End Zone

Because of problems related to health and performance, the Ravens' struggling offense could be in for several changes on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.Quarterback Eric Zeier's injured right thumb is on the mend, although Zeier will be replaced by veteran Jim Harbaugh if he fails to impress coach Ted Marchibroda sufficiently in practice over the next two days. The same goes for center Jeff Mitchell, whose groin injury could force the Ravens to start Wally Williams at center and insert backup Ben Cavil in Williams' left guard spot.

The man who forever changed the course of business in NFL end zones was not, as fate would have it, a frequent visitor to the area himself. During a five-year pro career in the early 1970s, Elmo Wright scored a grand total of seven touchdowns.But oh, how he changed the game on one of those rare visits.On Nov. 18, 1973, Wright, a speed receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs, scored on a long touchdown pass from Len Dawson in what would become a 38-14 victory over the Houston Oilers.Once across the goal line, he began running frenetically in place, knees pumping, arms churning, seemingly out of sync with his surroundings.

The Ravens' emotional outbursts late in Monday night's 27-24 loss to the New England Patriots not only took some of the attention away from their best game of the season but it also reinforced their reputation as an out-of-control team on the field. Five years ago against the New Orleans Saints, cornerback Chris McAlister ripped off Donte Stallworth's helmet and threw it into the end zone after getting tangled up with the receiver. Two years ago in Detroit, linebacker Terrell Suggs got so incensed after he was flagged for a questionable roughing-the-passer penalty that he jumped into the face of referee Mike Carey.

Todd Heap remembers catching a pass in the end zone ... and then darkness. It was four years ago against Denver that Heap thought he had scored a touchdown before Broncos linebacker Al Wilson forced an incompletion by planting his shoulder underneath the Ravens tight end's chin. EAGLES @RAVENS Preseason game, tomorrow, 7 p.m., M&T Bank Stadium, ch. 45, MASN2, 1090 AM, 97.9 FM

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- In his first seven starts for Navy, quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada was a careful custodian of the ball. He threw just one interception in 56 passes. Last night, caution went out the window and Kaheaku-Enhada was intercepted three times - twice in the end zone - as the Midshipmen dropped a 41-24 decision to No. 15 Rutgers (2-0) at Rutgers Stadium. Ball State@Navy Next Saturday, 5 p.m., 1090 AM

Lucky Ravens The Ravens should send Jets receiver Justin McCareins a gift basket, but he would probably drop that, too. McCareins' inability to catch two potential touchdown passes on the Jets' final drive stopped the game from going into overtime and allowed the Ravens to escape with a 20-13 win. The game essentially ended when a pass went off McCareins' hands in the end zone and fell into Ray Lewis' arms. Coming attraction The Ravens play the Arizona Cardinals, who know how the Ravens feel.

LANDOVER -- Washington Redskins coach Norv Turner grimaced, remaining still with his arms crossed. Defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield stared up at the stands and could only close his eyes.Safety Matt Stevens stood out of breath near the end zone, questioning the biggest blunder in a game defined by mistakes.The Redskins made physical, mental and all-around embarrassing miscues, paving an easy road for the Dallas Cowboys to come from 21 points down in the fourth quarter to capture a 41-35 overtime victory yesterday.

MIAMI -- What if Tim Dwight catches the opening kickoff of the Super Bowl 5 yards deep in the end zone?"I'm bringing it out," said Dwight, the Atlanta Falcons' return specialist.Seven yards deep?"I'm still coming," he said, "if I can get up a head of steam."From where, if anywhere, would he settle for the touchback?"Only if the ball is [kicked] out of the end zone," Dwight said with a shrug, as if that were obvious, and as if every NFL return specialist were such a kamikaze.But of course, no return specialist is like this one.If you caught Dwight's daredevil act during the NFC playoffs, you know what we're talking about.

Extra Point Flip-FlopTiger University is playing Cougar College. The Tigers score a touchdown. They line up to kick the extra point. Aaargh! The Cougars block the kick.A Cougar defender scoops up the ball and starts running toward the Tiger end zone. He is tackled at the Tiger five-yard line and fumbles the ball!This time, a Tiger player picks up the ball and dashes back to the end zone.Have the Tigers scored a touchdown?ANSWER: No. But they have scored a 2-point conversion.VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.SIKIDS.

FAIRFAX, Va. -- There might have been a great ending to the Super 44 Senior All-Star Game last night at W.T. Woodson High School.Unfortunately, when the Northern Virginia All-Stars escaped with a 21-16 victory -- their first in the classic since 1996 -- the finish was signaled not by a whistle or a buzzer, but by a National Weather Service report that heavy lightning was on the way.With nearly six minutes remaining and the Maryland All-Stars making a...

