Entering the second half of the season, the Ravens have watched their injury report grow and their quarterback situation grow more intriguing.
Losers of three of their past four games, the Ravens (3-5) have listed injured cornerback Chris McAlister as doubtful with a sprained left ankle and named Jeff Blake as their starting quarterback for Sunday's game against Cincinnati.
Blake will have at least one more chance to make his case to remain the Ravens' starter as Chris Redman has yet to be cleared by doctors to practice. Still rehabilitating a herniated disc in his lower back, Redman has an outside shot to be the team's No. 3 quarterback Sunday and might be able to play the following week at Miami.
If Redman can resume practicing next week, the Ravens will have to decide whether to put their improving prodigy back into the lineup or stick with the strong-armed Blake. At this point, they are noncommittal.
"It's going to be determined by how we're doing and where we're at. I'm not going to set it in stone," said Ravens coach Brian Billick. "I'll see how the team is responding, I'll see how Jeff is playing and I'll see how strong Chris is. We'll determine it at that time. Chris has certainly done nothing to not continue on as the quarterback. But neither has Jeff."
Redman, who led the Ravens to a 3-3 start, has missed the past two games because his disc hit a nerve that sent pain running down his right leg and caused his right foot and toes to become numb. The first-year starter said he still has some lingering effects from the injury and will increase his activity this week to regain strength in the leg on which he plants to throw.
When asked if he feels pressure to rush back to hold onto his starting job, Redman said, "I don't think that's my biggest concern. I just want to play. I hate sitting on the sideline and watching. I'm just trying to work as hard as I can and get back as fast as I can."
Injuries have taken their toll on the Ravens' defense, too.
Besides McAlister, the Ravens could again be without linebacker Ray Lewis and defensive end Michael McCrary on Sunday. Those absences would leave outside linebacker Peter Boulware as the lone starter from the defense that helped the Ravens win the Super Bowl in the 2000 season.
"It's really been tough this year," Boulware said. "We're young to start off, and then we lose guys who have been our anchors. But we have to continue to fight. That's just the way it is. You would hope the stars wouldn't get hurt. But that's been our streak right now."
Performing at a Pro Bowl level this year, McAlister sprained his ankle when he made the mistake of fielding a punt at the Ravens' 3-yard line on Sunday. His ankle visibly swollen, he limped around the locker room yesterday.
If McAlister cannot play, the Ravens would start Alvin Porter.
"The problem with Chris is what he has to do for living, which is cut and change direction," trainer Bill Tessendorf said. "If he cannot do that, then he's not very effective."
While there is little to report on Lewis' progress, Tessendorf called the linebacker "very doubtful" for Sunday.
The Ravens said they will likely decide within the next two weeks whether Lewis will need season-ending surgery on his left shoulder. The All-Pro linebacker has missed the past four games but has continued his weightlifting regimen.
McCrary has sat out three of the past four games with a knee injury. Still one of the team's leaders in quarterback hits, he will let the coaching staff know throughout the week whether he's ready to return.
"It's wait and see," Billick said of Lewis. "It's how he feels, what the continuing X-rays and MRIs say. Our focus is he's not there this week, so we'll go on. When the doctors say he's there, we'll go from there."
Blake can relate to working week to week.
He started the past two losses, completing 55.8 percent of his passes for 527 yards. Providing a mix of exciting deep throws along with some uneasy moments, Blake has thrown two touchdown passes and four interceptions. He also lost a fumble on Sunday that the Falcons converted into an easy touchdown.
Blake, 31, said he is going into every week thinking that he will start unless told otherwise. Although it's not an ideal situation, he's not complaining.
"I'll take it any way I can get it, baby," Blake said. "If I deal you a deck of cards, you got to play them."
Sunday's game will have an added story line for Blake, who played for Cincinnati from 1994 to 1999. The Bengals got their first victory of the season Sunday, routing the expansion Houston Texans, 38-3.
"They're a team that totally annihilated a Houston Texans team that is older, has more experience and has more veteran starters than we do," Billick said. "That's our challenge."