Earnest Byner

It became official yesterday: Bam Morris is the feature back in the Ravens' one-back offensive set.Ravens coach Ted Marchibroda made the announcement yesterday after the team's first practice of the week in preparation for Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.Morris, 24, will replace Earnest Byner, 34, who rushed for 559 yards on 141 attempts after starting the team's first nine games."We couldn't just throw him in there, especially with the no-huddle, because there was a lot of things to learn," said Marchibroda, who ran some of the two-back set formation, teaming Morris with 6-foot-2, 240-pound fullback Carwell Gardner.

Baltimore got a glimpse of the old Bam Morris two days ago, but his future as a starter is still in question.Despite rushing for 56 yards on six attempts, including touchdown rushes of 3 and 10 yards in the Ravens' 37-31 win over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday, the Ravens will continue to start Earnest Byner, 34, as the feature back in the one-back set formation.The announcement came as no surprise, though Morris has added life to a stagnant running game that only opened up because of the team's strong passing attack in the last month.

Bam Morris referred to himself as "kind of rusty" after yesterday's 37-31 Ravens victory. What happens when this guy gets warmed up?Morris, who made his debut in last week's 45-34 loss in Denver by rushing for 15 yards in a cameo role, introduced himself to the home crowd at Memorial Stadium by scoring two touchdowns.With six carries, Morris did not play the expanded role that coach Ted Marchibroda envisioned -- Marchibroda had said before the St. Louis game that Morris would carry around 15 times.

In the National Football League, there are tough road games, and then there is Mile High Stadium in Denver. All the Ravens have to do to break a two-game losing streak and get the first road victory of their inaugural season is win there Sunday.Good luck.The Ravens will be dragging a 2-4 record into Denver, not to mention a devastated defensive line that is reeling from the loss of end Rob Burnett to a season-ending knee injury and tackle Dan Footman to a broken forearm that could sideline him for the rest of the year.

The debt is still unpaid. Baltimore will have to wait awhile longer to get its revenge on the city of Indianapolis, as its Colts defeated the Ravens, 26-21, last night before a crowd of 56,978 at the RCA Dome. The Ravens (2-4) played perhaps their best game of the season, a gallant and gutty effort despite losing two starting defensive linemen in the first half who might be gone for the season. But an interception returned 68 yards and a 1-yard run by Marshall Faulk around left end were the deciding touchdowns in the second half that determined the Ravens' fate against the Indianapolis Colts (5-1)

In the Ravens' locker room, no one cared that it was just the winless New Orleans Saints.Players exchanged high-fives and coach Ted Marchibroda was slapping rear ends and shaking hands. Quite a few players talked about building momentum for the future and establishing a winning streak at Memorial Stadium.The Ravens were so giddy about defeating the New Orleans Saints, 17-10, before 61,063 yesterday, that Dan Footman, the defensive tackle who brought you the Macarena sack dance during the preseason but never gives interviews, eloquently summed up the win in one word.

The Ravens have proved two things through one-fourth of their first season.They can beat bad teams at home (two wins against teams with a combined 1-9 mark), but have problems beating competitive teams on the road.That's why the Ravens' 17-10 victory over the New Orleans Saints yesterday at Memorial Stadium set the stage for what is likely to be the defining game of their first season, when they play host to the New England Patriots on Sunday. The Patriots' defensive coordinator happens to be former Browns coach Bill Belichick.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Ravens' search for their running game ended with authority on Aug. 10 at Giants Stadium.And it ended early. On the first possession of their 37-27 victory over the New York Giants, the Ravens began to erase the futility that marked their ground game in the previous week's preseason opener against the Philadelphia Eagles.The Ravens took a 3-0 lead with a 15-play, 73-yard drive that consumed nearly seven minutes. The drive featured Leroy Hoard running through some wide holes between the tackles, to the tune of seven carries for 34 yards.

It will be halfback by committee for the Ravens this season.It's not exactly what the coaching staff had in mind, but none of the three halfbacks on the roster created any distance from the others during the preseason."

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Ravens' search for their running game ended with authority yesterday at Giants Stadium.And it ended early. On the first possession of their 37-27 victory over the New York Giants, the Ravens began to erase the futility that marked their ground game in last week's preseason opener against the Philadelphia Eagles.The Ravens took a 3-0 lead with a 15-play, 73-yard drive that consumed nearly seven minutes. The drive featured Leroy Hoard running through some wide holes between the tackles, to the tune of seven carries for 34 yards.