Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Bobby Elder, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. Baltimore 34 at Denver 23 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Baltimore Ravens: LB Ray Lewis continues to be the most dominate player in the NFL (11 tackles, 7 assists, 1 INT). RB Jamal Lewis looked aggressive running the ball, oftentimes carving through the Denver interior defense and dragging several Bronco defenders with him. He also caught four balls, three of them on screen passes. Out of the ten Baltimore plays in the red zone, Lewis touched the ball four times. The Baltimore offense went three-and-out 6 times. The 34-point outburst was mostly due to great special teams and defense. QB Chris Redman followed Brian Billick's offensive blueprint almost flawlessly. He only completed 13 passes for 152 yards, but most importantly did not throw any interceptions. As long as he continues to stray away from the big miscues, Baltimore will be competitive in many of their games, increasing the use of RB Jamal Lewis. Of the 13 times in the first half that Chris Redman dropped back to pass, 8 of those passes were targeted at TE Todd Heap. Heap made the most of his chances with several outstanding grabs including 2 TDs. He left for short periods of time due to a mild back strain, but came back on the next play each time. Definitely a red zone target. Denver Broncos: The RB situation in Denver is as murky as ever. The bulk of the fantasy football world would like to see Coach Mike Shanahan declare Clinton Portis the feature RB, but the RBBC in Denver is in full swing. Making it even worse, Reuben Droughns was given a goal line carry for a TD. Shanahan appears to be content to drive the fantasy football world completely nuts. Mike Anderson started the game but left with a sprained ankle at the beginning of the third quarter. It looked like Mike Shanahan had chosen Olandis Gary to carry the workload, but then decided that the speed of Clinton Portis was needed in the fourth quarter. Baltimore scored 31 points in the second quarter, which consequently made Denver scrap their offensive game plan. The Broncos only ran the ball 21 times, with two of those runs being quarterback sneaks by Brian Griese. The Denver offense can be called OBC (offense by committee). No single player was featured significantly more than others. Nine different players had at least 3 plays run or targeted at them. The Baltimore offense by comparison only had four players get the same amount of opportunities. QB Brian Griese spread the ball evenly to his receivers. Baltimore played a deep zone for most of the second half and let Griese connect on a lot of underneath throws. The longest passing play of the night for Denver was 24 yards. He did not show any signs of his ankle bothering him. Even though Griese had 3 INTs. It did not appear that Shanahan considered going to Beuerlein at any point. Denver's offense was generally more effective on the evening. They posted 30 first downs compared to only 14 by Baltimore. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Baltimore Ravens QB: Chris Redman: 13-24-152 yards (2 TD, 0 INT). Redman did everything that he needed to do to win the game. He wasn't given many opportunities to make plays, but on a few occasions he came up big. His second TD pass to Heap had great touch, but his first one could have just as easily been picked off. Most importantly, he did not throw any interceptions or make any mistakes that has been his hallmark so far this season. While he will probably not be a fantasy star, he might be able to help the Ravens turn their season around. RB: Jamal Lewis: 25-78 yards rushing (1 TD) 4-21 yards receiving (5 targets). Lewis put up workman like numbers against a stout defense. Denver simply did not fear getting burned by Redman deep and stacked the line most of the night. Lewis looks to be all the way back from the knee injury and will continue to be the featured player in Baltimore. Nice, powerful TD with a couple of quick cuts before the plunge. Jamal Lewis continues to show flashes of the running back that was a sure 1st round draft pick last year before his ACL injury. He ran very aggressively, often dragging the Denver defenders with him. As long as the Baltimore defense keeps on playing well, Lewis will get his touches all season long WR: The Raven wide receivers did not catch a single ball in the first half of the game. Between Brandon Stokely and Travis Taylor, only 3 balls were caught all night. Brandon Stokley: 2-35 yards receiving (6 targets) 1-6 yards rushing. Neither Stokley nor Taylor was given many chances on the night. Stokley had one nice longer grab off of a nice Redman play fake to Lewis. He appears to be Redman's WR target of choice, but only after looking Todd Heap's way. Travis Taylor: 1-8 yards receiving (5 targets). As mentioned, not many plays at Taylor. The score dictated the situation that kept Taylor and Stokley out of the second half game plan. TE: Todd Heap: 5-84 yards (2 TD) (9 targets). Heap is the man in the Baltimore passing game. He was targeted early and often including a fade after being split out near the goal line. He disappeared in the second half (1 target), but this can be accounted for by the score at that point. Heap was a nice sleeper for many owners at the beginning of the year, but the secret is out now as he led all Baltimore receivers. Chris Redman threw to him 3 times in the red zone and he was obviously the focal point of the Ravens' passing attack. Look for his numbers to gain some consistency during the season as he and Redman continue to gel on the field. Pass Defense: Baltimore sacked Griese 3 times and knocked him around on several other plays. This harassment led to 3 INTS. Lots of the 328 yards Griese had were from garbage time while Baltimore was in a prevent defense. The Ravens played mostly a deep zone during the second half of the game, giving Brian Griese an opportunity to complete many underneath passes. Griese ended up with 53 passing attempts, but still could not connect on the long ball. Ray Lewis was a monster. It seems like the loss of Sam Adams and Tony Siragusa up front has not stopped him from seemingly being in on almost every play. Chris McAlister shut down Rod Smith, and rookie Ed Reed had a key interception late in the game. A solid effort by everyone in the secondary, and for the whole defense in general. Rush Defense: Denver was held to 96 yards (4.6 YPC). Ray Lewis definitely sets the mood for the Baltimore defense. The whole unit plays off his emotion. The predicted demised of this defense may have been a bit premature. Special Teams: This is where the game was won. McAlister had a huge impact not only with the missed FG return for a TD, but his 15 yard punt return helped set up Heap's first TD. Ed Reed's blocked punt lead to another TD. Robert Tate's 64-yard kick return also set up a FG. