High Ankle Sprain

Thumbs up: To Elvis Grbac for still being able to stand up in the fourth quarter. The Ravens QB was only sacked twice but was hit or hurried on at least half of his 63 attempts. Thumbs down: To WR Patrick Johnson for his three costly mistakes. His fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half set the tone for the rest of the game. He also stepped in the back of the end zone to take away a second-quarter touchdown, and dropped a pass that turned into an interception that squashed the Ravens' building momentum in the fourth quarter.

Regardless of how you feel about Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens, one thing is clear - if it's at all possible to play, he'll play. Even if it doesn't seem possible that he can play - as it did a few years ago when he suffered a broken ankle as an Eagle - he winds up playing, as he did in Philadelphia's Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots in February 2005. In fact, if the Eagles had won the game, Owens' performance (nine catches, 122 yards) might have earned him the game's Most Valuable Player honors.

Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie (bruised lungs and ribs) and center Nick Mangold (high ankle sprain) did not practice today but coach Rex Ryan hasn't ruled them out for Sunday's game at Baltimore. " 'Cro' is probably ahead of Nick, but I'm hopeful both will play," Ryan said. "Not real sure though. " It did not sound like Ryan expects either to practice tomorrow. If they do, he said, it would be "very limited. " While it's ideal to get in at least one practice before the game, it is not a necessity.

Rankings: The Ravens are eighth in the NFL in rushing offense with 127.8 yards per game. The Redskins are ninth against the rush, giving up 95.2 per game. Prime stat: Power back Jamal Lewis (pictured below) is averaging 4.7 yards a carry. Last week: Lewis was held to 43 yards on 16 carries by Jacksonville. The Redskins surrendered 79 rush yards on 18 carries against Philadelphia. Injuries: Left tackle Jonathan Ogden missed the Jaguars' game, but the Ravens are optimistic he'll return to face Bruce Smith.

I don't know what the Ravens immediate plans are for rookie cornerback Jimmy Smith, but it might be time to get him back on the field. Smith hasn't played much since he injured his ankle on the opening kickoff of the season opener against Pittsburgh.  In the last couple of weeks, the Ravens have used him on special teams and in some nickel and dime packages, but he might serve them better as the starting nickel over Chris Carr. Carr certainly has more experience, and that's what you want from the inside guy. But Smith is a great talent, a player with game-changing ability.

Ravens cornerback Chris Carr saw a specialist in Texas this week to get another opinion on his injured left hamstring, an injury that forced him out of last Sunday's victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Carr has been dealing with hamstring soreness since early in training camp. "It's been frustrating because there's been a lot of work put into it. It's just been one of those nagging things, but I think it's going to be better pretty soon," Carr said. "That's what I'm looking for. I went to Texas and saw somebody, and got another way of looking at the injury.

A plan to build UMBC's defense around the return of two starters was nearly derailed in the fall. Junior Sam McKelvey, who accumulated 16 ground balls and four caused turnovers in 11 games (eight starts) last season, underwent ankle surgery in the fall. Such an operation would usually require months of rehabilitation, but not for the Davidsonville native and South River graduate. “[W]e thought we lost him for the year after ankle surgery,” coach Don Zimmerman said Wednesday.

Haloti Ngata participated on a limited basis for the second straight day. The three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle has been bothered by an injured shoulder. Offensive tackle Jah Reid (strained right calf) practiced fully for the second consecutive day. The Dallas Cowboys, Sunday's opponent, practiced for the second straight day without both of their punters. Chris Jones and Brian Moorman are dealing with a left knee and right groin injury, respectively. Starting rookie cornerback Morris Claiborne also did not participate because of an illness.

Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen stopped just short of committing to again starting redshirt freshman Danny O'Brien at quarterback when the Terrapins (3-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) open their ACC schedule Saturday against Duke. Friedgen, who had never started a freshman quarterback until last Saturday's 42-28 victory over Florida International, was asked during his media conference call Sunday whether O'Brien would begin the Duke game over redshirt junior Jamarr Robinson. Robinson has been battling a sore throwing shoulder that kept him sidelined against FIU, and O'Brien played Saturday while recovering from a high ankle sprain.

The Ravens opened their final practice of the week on Friday in preparation for Sunday's road contest against the St. Louis Rams, and starting left guard Ben Grubbs and starting wide receiver Lee Evans did not participate. Grubbs did not practice Wednesday and Thursday because of strained ligaments in his toe, and he watched practice from the sideline. Evans, who has been bothered by a left ankle injury, was not present. Wide receiver David Reed (left shoulder strain) and rookie cornerback Jimmy Smith (high left ankle sprain)