Starting over never felt so good.
With a first-time head coach on the sideline and a rookie quarterback under center, the Ravens swept aside the apprehension of change yesterday to launch a new era.
Behind a power running game and a defense even more stingy than its reputation, the Ravens punished the Cincinnati Bengals for a 17-10 opening-day victory at M&T Stadium, delighting a crowd of 70,978 on a glorious day of football.
Talk about fresh starts. Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer, one of the best in the NFL, looked more like the rookie than did Joe Flacco, the Ravens' starter making the jump from NCAA Division I-AA Delaware, a step below the bigger Division I-A schools where NFL players usually come from, to professional football.
"This was a beginning for Joe," said Ravens' coach John Harbaugh. "We talked about it before the game. ... This is going to be a jumping-off point.
"Now we've got an idea of where he's at and what he needs to do to get better."
Just for an afternoon, the Ravens faithful forgot last season's 5-11 record that resulted in the dismissal of head coach Brian Billick, who led the young franchise to its only Super Bowl victory in the 2000 season.
The vexing issues of a tumultuous offseason and preseason were answered, at least for one day, when the Ravens started 10 of their regulars on a star-studded defense and offered a new identity on offense.
It ended, appropriately enough, with a Gatorade shower for Harbaugh and Flacco's first NFL win. It ended with a thorough domination of the Bengals, whose only touchdown came off a gift fumble by Ravens rookie running back Ray Rice.
And it ended with the Ravens' offense running out the clock behind the power bursts of fullback-turned-tailback Le'Ron McClain, who had a game-high 86 rushing yards.
"He was running north and south, and the ball was high and tight," Harbaugh said of his newest offensive star. "He did a great job with it. He's a load; he's tough to tackle."
The Ravens' defense was so dominant, it stuffed the Bengals twice on fourth-and-one plays in the second half. Jarret Johnson made the first big stop in the third quarter at the Ravens' 36-yard line. Haloti Ngata made the second stop at the Baltimore 26, after the Ravens scrambled to get their goal-line defense on the field and were aided by an official's decision to reset the play clock.
Offense digs in
