Brigance

The Ravens have not disguised their desire to improve their sluggish running game.Six games into the season, they are averaging just 3.7 yards a carry and have produced merely three rushing touchdowns. Their longest run from scrimmage is 19 yards. They have thrown the ball nearly a hundred more times (238-144) than they have run it.Ten NFL running backs have produced more rushing yards than the Ravens (533): Denver's Terrell Davis, Pittsburgh's Jerome Bettis, New England's Curtis Martin, the Jets' Adrian Murrell, Tennessee's Eddie George, Oakland's Napoleon Kaufman, Detroit's Barry Sanders, Minnesota's Robert Smith, Chicago's Raymont Harris and Green Bay's Dorsey Levens.

The team is entering only its second season, yet the Baltimore Football Club promises to be short on new faces.Not that there aren't spots on the 37-man roster available for the 43 rookies who report to Towson State for physicals today, then begin five days of workouts tomorrow. But with starters returning at practically every position from the squad that capped its inaugural season by going to the Canadian Football League's Grey Cup game last fall, Baltimore is shaping up to be a veteran-laden bunch.

Right after the Stallions clinched the Southern Division title and their second straight trip to the Grey Cup, team owner Jim Speros and coach Don Matthews thanked the Memorial Stadium crowd for its support.Cornerback Irv Smith wishes he would have had a chance to address the fans. Smith talked about the distractions the Stallions have battled lately, namely the probable move of the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore, which likely would end the CFL's two-year stay here."I wish I could have said goodbye to them myself.

O. J. Brigance has gone back to linebacker school, where re-learning old habits has presented him with another challenge.Brigance, who broke into the Canadian Football League as a linebacker for British Columbia in 1991, when he was named to the all-Western Conference team, moved to rush end for the Baltimore Football Club last year, and eventually became the team's top point-getter on defense.Coach Don Matthews wants to use Brigance as his fifth pass rusher from behind the line, while Matthews hopes that a battle between rookies Jock Jones and Grant Carter will give Baltimore a new defensive end, solidifying its five-man rush.

RED DEER, Alberta -- The Baltimore Stallions' defensive players talk about getting better each week. Yet, after another spectacular show in Edmonton on Wednesday, particularly during the last six minutes of Baltimore's 19-12 victory over the Eskimos, the question is: How long can they keep this up?How long before injuries begin to take their toll?During a potentially disastrous second half at Commonwealth Stadium, the Stallions lost free safety Lester Smith to a broken left ankle, suffered when he took a bad step while returning a kickoff early in the fourth quarter.

EDMONTON, Alberta -- The Baltimore Stallions brought the Canadian Football League's top defense into Commonwealth Stadium last night, and the Stallions produced yet another stellar effort.On a night when Baltimore's offense was grounded by the Edmonton Eskimos, the Stallions' defense was dominant throughout and nearly miraculous down the stretch of a 19-12 victory before 30,698.The victory, the fifth straight for Baltimore (5-1), kept the Stallions atop the CFL's Southern Division. It also marked the first time that Edmonton (4-2)

Try telling Baltimore Stallion O. J. Brigance how good he is, and you likely will get a smile, a thank-you and a self-deprecating comment.Brigance, one of the Canadian Football League's most productive players, is talent without pretension, confidence tempered by an easygoing charm. Listen to Brigance, and you learn about a player with lots of priorities, which don't necessarily revolve around football.Twice in his five-year CFL career, Brigance has been named to All-Star teams. But the Tom Pate Memorial Man-of-the-Year Award, which the league bestowed upon him last spring for his outstanding sportsmanship and contribution to the Baltimore community, brings him special satisfaction.

If the Baltimore Football Club's second-year defense is a work in progress, then the early summer reviews are nothing less than smashing.Witness the tape of the three Ottawa quarterbacks who were nearly trampled by Baltimore's relentless pass rush in Saturday's exhibition opener.Coach Don Matthews, a connoisseur of fine defense, called it a jail break. Rush end Elfrid Payton, a noted sack-master, called it a mismatch.By any name, Baltimore's nine-sack, two-interception performance served as a warning for the rest of the Canadian Football League.

O. J. Brigance has gone back to linebacker school, where re-learning old habits has presented him with another challenge.Brigance, who broke into the Canadian Football League as a linebacker for British Columbia in 1991, when he was named to the all-Western Conference team, moved to rush end for the Baltimore Football Club last year, and eventually became the team's top point-getter on defense.Coach Don Matthews wants to use Brigance as his fifth pass rusher from behind the line, while Matthews hopes that a battle between rookies Jock Jones and Grant Carter will give Baltimore a new defensive end, solidifying its five-man rush.

