Take that last Rams drive of the first half as proof, the last by what was passing for the first-team offense. The aforementioned quarterback, Marc Bulger, picked the Ravens apart for 91 yards in 12 plays over less than three minutes. He didn't even complete a pass to Torry Holt on the drive - just to Dane Looker, a serviceable veteran, and two rookies, Donnie Avery and Keenan Burton. The scoring pass that capped it, and gave them a 17-3 lead, was to Travis Minor, who will be the third-string running back once Jackson returns.
The Rams picked up five first downs on that drive and gained 90 of the 91 yards through the air on eight completions. The Ravens in that entire half? Three first downs, 30 passing yards, four completions.
Their two best chances, as usual, were set up by giveaways by the other team. The Ravens turned Tom Zbikowski's blocked punt, which got them the ball at the Rams' 20-yard line, into a field goal. Two of the passes on plays near the goal line were thrown to blanketed receivers, which looked bad for Flacco. But again, he can't remotely take all the blame.
