Kick

Prior to the Ravens' home game against the Dallas Cowboys, Deonte Thompson had ranked 13th in the NFL in kick return average (25.9 yards). But the undrafted rookie learned the importance of protecting the football. Thompson was stripped of the ball on a kickoff to open the third quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 7. Kansas City converted the turnover into a field goal, and the Ravens persevered with a 9-6 win, but Thompson conceded that his gaffe may have influenced the coaches to bench him against Dallas.

The Ravens deactivated a few surprises for Sunday's home game against the Dallas Cowboys, including starting left guard Ramon Harewood. Harewood had started the first five contests, but he appeared to struggle slightly in his last two outings. The Sun reported Friday that Harewood would be replaced in the starting lineup by Bobbie Williams. The team also elected to sideline kick returner Deonte Thompson. The undrafted rookie ranked 13th in the NFL in kick return average (25.9 yards)

Here are observations made during Maryland's 27-20 victory over Virginia: *How many times have you seen a kickoff returner pause to consider whether to run the ball out of the end zone … and then bolt past the coverage? That's what happened on Stefon Diggs' 100-yard touchdown return. Sometimes, even a short hesitation can cause the coverage team to either pause or overrun the play. “The ball was 5 yards deep, I believe and we had the feeling that (Diggs) was going to take a knee,” said Virginia kicker Ian Frye.

Maryland entered the day knowing it needed to improve a running game ranked last in the Atlantic Coast Conference. But the Terps were without leading rusher Wes Brown (shoulder). Maryland started Justus Pickett at tailback and also played Albert Reid. Pickett caught a 20-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. But Pickett, the primary ball carrier, struggled early. He had 10 carries in the first half for a net of minus-3 yards. Overall, Pickett carried 15 times for a net of minus-8 yards.

Many Maryland fans complained on Twitter that they missed the opening of today's Terps-Virginia game because the Richmond-New Hampshire television broadcast ran long on Comcast SportsNet. The Maryland game began at 3 p.m. Fans missed a portion of the opening quarter, which included a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown by Stefon Diggs on the first play. Maryland released a statement attributed to Brian Potter of Comcast SportsNet (below): "In order to be fair to all teams and their fans, Comcast SportsNet's policy (which is similar to other sports networks)

MGM Resorts International has kicked in another $3 million for its effort to win passage of Maryland's gambling expansion referendum as the money meter in this duel of the casinos shot past $40 million. With MGM's newest contribution, posted at the State Board of Elections Thursday, the total contributed by the company and its allies now amounts to $22 million -- of which $17.8 million has been spent. That puts MGM and its allies -- Caesars Entertainment and Peterson Cos. -- roughly at parity with rival Penn National Gaming.

Rookie kicker Justin Tucker has impressed the Ravens in a lot of ways so far, the least of which was with his vocal cords when the Texas native serenaded his teammates with his renditions of hit Italian opera classics. “The guys appreciate his talent, that's where it starts,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday. “The guy sings Italian opera in front of our players.  So, if you're an Italian opera person, that's probably pretty normal.  For a lot of our guys, that seems a little different in the football culture.

The narrow margin of the Ravens' 9-6 win against the Kansas City Chiefs might have been more comfortable if Deonte Thompson had not committed the biggest gaffe of his rookie season. The kick returner opened the second half by returning a Ryan Succop kickoff 32 yards. But at the 29-yard line, former Ravens wide receiver Terrence Copper reached out and stripped the football from Thompson's right arm and former Ravens linebacker Edgar Jones pounced on the loose ball at the 29. According to both Thompson and inside linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo, Copper's play was the only hurdle that prevented Thompson from reaching the end zone and giving the team what would have been a 10-3 lead.

The number of manufacturing jobs in Maryland seems to go in only one direction - down. The state lost 21,000 positions in the past five years. More than 40,000 in the past decade. Nearly 70,000 in the past two decades. But advocates think employment decline - driven by technology, consolidation, closures and offshoring - isn't inevitable. The nonprofit Regional Manufacturing Institute of Maryland is trying to organize employers and local officials to get the sector growing again. First step: reminding local officials that manufacturing, which employs 111,000 in the state directly and more indirectly, is not dead.

Fifth District County Commissioner Doug Howard, who represents Sykesville and Eldersburg, will host a town meeting on Monday, Oct. 8, at 7 p.m., at the South Carroll Senior Center, 5928 Mineral Hill Road, Eldersburg. The meeting will be the first in a series of eight monthly sessions for the 5th District. Howard said law enforcement will be the primary focus of the Oct. 8 meeting, with representatives from the Sheriff's Office providing information on policing efforts in the Eldersburg/Sykesville area.