San Diego

It was an unforgettable journey to the West Coast last season for all of the wrong reasons for the Ravens, a series of embarrassing moments against the San Diego Chargers burned into their memory. During the Ravens' 34-14 debacle of a road loss last December at Qualcomm Stadium, strong-armed Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers was in full gunslinger mode with plenty of time to easily lob spirals over the flailing hands of the Baltimore defensive backs. Rivers' towering wide receivers dashed past the secondary as San Diego scored on its first five possessions, including four touchdowns.

Not many people would confuse the players who make up the San Diego Chargers defense as superstars, but there are a few emerging playmakers along the defensive line. Defensive end Corey Liuget leads that group in tackles with 32 and batted passes with six. Rookie defensive end Kendall Reyes leads the defensive line in quarterback pressures with 10 and quarterback hits with seven. And both players have two sacks each. That's why Ravens right guard Marshal Yanda wasn't simply focusing on Liuget during the week of preparation for the Chargers.

One of the factors of the San Diego Chargers limping into Sunday's contest against the Ravens with a 4-6 record is the hosts' inability to protect the football. The Chargers have turned the ball over 22 times this season, which is tied with the New York Jets for the fourth-worst mark in the NFL. Only the Kansas City Chiefs (31 turnovers), Philadelphia Eagles (24) and Dallas Cowboys (23) have more turnovers. That would seem to play to the strength of the Ravens, who rank sixth in the league in takeaways with 21. But outside linebacker Terrell Suggs said he's not expecting San Diego to gift-wrap Sunday's game.

Kevin Cowherd Ravens 20, Chargers 13 Maybe it's the sunshine. Maybe it's the palm trees. Something comes over the Ravens on these West Coast trips. The Jekyl and Hyde Chargers have lost five of their last six, but still have a shot at the playoffs. This one will be close. And ugly. Edward Lee Chargers 28, Ravens 17 The Chargers may be reeling, but historically, they have feasted on the Ravens in San Diego. Quarterback Philip Rivers is no Byron Leftwich, and he will take advantage of the Ravens' re-tooled secondary to find tight end Antonio Gates and wide receiver Malcom Floyd for big plays.

With the Ravens inching closer to qualifying for the postseason for the fifth time in the last five years, the last thing anyone is thinking about is coach John Harbaugh's job status. The same, however, can't be said for Harbaugh's counterpart in Sunday's game. The San Diego Chargers have dropped five of their last six contests after a 3-1 start, and the calls for coach Norv Turner to lose his job are building in volume and intensity. A win against the Ravens might perhaps silence the doubters for a while, but Turner, who has coached the Chargers for the past six seasons, said he can't worry about the rumors swirling around the team's practice facility.

It seemed an ordinary run - a seven-yard burst up the gut, early in a game that the playoff-bound Colts would win easily. But when Lydell Mitchell trotted back to the huddle on that chilly November day in 1977, play stopped and the Memorial Stadium crowd of 50,957 stood and cheered the man who'd just set a new team career rushing record. It happened 35 years ago this week, a moment stamped in Mitchell's mind. The player whose mark he broke? Hall of Famer Lenny Moore . "I don't remember anything else about that game except that, at that moment, Lenny came out on the field and presented me with the football," Mitchell said.

Ravens safety Ed Reed said that he was grateful that his one-game suspension for repeated violations of the rule prohibiting hits to the head and neck area of defenseless players was lifted Tuesday after his appeal. As a result, Reed will be on the field Sunday against the San Diego Chargers. However Reed was assessed a $50,000 fine for his hit on Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders in the third quarter of the Ravens 13-10 victory. defended his style of play, acknowledged that there is a “fine line” between protecting players and not taking away from the game and said the new rules and fines are creating a “flag football thing.” “The rules of the game have changed a whole lot since I got in the league,” said Reed after distributing turkeys to families of Booker T. Washington Middle School along with teammates Cary Williams and Anquan Boldin.

  Attackman Wilkins Dismuke of Rock Canyon High in Littleton, Colo., signed a national letter of intent Wednesday to play lacrosse for Johns Hopkins. Dismuke led the state in points and goals as a junior and scored the most goals in the state as a sophomore. He was named first-team all-conference and first-team all-state as well as the Warrior 40 West Regional MVP and Warrior 40 Offensive MVP. Other commitments Attackman Lucas Gradinger of Torrey Pines High in Del Mar, Calif., has signed to play at Maryland, Gradinger was a Nike Blue Chip selection as a rising junior and an Under Armour All-American.

Browns 7, Chargers 6 Strategy: The Cleveland Browns haven't significantly altered their philosophies since they traveled to M&T Bank Stadium in Week 4, but they are executing much more efficiently. On offense, they want to pound the ball with rookie running back Trent Richardson and attack defenses with quick throws, screen passes and deeper throws off play action. Defensively, they usually rushed four or five defenders on Sunday and mixed up their coverages behind their 4-3 front.

Baltimore police are requesting about $2,000 to send an officer to California to provide security for Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake on her family vacation next week. Officer Kyle E. Gooden, who is on the mayor's executive protection team, is requesting the Board of Estimates reimburse him about $1,900 for his expenses on the Aug. 20-26 trip to San Diego, Calif. The department is also asking for about $150 to cover the cost of a rental vehicle. The spending panel is expected to approve the expense Wednesday.