By Shannon Russell
The Cincinnati Enquirer

When Baltimore Ravens quarterback Jeff Blake returned to the Queen City on Sunday, there was one thing he noticed about his former Bengals team. Not much had changed.

Blake, who left Cincinnati as a free agent after the 1999 season, led the Ravens to a 27-23 victory in his first visit to Paul Brown Stadium.

Lingering memories of his six Bengals seasons - and fond memories of the players he once guided - have given him insight into the 1-11 club. As a Bengals opponent, he still sees problems that once plagued him as a Cincinnati player.

"I love these guys. When I was here, I took a lot of them under my wing," Blake said, mentioning linebacker Takeo Spikes and running back Brandon Bennett specifically. "I just know they play with demons on this team. I don't know how to get (the demons) off of them. It ain't the players. And it ain't the coaches."

Blake declined to pinpoint a source of the Bengals' problems, but he exonerated every part of the club except management. Bengals president Mike Brown gave Blake his walking papers after the 1999 season, turning the quarterback duties over to Akili Smith.

Although Blake engineers the NFL's second-worst offense, he has twice managed respectable numbers against the Bengals. On Nov.10, he was 16-of-24 passing for 183 yards and a touchdown in the Ravens' 38-27 win in Baltimore. Sunday, he was 10-of-19 passing for 115 yards and two TDs.

This, for a team focusing on its running game.

"We had a real good balance, but today we wanted to come out and just smash-mouth them - just run the football," Blake said.

Ravens running back Jamal Lewis broke the 1,000-yard season rushing mark, rolling up 121 yards on 22 carries. He improved to 1,034 yards rushing on 236 carries.

Baltimore profited off Bengals errors - a Jon Kitna interception, a Nick Harris blocked punt - and didn't have to rely solely on its embattled offense.

Blake was sacked three times, a feat the Bengals hadn't accomplished since losing to the Ravens 16-0 on Dec.23, 2000.

Sunday's game-winning touchdown came through the air, a 22-yard Blake pass to tight end Todd Heap.

The pass was intended for wide receiver Travis Taylor, who couldn't elude the Bengals' double coverage.

"It was the true sense of a scramble drill, when everything kind of breaks down and the timing's off and the quarterback rolls out," Heap said. "You try to find a seam in their defense and come back down the hill to the quarterback. (Blake) put it up and we made a play, so it turned out good."

Baltimore collected 247 net yards, well below its 271.1 average. Sunday's figure was lower than the Houston Texans' league-worst 244.8 average.

Blake, who was booed by Bengals fans at the beginning of the game, can empathize with his former teammates. But he can't - or won't - say how things can change.

"I ain't going to put those words into my mouth," Blake said.

Return to Bengals front page...