When the Ravens opened their game in New England on Oct. 4 with a first-drive touchdown, the offense was humming. Quarterback Joe Flacco was precise and efficient; wide-out Derrick Mason was unstoppable right up to his 20-yard catch in the end zone. That series seems like a long time ago. In fact, the Ravens haven't scored a touchdown in the first half since. That drought - five quarters, 15 possessions and 75 plays - doesn't begin to match the end zone blackout they endured in 2000, when they went five full games without an offensive touchdown and still won the Super Bowl.

Bert Jones backpedaled, ducked the rush and threw. Fifty yards away, Roger Carr gathered in the football and, having outrun two defenders, streaked into the end zone for a 68-yard touchdown. Then, as the Memorial Stadium crowd of 50,374 roared, the young Baltimore Colts receiver leaped high in the end zone, reached over the crossbar ... and spiked the ball. The fans went nuts. So did Carr, who would add two more touchdowns that afternoon in a stellar performance during the Colts' 1976 home opener.

Last year against Southern Methodist, Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs ran for 224 yards - the 12th-highest total in program history - and scored four touchdowns to lead the Midshipmen to a 34-7 victory in a driving rainstorm. It was a breakout performance by a third-string quarterback who came into the game having taken a total of 19 snaps in his college career. What Dobbs remembers most about that day, however, is how he felt afterward. "I was as sore as I've ever been," he said. "I had 42 carries.

There was little that went right for host Mount St. Joseph on offense Saturday against Edmondson. The Gaels committed four turnovers, went 0-for-4 on fourth-down conversions and never got within 19 yards of the end zone. On this day, about the only thing that did go right for them was the final score. Eighth-ranked Mount St. Joseph first took advantage of a series of fluke plays to take the lead, then used intense defensive pressure to keep it in a 9-6 win over the No. 10 Red Storm. "I thought Edmondson's defense was really well-prepared.

The Ravens gained 421 yards, converted 62 percent of their third downs and controlled the clock for 35 minutes. So, what was first on the minds of the team's offensive players after Saturday's 17-13 preseason victory at Carolina? "We wish we could have scored three touchdowns," quarterback Joe Flacco said. The offense has set its sights high this season, especially when it comes to the red zone. The Ravens scored touchdowns on two of their three trips inside the 20-yard line, but some bad habits stopped them from being perfect.

They called it Orrsville, that patch of pay dirt in the Baltimore Colts' end zone where No. 28 plied his trade. How many teams were buried there, in the closed end of Memorial Stadium, beaten by a scoring pass to the elusive Jimmy Orr? "I must have caught 45 or 50 touchdowns in that right corner," said Orr, a favorite Colts receiver in the 1960s. "It was sloped some, a little downhill, which helped me, speed-wise. I wasn't all that fast." But Orr had sure hands and he ran smart routes, which made him All-Pro - and the club's deep threat for much of his 10 years with the Colts.

TAMPA, FLA. - We look for the greatest performances on the greatest stages. Broadway. La Scala. The Super Bowl. And this one - the XLIII edition of football's biggest game - had it all: the passion of any opera, the drama of any stage play, and the kind of individual performances children mimic in backyards and grandfathers use for years and years to spin unbelievable yarns. Sit down. Let me tell you a story. I remember when ... A pair of quarterbacks played dueling banjos for four quarters.

The poor NHL. Even when the league ties a hard-rocking outfit to its opening games, some kind of glitch happens. As part of the champion Detroit Red Wings' first game, the NHL set up to televise a piece of a Def Leppard concert, also happening in Detroit on Thursday night, in NHL Face-Off Rocks. During the show, the Stanley Cup was handed to the band's singer, Joe Elliott, who held it aloft for the benefit of the crowd and then proceeded to put it on a pedestal - upside down. At least he didn't try to pour some sugar from the Cup. Fertile thinking Helen Barnes wants to compete in the Olympics.

One explosive fourth-quarter spurt yesterday ended more than three quarters of utter frustration for No. 7 Mount St. Joseph. After going scoreless for the first 38:40 against upset-minded McDonogh, thanks to a spate of costly interceptions, untimely penalties and failed third-down conversions, the host Gaels took command with three touchdowns in a span of 5:36, then held on for a 21-14 win to remain tied for first place in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic...

When Cam Cameron was hired as offensive coordinator, Ravens tight end Todd Heap was expected to put up numbers similar to Antonio Gates', not Garrett Mills'. Incidentally, Mills, a third-string tight end for the Minnesota Vikings, even has more catches (four) and receiving yards (59) than Heap. But these days, it seems as if everybody does. Heap has disappeared from the Ravens' offense, making three catches for 37 yards. His unexpected role change - from a top-notch receiver to a pass blocker - has become the biggest mystery so far for the Ravens.