Qadry Ismail

The Ravens' receiving corps got a little leaner yesterday when Marcus Nash became the latest to join the casualty list. Nash fractured a bone in his lower jaw when he landed face-first on the ground attempting to make a catch on the third play of team drills. Because his chinstrap was unbuckled, the impact with the ground forced his facemask back into his chin and broke the alveolar bone that holds the lower teeth in place, loosening four teeth. The prognosis is that he'll be out two to six weeks.

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States weighed on Qadry Ismail more than most Ravens. The veteran wide receiver was coming off a solid 2001 debut against the Chicago Bears and anticipating a Monday night match with the Minnesota Vikings, the team that gave him his start in the NFL, before thousands of deaths and global political concerns made on-field matters mundane. Ismail is sensitive to the bigger picture. He's a vocal Christian, but he was given an Arabic name and raised in the Islamic faith until he was a teen.

ATLANTA -- For the record, Patrick Johnson wasn't doing the Dirty Bird."Nah, that's something I made up in practice," he said of his touchdown dance."The `Let-Go-Of-Some-Frustration Raven,' " Qadry Ismail said.Johnson is a charming kid with a boyish smile, probably the last Raven you would expect to taunt an opponent.But yesterday, he was Cassius Clay to Ray Buchanan's Sonny Liston, Chuck Bednarik to Buchanan's Frank Gifford.Johnson not only changed the game with his 52-yard touchdown reception and WWF-style altercation with Buchanan, but he also might have changed the Ravens forever.

If the playoffs started today, the Ravens would not make the postseason. But if they can clinch a playoff berth by the end of the season, they certainly would have earned it. Starting with Monday night's game in Pittsburgh, the Ravens begin the NFL's fourth-toughest schedule over the final nine weeks of regular season. There are two grudge matches with the Steelers and the league's top-ranked defense. There's LaDainian Tomlinson in Week 12. There's Tom Brady in Week 13. And there's an emotional rematch with the defending Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts in Week 14. Although most of the Ravens have reiterated the party line that their focus is on the Steelers, wide receiver Derrick Mason dared to look ahead, and he could only shake his head at the challenge.

This column was originally published on Nov. 6, 2000: CINCINNATI - This will be the first time Ravens coach Brian Billick will get a good night's sleep in six weeks, and the team might be able to put to rest some of its offensive problems as well. Only a few minutes after the Ravens had beaten the Cincinnati Bengals, 27-7, yesterday at Paul Brown Stadium - ending a three-game losing streak and a 21-quarter touchdown drought - did Billick finally feel some of the pressure subside. Since the touchdown-less streak started six weeks ago against the Cleveland Browns, maybe no franchise and coaching staff in the NFL has been more ridiculed and embarrassed than those of the Ravens.

The winning drive bordered on the improbable. The comeback restored faith in a suffocating defense.Rallying around a 38-year-old backup quarterback and a series of fourth-quarter stands, the Ravens raced back from an 11-point deficit to edge the Jacksonville Jaguars, 18-17, before 69,439 at PSINet Stadium yesterday. Winning at home for the eighth straight time, the Ravens (4-3) stopped a two-game skid but remained in a third-place tie in the AFC Central. Stepping in for injured starter Elvis Grbac, Randall Cunningham added another memory to his lengthy career with a perfect fourth quarter, completing all seven passes for 76 yards.

The Ravens were 74 seconds away from stealing a victory. One play later, their players and coaches were screaming they got robbed.Playing without four starters - including team leader Ray Lewis - the undermanned Ravens shocked a sellout RCA Dome crowd by holding a one-point lead in the waning moments of the fourth quarter. But the Ravens' recent run of nail-biters finally caught up to them, as a controversial pass-interference call on cornerback Gary Baxter led to an excruciating, 22-20 loss to the Indianapolis Colts yesterday.

As middle linebacker Ray Lewis put on his cap and fastened his coat, his mind shot back to last year at this time when the Ravens were heading south fast. Some of the players had quit trying, and there were rumors about the coach getting fired at the end of the season. And football wasn't a whole lot of fun. "There were times when teams came in here and did all the dancing and celebrating," Lewis said. "They mocked us, they heckled us. But now it's turned around. We're the ones having all the fun. We're doing a lot of dancing.

Seven days ago, Shannon Sharpe declared that Elvis Grbac hadn't gotten the job done. But with the game on the line yesterday, the Ravens' tight end called out his quarterback's name in the huddle and gave him a wink. Rescuing the Ravens from a 17-point collapse, Grbac found Sharpe in the back of the end zone with nine seconds remaining, lifting the Ravens to a 24-21, come-from-behind triumph before an announced crowd of 53,530 at ALLTEL Stadium. In a week that started with teammates separated by words vented out of frustration, it ended with Grbac and Sharpe connecting in dramatic fashion.

Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher reportedly told his players during the week to hit the Ravens with a 2-by-4. Instead, the Ravens cold-cocked his Titans with a hammering defense. Learning of Fisher's comments only moments before the game, the Ravens uncorked a furious rebuttal in a 26-7 defeat of the Titans before a club-record 69,494 at PSINet Stadium yesterday. With the 14th victory in their past 15 tries, the Ravens (3-1) remained tied with the Cleveland Browns atop the AFC Central while dealing divisional rival Tennessee (0-3)