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** Denver Broncos QB: Brian Griese: 35-53-328 yards (1 TD 3 INT) 4 yards rushing (1 TD). The first INT was a strike that hit Anderson in the chest, but he bobbled it right to Ray Lewis. With the exception of the second INT (poorly overthrown), Griese looked sharp, but didn't get much help on the night. Baltimore built a big 34-3 halftime lead, so much of Denver's offensive game plan in the second half fell on the shoulders of Brian Griese. Griese spread the ball around all night, but could not connect on the big play. He threw a touchdown pass for the 19th consecutive game. He did not show any signs of the ankle injury that "dogged" him earlier in the week. RB: Clinton Portis: 8-55 yards rushing 3-30 yards receiving (5 targets). Portis had only 1 touch in the first quarter compared to the combined 8 from Gary and Anderson. Portis did have the longest carry (24 yards) and reception (17 yards) of the Denver RBS. Olandis Gary: 5-18 yards rushing 2-14 yards receiving (4 targets). Gary did not look spectacular, but appears to be an equal partner in the 3-headed Denver RB (4-headed if you want to count Droughns now). He didn't really take advantage of the opportunity with Anderson out of the game. Mike Shanahan seemed to favor Gary in the third quarter, but used Portis mainly in the fourth quarter because of Portis' speed. Mike Anderson: 5-19 yards rushing 2-8 yards receiving (2 targets). Anderson started the game. Six of Anderson's touches in the game came in the first half while the game was still close. He aggravated his ankle at the beginning of the third quarter, and did not return. No word on how serious the injury is. WR: Rod Smith was thrown to 11 times, but only ended up catching 5 passes for 61 yards. He was blanketed most of the night by Chris McAlister, who is stating his case as one of the best young cover men in the NFL. Griese overthrew him on what could have been a long touchdown pass, and he also dropped a deflected ball in the end zone. Early in the game, before the score got out of hand, Denver seemed intent on finding ways to get the ball into Smith's hands, including lining him up in the backfield, and using him on a reverse in which he threw an incomplete pass to Ed McCaffrey. Ed McCaffrey continues to be one of the most dependable receivers in football. Brian Griese threw it his way 10 times, and McCaffrey caught 8 of those passes for 90 yards. While McCaffrey isn't really used as a deep threat too much, he is looked to regularly on slants, usually on third downs. A little disturbing is that Denver was in the red zone for six plays, and Griese did not throw the ball to either McCaffrey or Rod Smith Ashley Lelie: 2-24 yards receiving (5 targets) Lelie was given opportunities to shine. He just missed pulling in a deep ball (strike by Griese) that would have put Denver first and goal at the 2-yard line. On a second long ball, Griese was picked off, but Lelie waited for the ball to come down to him (hands below his waist) instead of catching the ball at its highest point. Basically a rookie being a rookie. TE: Shannon Sharpe: 9-75 yards receiving (13 targets). Sharpe had only 1 catch in the first half. Most of his catches were in garbage time as Baltimore moved into prevent later in the game including 6 catches in the fourth quarter. Dwayne Carswell: 3-24 yards receiving (3 targets). Carswell had a target in each of the last 3 quarters. He and Hape are great examples of the Denver offense. Everyone is going to get chances to play and opportunities to score. Patrick Hape: 1-2 yards receiving (1 TD) (4 targets). See Carswell. Pass Defense: Denver did not give up a reception to a Baltimore wide receiver until the third quarter. Unfortunately, they were not able to stop Todd Heap until the second half. Deltha O'Neal was ejected from the game after pushing a referee, and the secondary could not make the big play all night that they needed to come back and win the game. Denver also did not get much pressure at all on Chris Redman, who had plenty of time to throw the ball for most of the game. Rush Defense: The Bronco defense held Jamal Lewis in check for most of the game, but the front seven was a little tired by the middle of the fourth quarter. Kavika Pittman had a team high 6 tackles. The Broncos committed several stupid penalties, including late hits and unsportsmanlike conducts. On one drive, they were penalized 5 times for 51 yards. Special Teams: The blocked punt and missed FG that was returned for a TD were huge in determining the difference in the score. Deltha O'Neal, the Denver return man, was ejected from the game after pushing a referee. Tyron Poole fielded the returns in his place, with less than desirable results. Jason Elam was inaccurate, missing a 44-yard field goal that would have put Denver within one score with less than two minutes in the game. He shanked a 58-yarder at the end of the first half. Chris McAlister grabbed the ball in the end zone and ran it back 108 yards for a touchdown, which is the longest touchdown in NFL history. The Denver kick coverage was horrible as well. Robert Tate had a 28.2 yard average on 5 kickoff returns, including one that he almost took to the house to start the second half.