MIAMI -- The Ravens gave up a season-high seven sacks in yesterday's 26-7 loss to the Miami Dolphins. Afterward, linemen offered up the most basic explanation.

"We just got our butts kicked, and that is the way it goes," guard Edwin Mulitalo said.

It did not help that the Ravens played from behind most of the game and could not run the ball. Jamal Lewis rushed for just 47 yards on 17 attempts.

Quarterback Jeff Blake was sacked 2 1/2 times by end Adewale Ogunleye and one time by Pro Bowl end Jason Taylor.

Pressure came from everywhere. Blake was sacked by a cornerback (Patrick Surtain), two backup ends (David Bowens and Jay Williams) and a safety (Arturo Freeman).

"With the guys that they have on the outside with Taylor and the corners they have, if you are not running the football, those guys are just going to pin their ears back and come at you," Blake said. "They were coming up the field so fast, I was trying to step up as fast as I could. Sometimes I was stepping up too fast and right into the front pressure that was coming at me.

"It got kind of tough back there for me sometimes, but we fought."

Of all the Dolphins' defenders, Ogunleye, matched against Ethan Brooks most of the game, was the biggest surprise. It was the first multi-sack game for the first-year starter.

"He's a good player; they are all good players," said tackle Jonathan Ogden. "They obviously are because they got a lot of pressure today, so they must be doing something right."

Said Ravens coach Brian Billick: "You turn that group loose, they were fighting each other to see who was going to get a shot. That's what that game turns into when you get behind like that."

Flea flicker flop

Ravens receiver Ron Johnson and flea flickers are not jibing.

Johnson dropped his second flea flicker of the year in the third quarter yesterday.

Blake handed off to Lewis, who pitched it back to Blake. Blake threw it to Johnson, who let the ball get to his chest, allowing cornerback Sam Madison to disrupt the play. Johnson also dropped a flea flicker in the preseason.

"I have no idea what happened," said Johnson, who started in place of the injured Brandon Stokley. "It was just a dropped ball. That's all I can say. I could have made it easier for myself by jumping earlier, putting my hands up higher, trying to time it better. I let the ball get in my body more than I should have."

Drops are contagious

Johnson was not the only Raven with the drops.

Receiver Travis Taylor let at least three balls slip through his hands, including a first-quarter drop that would have produced a first down.

All together, Ravens receivers dropped at least six passes from Blake.

"Sometimes it does, but as a player, as a quarterback and as a leader, you don't allow that to frustrate you," Blake said. "You just keep playing and hopefully your guys will follow and keep playing themselves."

More Brightful returns

Return specialist Lamont Brightful does not have the reputation yet where teams shy away from him.

If he did, the Dolphins undoubtedly would have stopped kicking to Brightful, who had a punt return of 43 yards and a kickoff return of 34 yards in the second quarter.

Brightful's punt return gave the Ravens possession at the Dolphins' 37 and set up their only touchdown. He averaged 21 yards on three punt returns.

"I have no control over that," Brightful said. "If they kick to me, I'm going to do my job. Coming in, they had a lot of confidence in their special teams. I doubt they were going to kick away from a rookie."

Reed's homecoming

After winning a national title with the University of Miami last season, safety Ed Reed made his professional debut in the city to some scattered applause during pre-game introductions.

Reed finished with four tackles.

"I wish I could leave with a better feeling, but you take it and you live and learn," Reed said. "We played the game, we lost and they were the better team."

Another 100-yarder

Ricky Williams rushed for 102 yards, the second straight week in which the Ravens allowed a 100-yard rusher.

Williams averaged 3.9 yards a carry, and his longest run came on an 18-yard scamper in the fourth quarter. Cincinnati's Corey Dillon also ran for 102 yards a week ago.

"It was a hard 100," linebacker Ed Hartwell said. "Anytime you play us, it's going to be a hard 100. He came in, ran hard. He had some good licks on him, and I congratulate him for getting back up. Overall, he still got 100 yards, and that's the thing we don't like."

Fourth-down fake

Madison, a three-time Pro Bowl player, fell for one of the oldest plays in the book and allowed a 28-yard touchdown to Taylor.

Madison got caught looking in the backfield on a fourth-and-one play fake to Lewis, and Taylor streaked past him in the middle of the field for the touchdown.

"I was just acting like I was going inside to block; [Madison] looked back, and that's when I took off," Taylor said. "But it really doesn't matter."

Words of advice

Dolphins defensive end Rob Burnett expressed before the game to his current team what it would take to beat his former team.

Burnett spent the previous 12 seasons with Art Modell's franchise.

"Baltimore is a very arrogant team, and they're gonna play like that," Burnett said. "You have to just step up and hit them in the mouth because they won't respect you until you do that. That's what we did."

Lord of the ring

Billick made sure Madison got a good look at his world championship ring from Super Bowl XXXV.

"How does it feel not to have one of these?" Madison said Billick yelled at him from the sideline after flashing the ring. "He wanted me to see his ring, and then he said, 'This is as close as you'll ever get to one of these.' "

Madison said Billick didn't have anything to say until the Ravens trailed 20-7 in the third quarter.

"I guess the way we were kicking butt, he needed to get something off of his chest," Madison said. "It just shows what kind of program they run. Without Ray Lewis, they wouldn't be diddly-pooh."

Madison said Billick had the Dolphins jacked up from some preseason comments in ESPN The Magazine in which he said that the Ravens came to Pro Player Stadium and marked their territory in a 20-3 playoff victory.

"When people say stuff like that in public, and it goes all over the world, it's upsetting," Madison said. "I don't think that they ... marked their territory today."

Patrick Surtain, who starts opposite Madison, said he overheard a lot of the conversation between Madison and some on the Ravens' sideline. He only laughed.

"You can't out-talk Sam," Surtain said. "He's always going to get the last word. When you think that you've heard it all, Sam will have something else. Billick met his match this time."

Surtain said a lot of the Ravens were trash-talking during the game, but he wasn't bothered by it until Johnson started mouthing off.

"I told him, 'You just a rookie in this league,' " Surtain said. "He should keep his mouth shut until he's made enough plays to earn the right to mouth off."

Craig Barnes, a reporter for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, contributed to this article.

Blake's stats

Jeff Blake's statistics in his four games as the Ravens' starting quarterback:

Opp. ....... Att ....... Com ...... Yds ......... TD .......... Int

Pit. .......... 50 ......... 29 ....... 298 ........... 1 ............ 3

Atl. .......... 27 ......... 14 ....... 229 ........... 1 ............ 1

Cin. ......... 24 ......... 16 ....... 183 ........... 1 ............ 0

Mia. ......... 28 ......... 14 ....... 127 ............ 1 ............ 1

Tot.......... 129 ........ 73 ....... 837 ........... 4 ............ 5