Jeff Blake's past will come back to haunt his present on Sunday.
Or perhaps it will be the other way around.
With injured Chris Redman aiming to return to full workouts next week, Blake is looking to solidify himself as the Ravens' starting quarterback against the Cincinnati Bengals, a franchise that tried to bench the strong-armed veteran at every opportunity.
In a lengthy interview about him and his former team, Blake insisted yesterday that all emotional ties have been severed, and he steered away from reliving his painful six years in Cincinnati.
Blake's motivation isn't to prove the Bengals wrong; it's to prove he's right for the Ravens.
"I'm not going to try to get revenge," Blake said about his first game against Cincinnati. "It's not going to even faze me. Once I step up under the center, it's about getting my team to the end zone."
Blake began his discourse on the Bengals by pointing to a gray patch in his hair, joking about one of the lasting mementos from his stressful days in Cincinnati. After that, he offered sympathy to the team's players and declined to criticize an organization that hasn't produced a winning season since 1990.
"I could say a lot of things, but it's really not my focus," Blake said. "I let that go a long time ago. I'm not going to sit here and bash the Bengals. I played with a lot of those guys, and I feel for them. A lot of them don't deserve to be in the situation that they're in. I'm not going to laugh at their situation. I was in there at one time and it's not pretty."
Blake never found a comfort zone in Cincinnati, only quarterback battles. After producing a Pro Bowl performance in 1995 and delivering the team's last non-losing season in 1996, he had to constantly look over his shoulder during his final three years there.
The Bengals tried to replace him with Boomer Esiason in 1997 and Neil O'Donnell in 1998, then took Akili Smith with the No. 3 pick in the 1999 draft.
"I have to be diplomatic, but no question it was extremely difficult," said Ralph Cindrich, Blake's agent.
"Jeff is a competitor and a team player, but some things are tough to handle. Quarterback is the one position which [Bengals president] Mike Brown is unforgiving. By way of analogy, he would have benched Trent Dilfer after the second game during the Super Bowl year."
Blake felt he was unfairly made the scapegoat for the team's problems.
The Bengals were 25-41 in games in which Blake started, but the offense ranked no lower than 18th during his time there.
In 1996 and '97, he directed Cincinnati's offense to two top-10 rankings, while the defense struggled. The leader of the "Shake N' Blake" attack, he made the high-arcing bomb to Darnay Scott and Carl Pickens his signature throw.
Blake finished as the third-leading passer in Bengals history and holds the distinction of being a part of Cincinnati's last score in Baltimore. He connected with Pickens for a 67-yard touchdown in 1998.
The Bengals have been shut out in their past three visits here.
"You always can point a finger at me and say he wasn't a high draft pick so we can get rid of him," Blake said.
"It was real easy for them to bring in other quarterbacks like Neil O'Donnell, Boomer and try to replace me as soon as they could. It happened that way and you learn from it. The situations like that make you a stronger person and a stronger man."
Blake bolted from Cincinnati in 2000, signed with the New Orleans Saints as a free agent before joining the Ravens this season. The players and coaching staff have yet to see any extra emotion from Blake this week.
But on Sunday, he gets a chance to show the Bengals what they've been missing.
"I think we might need oxygen ready for Jeff when he comes out of the tunnel because he's going to be that excited," Ravens coach Brian Billick said.
Next for Ravens
Opponent:Cincinnati Bengals
Site:Ravens Stadium
When:Sunday, 1 p.m.
TV/Radio:Ch. 13/WJFK (1300 AM), WQSR (102.7 FM)
Line:Ravens by 5 1/2
SunSpot:For more coverage, visit sunspot.net/ravens