Marchibroda has to find a way to score some points, and it seems as though the Ravens are running out of ideas after scoring just 13, 20, 16 and zero points in the previous four games.
The Ravens have gone from a passing team to a running team, with Graham giving them big numbers yesterday.
But the big-money players, like Testaverde and receivers Michael Jackson and Derrick Alexander, no longer are making big contributions in crunch time.
Jackson had two receptions for 37 yards, including one for the Ravens' lone touchdown on a 29-yard catch in the first quarter. Alexander had four receptions for 39 yards, but neither had one in the overtime period.
The Ravens may have gone conservative on offense because Testaverde had fumbled eight times and thrown eight interceptions in the previous six games. He had two interceptions yesterday as the Ravens stayed mostly with short- and mid-range passes.
"We had momentum," Jackson said of his touchdown reception, which put the Ravens ahead 7-0 with 4: 01 left in the first quarter. "But from that point on, we were just playing who could get across the 50, and that doesn't win football games. Derrick and myself were not a big enough part of things in overtime and we thought we could have been."
Testaverde's biggest mistake came with 29 seconds left in the first half. His pass for Green was intercepted by Thomas at the Eagles' 7, stopping a Ravens drive that started at their own 31.
"I just didn't see him," Testaverde said of Thomas. "It was a costly turnover."
The Ravens can't point fingers at the defense. They stymied Hoying with a number of blitzes and games from the inside of the defensive line and bottled up running backs Ricky Watters (36 yards) and Charlie Garner (21).
Their only lapse came late in the game when the Eagles went from their own 40 to the Ravens' 2 in four plays before Garner scored up the middle to tie the game at 10-10 with 1: 25 left in regulation.
The four previous plays were passes. On the biggest one, Hoying escaped pressure and passed to fullback Kevin Turner down the right sideline for a 25-yard gain to the Ravens' 27.
Middle linebacker Ray Lewis said the Ravens should have stayed in their regular defense instead of using five and six defensive backs.
"We were trying not to lose instead of playing to win," said Lewis, who finished with a team-high 11 tackles. "I think you should just keep shooting your guns and roll with it. We have to learn to put people away."
But defensive linemen McCrary and Tony Siragusa disagreed.
"We didn't do anything different, they just made the plays and we didn't," McCrary said. "We didn't get it done when it counted. If you make the plays 90 percent of the time, but don't when you have to, then you failed."
Said Siragusa: "We used five and six defensive backs all day. Give the kid [Hoying] some credit, he made some plays under a lot of pressure.
"I don't know how to react to all of this. I was depressed because we didn't get the pressure during their drive, but we did in overtime. We didn't win, we didn't lose. It's a tie and I've never been in a tie all my life."
Next for Ravens
Opponent: Arizona Cardinals
Site: Memorial Stadium
When: Sunday, 1 p.m.
TV/Radio: Ch. 45 (subject to blackout rule)/WJFK (1300 AM), WLIF (101.9 FM)
Line: Ravens by 4
Series: First meeting
% Tickets: 6,500 remain
0-for-November
Yesterday's tie kept the Ravens winless in November with an 0-5-1 record:
1996
Date .. .. ..Opponent .. .. .. ... .. ..Result
pTC
11-3 .. .. ..Cincinnati .. .. .. .. ..L, 24-21
11-10 .. .. .at Jacksonville .. .. ...L, 30-27
11-17 .. .. .at San Fran. .. .. .. ...L, 38-20
11-24 .. .. .Jacksonville .. .. .. ..L, 28-25*
1997
11-2 .. .. ..at N.Y. Jets .. .. .. ..L, 19-16*
11-9 .. .. ..at Pittsburgh .. .. .. ...L, 37-0
11-16 .. .. .Philadelphia .. .. .. ..T, 10-10*
*-Overtime
Pub Date: 11/17/97
