Kickoff

MIAMI -- No one at this year's Super Bowl knows how much special teams can affect a game more than Russ Purnell. As the Ravens' special teams coach for the January 2001 Super Bowl, Purnell watched the New York Giants' Ron Dixon return a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown to cut the Ravens' lead to 17-7 and provide hope of a comeback. But the emotions swung right back to the Ravens on the ensuing kickoff when Jermaine Lewis answered with an 84-yard touchdown, racing down the right sideline with a finger raised.

COLLEGE PARK -- Ron Vanderlinden must feel a little like he is sitting on top of the world these days.The Maryland football team is off to a 5-2 start, is most likely just two wins away from a bowl bid and has reached the top of the nation's NCAA Division I rankings in turnover margin and kickoff returns.The Terps have a plus-16 turnover margin or an average of 2.29 a game, and they lead the country with an average of 32.1 yards on 14 kickoff returns.The third-year coach is also savoring the high national rankings of his two junior All-America candidates, running back LaMont Jordan and cornerback Lewis Sanders.

Ravens coach Brian Billick blamed the confusion on the heat of the moment.It occurred shortly after the Ravens had tied up the game on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Stoney Case to Qadry Ismail with 1: 22 left. On the ensuing kickoff, the Ravens allowed a 37-yard return by Will Blackwell to midfield following a kickoff to the 13 by Matt Stover.On the next play from scrimmage, the Ravens sent out nine players instead of 11 in their nickel coverage even though safety Corey Harris managed to get on the field by the snap.

ASHBURN, Va. -- Can the Washington Redskins, who were 6-10 last season, truly think of contending for a Super Bowl after a 2-1 start?"Why not the Redskins?" fullback Larry Centers said. "That's the way I look at it. It's pretty wide-open."With usual NFC favorites Minnesota, Green Bay and San Francisco losing their aura of invincibility this year, many of the Redskins see a window of opportunity to make their best run under sixth-year coach Norv Turner.The Redskins have proven they can score, tying a club record of 112 points after three games that was established by the team's 1991 Super Bowl champions.

You knew it as soon as Will Blackwell returned the short kickoff to midfield, setting up a terrific scoring chance for the Steelers with the score tied and a little more than a minute to play.It was going to happen again. The Ravens were going to find a way to lose.As they so often do."I think the Steelers know coming in every time that we're going to play them tough, but I think they also always believe they're going to find a way to win in the end," Ravens offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden said.

Running backsEarnest Byner was basically a one-man show. He ran well, rushing for 63 yards on 14 carries, and did a nice job of picking up the Jacksonville blitzes.BQuarterbackVinny Testaverde put up impressive numbers, but those three interceptions were extremely costly, one leading to a Jacksonville touchdown and the other stopping a Ravens drive late in the game.DReceiversMichael Jackson and Jermaine Lewis had good games, and tight end Eric Green is starting to emerge. But the timing seemed off between Testaverde and Derrick Alexander.

Not even the 18-point rule, designed to help reduce the possibility of a blowout, could save the Metro All-Stars from being routed in yesterday's second All-Star Football Game at Morgan State.The Baltimore All-Stars, a team comprising the most promising seniors from city schools and the MIAA, were simply better -- and certainly quicker -- than the best the schools from Anne Arundel and Howard counties had to offer.Baltimore took advantage of four Metro turnovers and broke the game open with two long and electrifying returns before settling for a 34-7 victory.

Running backsBam Morris did most of the damage with some tough yardage inside. Overall, though, the backs played a small part in the game's outcome except for Earnest Byner's fumble at the end.C-QuarterbackVinny Testaverde had impressive numbers, but his decision-making inside the red zone in the first half was suspect.CReceiversThis was the team's most productive unit, as Michael Jackson had nine catches for 150 yards and Brian Kinchen nine for 71. The low points: Derrick Alexander dropped a pass at the Jaguars' 1 and Floyd Turner failed to get out of bounds to stop the clock in the second quarter.

Running backsThe group averaged 4.9 yards per carry and Earnest Byner was his normal reliable self. QB Vinny Testaverde, though, averaged 13.5 yards on two carries.C+QuarterbackCritics will trash Testaverde for throwing the interception returned for a 68-yard touchdown, but it wasn't his fault. Testaverde has played as well as any quarterback in the league the past three weeks. He made some great throws on the run last night.AReceiversDerrick Alexander and Michael Jackson are playing well despite key mistakes in the last series, and Calvin Williams and Floyd Turner are getting more involved in the offense.

The waitress was serving lunch at the Suburban House Restaurant, Reisterstown Road in Pikesville, when a guy looked at his watch and noticed the time, which was 12:30 on Sunday."

