October was not a good month for the Baltimore Ravens. The team went 1-2 and fired its offensive coordinator during a bye week.
After two weeks off, the Ravens will take the field Sunday at the Superdome against the New Orleans Saints, hoping to show that they are rejuvenated and ready for a playoff run.
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The future of the Ravens (4-2) will fall on the shoulders of head coach Brian Billick, who assumed the team?s offensive play-calling after he fired Jim Fassel on Oct. 17. Fassel?s removal was a clear signal of the urgency inside the Baltimore organization, where jobs are on the line, including Billick?s.
“Welcome to my world,” running back Jamal Lewis said this week. “Every player in this locker room, every time we go out and make a play, we make a play for our jobs. That?s nothing new to us.
“At the same time, I don?t think it?s all about his job. I think it?s about trying to make this thing work, make this offense work and get things going. That?s what he?s trying to do.”
Sunday?s game, the first since the Ravens? coaching shake up, could set the tone for the team for the rest of the season. Losers of their last two games, the Ravens are trying to make the postseason for the first time since 2003.
Billick has often talked about building a team profile. So far, the 2006 team has remarkably similar profile to teams of the past ? a tough, hard-hitting defense with a minimalist offense.
That was not supposed to be the case when the Ravens entered the season with a bevy of offensive stars. Fassel?s fall made waves, and players felt responsible for his fate.
“Of course we have something to do with it,” receiver Derrick Mason said. “Obviously, it?s not one man that makes the offense go or makes it stumble. As a whole, we weren?t productive enough to put points on the board, and that falls on all 11 guys on the field.”
But Billick said he felt the need to engineer the offense once again, much like he did with great success in the late 1990s with the Minnesota Vikings.
“In all of our careers, you move along, but sometimes it is great to go back to kind of where you started,” Billick said. “You miss those times. The guys have been great, and the coaches have done a phenomenal job dealing with putting the structure together, and it?s been fun.”
There is a sense of mystery surrounding the Ravens, who kept the bulk of their practices closed this week. Lewis, who has rushed for only 352 yards in six games, said there should be a good mix on offense.
New Orleans head coach Sean Payton said he was not concentrating on the change in play-callers when scouting the Ravens. He said it was more about recognizing talent and tendencies.
“From a playing-calling standpoint, we?ve just got to be able to react and go forward,” Payton said.
Ravens (4-2) at Saints (5-1)
Who: New Orleans Superdome
When: Sunday, 1 p.m.
TV: CBS Radio: 97.9 FM
