(Sportsbooks) - Baltimore owner and president Art Modell will have a lot at stake this Sunday, when his Ravens face his former franchise Cleveland at M&T Bank Stadium.
Modell moved his franchise from Cleveland to Baltimore in 1996, leaving an entire city of Browns fans without a team. Ever since, Modell has been the most hated person in Cleveland.
Baltimore head coach Brian Billick handed the reins of his offense to rookie Kyle Boller for the opener against Pittsburgh and the results weren't all that impressive. Boller completed just 22-of-43 passes for 152 yards, one touchdown and one interception in an ugly 34-15 loss. The Cal-Berkeley product was not happy with the outcome of his initial effort.
"I hate losing. I hate losing," Boller said with conviction. "A loss to me is the worst thing ever. The only way I can make up for a loss is to make sure it doesn't happen again this week. Losing is something not in my agenda."
Boller seemed to be out of his element amidst the wild Pittsburgh crowd and threw quite a few ill-advised balls. The rookie, who has been touted for his strong arm, seemed to finessing his deep throws in the contest. Despite his less-than-stellar effort, Billick won't pin the blame for the loss on Boller.
"Like everyone on this team, he needed to play better at times," said Billick of Boller. "He did some things -- we'll have to isolate what those things are when we go back to the tape and see if we can find out why we did the things we did."
Tight end Todd Heap had a solid season opener, catching six balls for 55 yards. The youngster is one of the few TEs in the league that is able to stretch opposing defenses over the middle of the field with his speed and pass catching ability. Heap and wideout Travis Taylor provide the best options for Boller in the passing game. Taylor made five receptions for 33 yards and a touchdown against Pittsburgh.
GIVE JAMAL THE BALL
Baltimore will likely run right at the Browns' young linebackers this week with Jamal Lewis. The University of Tennessee product was effective when given the chance in the Ravens' loss to Pittsburgh, rushing for 69 yards and a touchdown on just 15 carries (4.6 ypc).
Lewis would have seen the ball more often if the team hadn't fallen so far behind in the contest.
"If I come before you and Jamal doesn't have 20 carries, something has gone awry," Billick said. "I'm telling you that on a 70-snap game, if you just show me the numbers and there are 50-plus throws, that's not a good day. That is not who we are. We will do everything to not do that again."
UP NEXT: Baltimore hits the road to face San Diego next week at Qualcomm Stadium.
