Matt Stover

Last week, we asked which Raven should retire after this season. The results: Steve McNair (67 percent) Jonathan Ogden (26.6 percent) Mike Flynn (5.3 percent) Matt Stover (1.1 percent) This week's question: What will be the Ravens' final record? A. 4-12 B. 5-11 C. 6-10 D. 7-9 To vote, go to baltimoresun.com/ravenspoll

Matt Stover on his routines "I would say that 20 percent of it is spent on the field, believe it or not. Another 60 percent is done in the weight room, training. The other 20 percent is more mental training, visualization, trying to get my mind right mentally and emotionally to perform well. "Wednesdays ... I train to kick field goals. I'll back myself up a little bit and get myself some longer field goals. I'll work myself around the field, try to visualize the stadium that I have already looked at on film or I've played in it. "Thursday is a day of kickoffs and kickoff returns.

A lot of words were flung around after the Ravens reached 4-2 with yesterday's 22-3 slog through the still-winless St. Louis Rams, but none should be embraced with more relief than one word Brian Billick spoke in his post-game comments. That word was "unlikely," and it described the chances of Billick's starting Steve McNair on Sunday in Buffalo. The Ravens might not have proved a whole lot in their past two Lunesta Specials, yesterday at M&T Bank Stadium and last week in San Francisco.

As expected, Ravens coach Brian Billick named Errict Rhett the starting tailback in Sunday's game against the Cleveland Browns.Rhett started last week against Pittsburgh in place of the injured Priest Holmes -- who was downgraded from questionable to doubtful yesterday with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee -- and rushed for 101 yards, his first 100-yard game since 1995.With Holmes headed for the sidelines, Billick said he will activate third-year tailback Jay Graham as Rhett's backup.

Ravens coach Brian Billick refused to second-guess defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis' strategy, although Lewis took care of the second-guessing himself."

The Ravens have to cut 12 players by Sunday at 4 p.m. Below is a list of players on some of the players on the bubble:Scott Bentley, K: He has been involved in a kick dual with Matt Stover. The loser goes home.Matt Stover, K: If he has longer kickoffs, the job may be his. His large salary, though, might enter the equation.Corey Chamblin, DB: He had a slow start but has made plays recently. He could go on the developmental squad.Billy Davis, WR: Decent speed, but needs a big game to take a spot away from Floyd Turner.

Matt Stover has been under the microscope before. Having spent 10 years in the NFL, Stover is no stranger to pressure, whether it comes with lining up to attempt a game-winning field goal or having to preserve his job with a potential replacement lurking in the wings.For the past month, Stover has faced the prospect of losing his roster spot to Joe Nedney, whom the Ravens claimed off waivers from the Arizona Cardinals. The Ravens were dissatisfied with Stover's distances on kickoffs, a Nedney specialty.

The Ravens survived a strong second-half comeback and may have found their running back and quarterback of the future in a 31-24 win over the Cincinnati Bengals last night in an AFC Central game at Ravens stadium.Running back Priest Holmes ran 10 yards for a first down with 1: 16 left in the game to seal the win for the Ravens (2-2).The Bengals had driven as far as the Ravens' 32-yard line, but cornerback Rod Woodson knocked down a pass intended for receiver Darnay Scott on a short hitch route with 1: 46 left on a fourth-and-one to end the final scoring threat by the Bengals (1-3)

Bennie Thompson, the Ravens' veteran reserve safety and special teams ace, said yesterday that he will retire at the end of the 1997 season, his eighth in the NFL.Thompson, 34, has been one of the league's most colorful and effective special teams players in the 1990s. He was the Cleveland Browns' top special teams tackler with 21 in 1994, when he earned Pro Bowl honors.He was third in special teams tackles in 1995 with 16 despite playing with a broken wrist and dislocated elbow, and was slowed by a fractured thumb last year, playing part of the season with pins in his hand.

Matt StoverPos.: KickerHeight: 5-11Weight: 178Age: 29Season: SeventhHighlights: Enters this season ranked third on the NFL's all-time field-goal accuracy list with a 79.9 percent success rate. Has made 68 of his past 78 field-goal attempts, including 42 straight from the 20-29 yard range. Set Browns' all-time record with 29 field goals in 1995. His streak of 23 straight field goals made in 1994-95 fell eight short of the NFL mark. In 1991, his 55-yard field goal was the longest of the year in the AFC and second longest in the NFL.Favorite food: Tex/MexFavorite movie: "Bridge on the River Kwai"Favorite TV show: "Hogan's Heroes"Best about Baltimore: The foodPub Date: 7/26/97

MINNEAPOLIS - - In the past, with two seconds left in the game, most Ravens fans would have gone to the refrigerator, popped a brew and gone outside to celebrate victory. Instead, the Ravens are coming off one of their most demoralizing losses ever, falling to the Minnesota Vikings, 33-31, Sunday, as Steve Hauschka's 44-yard field goal with no time remaining went wide left. Deep down inside, it was one of our worst nightmares. Where was Matt Stover? Answer: Probably depositing his Indianapolis Colts paycheck into the bank.