Two days before the team's rookies reported to training camp, coach Don Matthews spelled out his expectations for the Baltimore Football Club."This is the greatest bunch of talent that we coaches have ever had. Anything short of a Grey Cup this year will be a total disappointment," Matthews said. "That's because of the talent of these players. We think we're that good."And as Baltimore prepares for its season opener tonight against the British Columbia Lions, its players couldn't be happier with the opponent and the site.

This was at training camp 2008, in the conference room at the Best Western Hotel in Westminster, the place so quiet you could hear hearts beat. O.J. Brigance stood in front of the Ravens with a body ravaged by Lou Gehrig's disease and told them in essence: Don't look at me any differently. Don't feel sorry for me. I'm still here. I'm still one of you. He told ESPN's "Outside the Lines" program that he gave the speech for one simple reason. "They were going to have one of the toughest jobs in the league," he said of the Ravens.

The person considered the strongest Raven by coach John Harbaugh received the game ball after Saturday's AFC divisional playoff victory over the Tennessee Titans in Nashville, even though he didn't take a snap or put on a uniform. In the victorious locker room at LP Field, Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed handed the ball to O.J. Brigance, the Ravens' director of player development, saying, "This is for you." Brigance expressed thanks from the motorized wheelchair that he uses as he battles Lou Gehrig's disease, then added, "but we've got two more to play."

The Ravens took a break out of their minicamp schedule to surprise O.J. Brigance, showing up to run at yesterday's charity 5K race for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Brigance, 38, a former Ravens player who is the team's director of player development, was the honorary chairman for the event that started at Power Plant Live. He was diagnosed in May 2007 with ALS, often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, a progressive and fatal illness that shuts down nerve cells responsible for movement.

O.J. Brigance remembers the 2001 Super Bowl like it was yesterday, when he charged down the field for the Ravens and collided with a kick returner for the first tackle of the game. Now, everyday activities like eating are as challenging as his old workouts. Picking up a fork these days feels like lifting more than a hundred pounds of weights. Brigance, 38, was diagnosed in May 2007 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, a progressive and fatal disease that shuts down nerve cells responsible for movement.

NEW ORLEANS - The road to Super Bowl XXXVI is littered with unlikely success stories and improbable twists, but it's doubtful anyone here appreciates this stage more than the St. Louis Rams' O.J. Brigance. His personal journey took him to the far reaches of Canada and through Baltimore. He endured rejection from 28 NFL teams before even one would grant him a tryout. He earned a Super Bowl ring as a special teams ace with the Ravens a year ago, only to become a victim of the salary cap. He signed this season with St. Louis but was cut in training camp.

After spending four constant-grind seasons in Miami under then-coach Jimmy Johnson, Ravens special team standout 0. J. Brigance has found an entirely different perspective in Baltimore. And with it, much fresher legs in December. "The obvious difference is the physical aspect," said Brigance, a backup linebacker who leads the Ravens special teams with 21 tackles. "The attitude of Coach Johnson was that if you're going to play well on Sunday, than you had to hit [in practice] to get your timing down."

After spending four constant-grind seasons in Miami under then-coach Jimmy Johnson, Ravens special team standout O. J. Brigance has found an entirely different perspective in Baltimore. And with it, much fresher legs in December. "The obvious difference is the physical aspect," said Brigance, a backup linebacker who leads the Ravens special teams with 21 tackles. "The attitude of Coach Johnson was that if you're going to play well on Sunday, than you had to hit [in practice] to get your timing down."

Ravens cornerback Duane Starks practiced yesterday and pronounced himself good to go for Sunday night's nationally televised game against the Miami Dolphins. As if there was any doubt in his mind to start with. "I think it would be pretty hard to keep me out of this one," he said. That's because this is a homecoming for Starks, who was a highly rated option quarterback at Miami Beach High School and a two-year starter in the secondary at the University of Miami. He has already purchased tickets for some 25 family members and friends, and expects a Starks contingent of around 100 people at Pro Player Stadium.

Winning in two of the three phases in football - offense, defense and special teams - usually adds up to victory. Last season, the Ravens' defense came through, but the other two components had room for improvement. Off-season additions have bolstered the offense. The third phase, the special teams, should also be stronger, with four veterans anchoring the squad. Bennie Thompson, Billy Davis, O.J. Brigance and Dennis Stallings have reputations as special teams standouts and have a goal of making their unit as dominant as the defense this year.

No football player has won a Grey Cup and a Super Bowl representing the same city. Until O.J. Brigance signed with the Ravens, no player ever had a chance. Brigance, a standout linebacker for the 1995 Grey Cup champion Baltimore Stallions, said his familiarity with the city wasn't the "be-all, end-all" in his decision to join the Ravens as an unrestricted free agent. Likewise, Ravens vice president of player personnel Ozzie Newsome wasn't acting out of sentiment when he signed Brigance to compete for the sixth linebacker position and be a "significant contributor" on special teams.