Joppatowne averaged nearly 33 points on offense while winning its first six games, but special teams and defense saved the Mariners on Monday night against North Harford. Epe Henriques and Joel Scott returned kickoffs for touchdowns, Dominic Harper intercepted two passes and made a key tackle, and No. 6 Joppatowne hung on for a 12-7 victory over visiting North Harford in an Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference game. Joppatowne has scored 208 points this year while allowing just 24. But the defense was tested in the second half as the Mariners couldn't make a first down and ran just 11 plays, none in the third quarter, mainly because of the kickoff returns.

Brendon Ayanbadejo has crashed into football's dreaded wedge formation on more kickoffs than he can count during six NFL seasons. There has been pain, pride and self-preservation in every impact. "Probably half the time I've been a wedge guy," the Ravens' Pro Bowl special-teamer says. "I'm not too fond of going against the wedge. I'm not too fond of it just because the wedge is a thing you have to honor. So I can't just run around it or run by it. I have to engage." The wedge has long been the NFL's ultimate test of courage and/or sanity.

As offseason transactions go, the Ravens' signing of Jim Leonhard didn't exactly create a buzz. But two games into the season, the acquisition of the reserve safety looks like one of the team's best offseason moves. Filling in first for injured kick returner Yamon Figurs and later for strong safety Dawan Landry, Leonhard made subtle but significant contributions in a 28-10 defeat of the Cleveland Browns yesterday. He delivered a pair of 30-yard kickoff returns and a 22-yard punt return on special teams.

In his 19th season in the NFL, Matt Stover rarely gets surprised. So even before the release of rookie kickoff specialist Steven Hauschka from the active roster Tuesday, the veteran kicker had been preparing to assume all the kickoff duties for Monday's game against the Houston Texans. Stover said the expected returns of cornerbacks Fabian Washington and Derrick Martin from one-game suspensions factored into his preparation. Stover said he is looking forward to the additional responsibilities.

I saw something yesterday on Deadspin.com, the popular sports blog, that touched a nerve. One of the writers there was opining about the NFL sudden-death overtime system and argued that he preferred the college version, in which teams get equal opportunities to score. Well, NFL OT always has been a pet peeve of mine, too, and I agree it needs to be revamped. However, I'm not fond of the college version, either, where teams blast away starting from just outside the opposing red zone. Too much like Arena Football.

Ravens rookie Yamon Figurs has bittersweet memories from the game when he ran back a kickoff for a touchdown for the first time. "I was in the Pop Warner Super Bowl at Walt Disney World," Figurs recalled this week. "I was about 12. It was 98 yards." Figurs' touchdown tied a championship game his team from Fort Pierce, Fla., wound up losing to a team from nearby Orlando. But it started Figurs on a path that led him to Kansas State and eventually to becoming a third-round NFL draft choice this year by the Ravens.

Coaches around the country are on record as being worried about the NCAA's new football rule change that will see teams kicking off from the 30-yard line instead of the 35. But a number of local coaches only see opportunity knocking. "I'm on the rules committee," Towson coach Gordy Combs said. "The discussion about this change wasn't a long discussion. ... Personally, I guess I am excited about it because we have a good kickoff guy and a good return guy. Mark [Bencivengo, redshirt junior kicker]

MIAMI -- No one at this year's Super Bowl knows how much special teams can affect a game more than Russ Purnell. As the Ravens' special teams coach for the January 2001 Super Bowl, Purnell watched the New York Giants' Ron Dixon return a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown to cut the Ravens' lead to 17-7 and provide hope of a comeback. But the emotions swung right back to the Ravens on the ensuing kickoff when Jermaine Lewis answered with an 84-yard touchdown, racing down the right sideline with a finger raised.

COLLEGE PARK -- Before kickoff last night, there was a closed-door meeting in the Tyser Tower press box between representatives from the Orange Bowl and officials in the Maryland athletic department, a standard meeting at which topics such as logistics, marketing and ticket sales are discussed - just in case. After the kickoff against Wake Forest, though, the door to the Orange Bowl remained closed. ACC championship Wake Forest vs. Georgia Tech, Saturday, 1 p.m., Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Fla., chs. 2, 7

Quarterback B Steve McNair came out smoking in the first half but cooled down in the second. He has been lucky this season that some of his bad passes have not been picked off. He could easily have had two returned for touchdowns yesterday. But he did complete 21 of 31 passes for 245 yards. Running backs C Despite trying to get the running game going, the Ravens weren't really effective. Jamal Lewis had 72 yards on 24 carries and the team finished with 129 on 38 carries, but 30 yards came on a wimpy draw to Musa Smith at the end of the half instead of the Ravens attempting a long pass.