Cleveland

Cleveland Melvin probably snuck up on more than a few teams during a 2010-11 season in which he was named Big East Rookie of the Year. But there was no element of surprise last season, when the Lake Clifton grad put up 17.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game for the Blue Demons. “Coming into the season, [DePaul coach Oliver ] Purnell told me everyone is going to know who I am now,” Melvin said. “Obviously, that's what happened. Teams started putting more pressure on me and being more physical.

In the aftermath of the Ravens' 23-16 win against the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 27, a pair of Browns accused the Ravens offense of engaging in dirty play. Safety Ray Ventrone alleged that the Ravens were participating in “extracurricular stuff,” and cornerback Dimitri Patterson backed up his teammate's assertion. The comments made few waves in Baltimore as the Ravens took a 3-1 record into a mini-bye at the time, but left tackle Michael Oher expressed surprise when informed Wednesday of the Browns' charges.

Every week, I hope to bring you a quick Q&A with someone who covers the Ravens' opponent that week. On Sunday, the Ravens will take on the Cleveland Browns in Cleveland. So I reached out to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal to talk about this weekend's game and how the Browns have changed since we last chatted. MV: From afar, it seems that rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden has progressed since the Ravens faced him. He threw a pair of touchdown passes in three of those games.

Browns 7, Chargers 6 Strategy: The Cleveland Browns haven't significantly altered their philosophies since they traveled to M&T Bank Stadium in Week 4, but they are executing much more efficiently. On offense, they want to pound the ball with rookie running back Trent Richardson and attack defenses with quick throws, screen passes and deeper throws off play action. Defensively, they usually rushed four or five defenders on Sunday and mixed up their coverages behind their 4-3 front.

It's hard to tell what's causing more angst in this town, Hurricane Sandy or whether the Ravens will bounce back after that 43-13 beatdown they took from the Houston Texans before the bye week. Here's the best thing the Ravens can do now: go to Cleveland and get this offense fixed Sunday against the Browns (2-6). Get off to a good start instead of the usual sputter job we've seen in the first three road games, when Joe Flacco and his pals managed to score just 13 first-quarter points.

The FBI has named Baltimore native Stephen E. Vogt as special agent in charge for its office in the city. Vogt started work in his new position last week, FBI spokesman Rich Wolf said. Richard A. McFeely, who previously headed the Baltimore office, left recently after just under three years to become the FBI's assistant director of criminal and cyber operations. Before coming to Baltimore, Vogt was the legal attache in Afghanistan — the personal representative of the FBI director — and also served in Iraq.

Since being drafted by the Ravens in 2008, Ray Rice has been eager to carve a place in NFL history, and one of the more accommodating opponents has been the Cleveland Browns. From a 21-carry, 154-yard performance on Nov. 2, 2008 to a 29-carry, 204-yard showing on Dec. 4, 2011, the running back has thrived against Cleveland. In his career, Rice has averaged 96.9 rushing yards against the Browns, which ranks as the second-highest total against an opposing team that he has faced at least three times.

It's not often that a modest 1-yard gain in a season-opening loss holds so much significance. When Cleveland Browns running back Trent Richardson took his first handoff from quarterback Brandon Weeden three weeks ago, he carried the hopes of a championship-starved city still praying for its first Super Bowl title, while ushering in yet another new era for the floundering franchise. The Browns, who have had one winning season and five head coaches in the past decade, traded up to select Richardson third overall in April's draft and 19 spots later used another first-round draft pick on Weeden.

RAVENS PASSING GAME: The Ravens weren't kidding when they talked about revving up their passing attack in quarterback Joe Flacco's fifth season. Flacco is currently second in the NFL in passing yards (913) and tied for fifth in touchdowns (six). Flacco has never lost to the Browns in eight tries and Thursday night he'll face a shaky secondary, looking to improve on a career 94.4 quarterback rating against Cleveland. Flacco used all of his weapons in a 31-30 victory over the New England Patriots last Sunday, completing passes to eight different guys.