MINNEAPOLIS -- As Steve Hauschka's potential game-winning kick sailed wide left, nearly all the Ravens on the sideline dropped their heads in unison, feeling another last-minute punch in the gut in a season that continues to veer off course. The Ravens' frenetic 33-31 loss to the undefeated Minnesota Vikings marked their third straight defeat - and their third straight decided in the final 30 seconds of a game. Their offense failed on the last drive in New England. Their defense fell apart in its last series against the Cincinnati Bengals.

If he was unable to kick for the Ravens any longer, Matt Stover wanted the chance to kick for a Super Bowl contender. He got his wish Wednesday when his resume and the Indianapolis Colts' need matched up nicely. "That's why I've been so patient," Stover said after his introductory news conference in Indianapolis. "I made all these decisions in the offseason to give myself options. It wasn't about money; it was about the opportunity to go to the Super Bowl." The former Ravens kicker signed a guaranteed one-year contract with the Colts after acing a Tuesday workout in which he hit a pair of 53-yard field-goal attempts.

A week after he worked out for the New York Giants, former Ravens kicker Matt Stover was scheduled to try out for the Indianapolis Colts on Tuesday. Knowing Baltimore's sentiments toward the Colts, Stover wanted to handle his visit delicately. "I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings with me seeking out an opportunity" here, he said from Indianapolis. "I just see it as a team that may need some help." After 13 seasons in Baltimore, Stover remains one of the franchise's most popular players with fans.

The last time the Ravens faced the Cleveland Browns in the third game of the season at M&T Bank Stadium was in 1999, after the Ravens started the season 0-2 with losses at St. Louis and to the Pittsburgh Steelers. But nothing cures a losing streak like the expansion Browns coming to town. It also happened to be the first win of the Brian Billick era, a 17-10 victory Sept. 26. WHAT HAPPENED: : The Ravens' defense picked on - and picked off - rookie quarterback Tim Couch, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 NFL draft, and came up with two big plays that led to touchdowns.

Each week, Baltimore Sun reporter Jamison Hensley will answer fans' questions about the Ravens. To submit a question, e-mail sports@baltsun.com. Provide your name, the city you live in and phone number so we can verify the e-mail. HEY, JAMISON: : Do you know why the Ravens stopped wearing their purple jerseys at home? I'm not a big fan of the away jerseys. Shawn J. Walker AnnapolisHEY, SHAWN: : Don't worry about seeing the white jerseys at home again this year. The Ravens wore them for the season opener only because white doesn't absorb as much heat, which is supposed to give them an advantage.

Steve Hauschka is willing to wait. The newly minted full-time kicker for the Ravens knows that the organization's many fans embraced and admired Matt Stover. Hauschka is also aware that for the present and immediate future, every one of his kicks will be dissected and reviewed by Stover's loyalists. Hauschka knows what's in store for him as he succeeds Stover, and he will bide his time until fans welcome Hauschka the way they saluted Stover. "I think it's going to take a few years for people to forget Matt Stover around here just because of what he has done, and I completely understand that," Hauschka said.

Matt Stover has a marvelous past, two NFL kicking records and unerring accuracy from less than 40 yards. Steve Hauschka has a promising future, a powerful leg and the ability to combine two jobs into one. Those appear to be the Ravens' two kicking options as they fast approach coach John Harbaugh's second season, one filled with high expectations. Choosing Hauschka would be a break with the familiar, sentimental path that Baltimore fans have traveled the past 13 seasons. How many games have Stover and the Ravens' defense won together over those years?

When the Ravens started training camp a few weeks ago, Matt Stover wasn't kicking a football. He was just kicking back. Stover, the team's primary kicker throughout their 13-year history, took his wife, Debbie, to the Bahamas. This marks the first time since 1989 that Stover hasn't suited up for an NFL training camp. "It's all about my family," Stover said of his first few months out of the NFL. But don't get the wrong impression - Stover has taken time to relax, but he isn't retiring.

Part of the fun of having a media credential and going to Ravens camp is you get to ask the coaches annoying questions. Here's one that really gets on their nerves: Who's going to replace the great Matt Stover as the team's kicker, Steve Hauschka or Graham Gano? It gets on their nerves because John Harbaugh and his staff have been asked this for weeks, dating to the team's first minicamps. And the answer the coaches keep giving is: We won't know until the preseason games start. Look, they say, you can watch a guy kick all you want in practice on the nice green grass at McDaniel College.