The red zone is the dead zone to the Ravens.
It is where the offense ends and nightmares begin.
It goes beyond rhyme, reason and happenstance. It comes up just short of the supernatural, if you listen to Edwin Mulitalo, the Ravens' second-year left guard.
"You saw the movie, `Angels in the Outfield,' " Mulitalo said. "I think we've got devils in the end zone."
He laughed, but it's as good an explanation yet for the Ravens' red-zone blues.
After four straight games - and 10 straight trips to the red zone - without a touchdown, the Ravens will try again today against the Pittsburgh Steelers at PSINet Stadium.
They will try with Trent Dilfer at quarterback instead of Tony Banks. They will try against a Pittsburgh defense that hasn't allowed a point in 10 quarters, or a touchdown in 12.
Imagine the relief when - if? - the Ravens end a touchdown drought that covers 16 quarters and 49 possessions.
"I'm not a big jump-around, go-in-the-end-zone and-spike-the-ball guy," said 14-year-veteran right tackle Harry Swayne. "But when we get in the end zone, I might do that. Someone's going to want that ball."
There are no certainties when it comes to playing the Steelers. Pittsburgh is 3-1 against the Ravens in Baltimore. Quarterback Kordell Stewart, who reclaims the starting job from Kent Graham today, is 5-0 against them.
The 4-3 Steelers have won four games in a row. The 5-3 Ravens have lost two in a row.
Last week, the Ravens played for first place. This week, they're playing for second place. Suddenly, an offense that held so much promise a month ago self-destructs every time it sniffs the goal line.
Ravens coach Brian Billick said changing quarterbacks doesn't, by itself, mean changing the bottom line.
"There were enough things going on around Tony that if those same things happen around Trent, it's not unrealistic to think the result [would] be the same," Billick said.
Dropped passes, missed blocks, wild throws and suspect play calls. The Ravens have run the gamut in botched scoring opportunities. Starting with their final possession in a 37-0 rout of Cincinnati on Sept. 24, the Ravens have gotten inside the opponent's 5-yard line eight times without scoring a touchdown.
The Steelers lead the NFL in red-zone defense, giving up just three touchdowns in 16 penetrations.
"Right now, we don't have a whole lot of confidence because we haven't gotten the ball in the end zone in four games," tight end Shannon Sharpe said of the Ravens' offense.
"It's going to take us one shot in the end zone and we're going to be OK. Then we'll get the confidence. Until then, we'll be dragging around and moping and wondering what's going on."
It's a drought that has drained the Ravens' confidence, cost Banks his starting job and left the defense with little margin for error. Last week, the Tennessee Titans took advantage of a short field and a missed sack to get their only offensive touchdown in a 14-6 win over the Ravens.
The Ravens' defense has given up eight touchdowns in eight games. Only the Steelers - with six - have given up fewer.
Defensive end Rob Burnett, who had a terrific first half of the season, was guilty of the missed sack on Steve McNair's 9-yard touchdown pass last week. Reduced margin for error?
"We're human. Mistakes are going to be made," Burnett said. "We try to minimize them. We don't feel a lot of pressure. We just go out and have fun. We enjoy what we do, we enjoy each other, we enjoy the competition, we enjoy Sunday afternoons."
This afternoon will bring running back Jerome Bettis and center Dermontti Dawson to PSINet. Both are healthy; neither were when the Ravens stonewalled the Steelers, 16-0, in the season opener.
Another change: The Ravens almost certainly will play today without run-stopping defensive tackle Tony Siragusa, who is still feeling the effects of a brutal collision with Tennessee fullback Lorenzo Neal that left him with a bruised spinal cord. Siragusa will be replaced by third-year man Lional Dalton.
Still, the most conspicuous switch is at quarterback. Dilfer makes his first start since Nov. 28, 11 months ago, when he started for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the Seattle Seahawks and broke his collarbone.
Billick expects to see a crafty, seven-year veteran with the ability to move around in the pocket and allow plays to develop.
"I expect maturity, veteran experience," Billick said. "He knows when to push himself, when discretion is the better part of valor."
Dilfer will scrape off the rust of eight weeks and try to find the end zone.
"I feel comfortable with what will happen in the game," he said. "I feel comfortable with success. I feel comfortable if we have to go through a hard time.
"You'd be naive to think we're going to go out there and everything is going to be beautiful. But I'll feel comfortable in both those situations. I think a lot will come down to making plays when they present themselves."
Especially in the red zone.
