

No surprises among the longshots, with Jacksonville at 750-1 and the Cleveland Browns at 1,000-1. The teams with the five longest odds, and seven of the longest eight, all come from the AFC; Carolina being the exception at 250-1.

As far as winning the AFC title is concerned, Houston is still the 2-1 favorite, with New England close behind at 5-2 and the Ravens at 7-2. Everyone else in the conference is 12-1 or longer.

And, in case you're interested, the University of Alabama is a 5-4 pick to win the Bowl Championship Series national championship. North of the border, the British Columbia Lions -- the team that edged Baltimore for the 1994 Grey Cup -- is the 19-10 favorite to win this year's trophy.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY: Suddenly, the play of future Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis following his drastic offseason weight loss has become a polarizing topic, with some observers noting a decline in his skills and others -- including this one -- thinking he hasn't lost much at all (see "How's He Doing?" from Thursday's blog).
 
Former Indianapolis and St. Louis running back Marshall Faulk, enshrined in Canton himself, put it as succinctly as possible:

"I will take Ray Lewis right now over a lot of other linebackers in this league. Though he has lost a step or two, I want Ray Lewis on my side rather than going against him."

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

Earlier this week on Ravens Report, we told you that the Ravens' plus-6 turnover ratio through five games put them far ahead of the pace set last year, when they finished with a plus-2.

Has there ever been a full season when the Ravens finished with an even (zero) turnover margin?

ANSWER:

On three separate occasions: in 2011 (plus-2), 2003 (plus-3) and 2002 (minus-1), the Ravens' turnover ratio was close to even.

But during no season did the Ravens turn in a more middling, mediocre performance than 1999. Strangely enough, it was rather welcomed at the time.

To that point, Baltimore had never posted so much as a .500 record. But that year, debut head coach Brian Billick told fans to expect the team to "raise the bar."

The Ravens did exactly that in many different ways, going 4-4 on the road and 4-4 at home for an 8-8 record. They gained 259 first downs on offense and allowed 260, scoring 34 touchdows and yielding 31.

Also, the team recorded a then-franchise-record 31 takeaways in 1999, which dovetailed perfectly with the 31 turnovers committed by the offense for an even (zero) turnover margin.

Rod Woodson had seven of the team's 21 interceptions, while the three-headed quarterback monster of Stoney Case, Tony Banks and Scott Mitchell combined for 20 pickoffs themselves.

Posted Oct. 12, 2012