The Ravens' offense is walking the dangerously fine line between establishing a foundation for the future and residing in the cellar of the present.

Weighted down by too many slow starts, too few big plays and the all-too-familiar quarterback change, the Ravens have nearly bottomed out offensively, ranking 31st in the 32-team NFL.

With as many explanations as dropped passes and fumbles this season, the Ravens find themselves ahead of only the expansion Houston Texans in total offense.

"Being 31st hurts," offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh said. "It's a constant reminder that we've got a ways to go."

The architect of the highest-scoring offense of all time, Ravens coach Brian Billick isn't ready to go back to the drawing board yet.

Despite his team averaging a franchise-low 278.8 yards per game, he envisions an upside to an attack that starts four first-round draft picks. And he hasn't had thoughts about pulling the play-calling duties from Cavanaugh, like his friend, New York Giants coach Jim Fassel, successfully did last month.

In the current structure, Billick watches film on his own and works actively with Cavanaugh on the game plan during the week. During the game, Billick generally never calls or overrides a play but said there are usually a dozen instances where he offers a suggestion or Cavanaugh bounces an idea off him.

"Anything that goes on offensively, I'm responsible for," said Billick, who was the offensive coordinator of the record-setting Minnesota Vikings offense in 1998. "I do not need to physically call the game because I have all the input I need. If someone is unhappy with what we're doing, it begins with me."

In the previous three seasons under Billick and Cavanaugh, the Ravens had improved each year but never ranked above 14th. The offense has failed to average more than 20.8 points a game and is currently putting up 18.4 points a game, the lowest production for Billick here.

When asked about Cavanaugh's job security, Billick said, "When I think a change is in order, I will make that change. I don't believe that's the case."

Cavanaugh said he isn't overly worried by the situation because Billick hasn't put that pressure on him.

"I've been fired a couple of times [in Arizona and Chicago], and I've never had a problem getting a job," Cavanaugh said. "I don't doubt my abilities. I don't worry about it. I want us to keep making the strides we hoped to make when the season started."

Success has been clear-cut for the Ravens' offense this season.

When running back Jamal Lewis carries at least 20 times, the Ravens are 4-1. That plan, however, hinges on getting a lead and having enough time to pound the ball.

Through 10 games, the Ravens have scored 23 points in the first quarter and have trailed six times at halftime, all of which have resulted in losses.

"I can understand why we're 31st in the league," left guard Edwin Mulitalo said. "If you're not even getting it started, you're not going anywhere."

While the running has been inconsistent, the big plays have been consistently missing.

The Ravens want at least 10 "explosive" plays, which are runs of more than 15 yards and passes of more than 20 yards. Right now, they are averaging almost half that projection.

"If I'm regretting anything, I think it's not giving Jeff [Blake, quarterback] enough opportunities down the field," Cavanaugh said.

The Ravens' growth has been hindered by the change of quarterback, which has been a common theme under Billick. When Chris Redman went down with a back injury, Blake became the Ravens' eighth quarterback in Billick's 64-game tenure here.

The constant revolving door -- from Scott Mitchell to Stoney Case to Tony Banks to Trent Dilfer to Elvis Grbac to Randall Cunningham to Redman to Blake -- has caused the Ravens to rank no higher than 16th in pass offense. In 3 1/2 seasons under Billick, the Ravens have produced just two 300-yard passers.

"For the most part, teams that have a lot of success are teams that have consistency at that position," Cavanaugh said.

The Ravens likely will go with Blake for the rest of the season and then evaluate their quarterback situation later. Although Blake is an unrestricted free agent and Redman a restricted free agent at season's end, there is a strong possibility the Ravens will re-sign both for next year.

"The good thing is that we have two quarterbacks who are both capable of leading this team," Billick said. "We're getting a bigger and bigger feel of what Jeff's capabilities are. We'd certainly like to see Chris play some more but, at some point, you got to balance that. And then, we'll make a decision on the offseason where we want to go."

Right now, the Ravens are dealing with the problems of being ranked 24th or lower in eight of 12 offensive categories and the youthful mistakes of careless fumbles, untimely penalties and a disturbingly high number of dropped passes.

The lack of yards and poise can be a product of going up against five of the top seven ranked defenses in the league.

"Quite honestly, we've run up against some teams that have been a lot better than us on that day," Cavanaugh said.

Although the struggles aren't surprising, the building of this offense has been slower than expected.

"In the past we could get away with this," Mulitalo said. "We did enough not to lose the game and had a good enough defense. This year, it was supposed to be on our backs. But it still seems like the defense is playing well and we're still sputtering along."

Offensive rank under Billick

1999

24th

16th rushing, 25th passing

2000

16th

5th rushing, 22nd passing

2001

14th

11th rushing, 16th passing

2002

31st

17th rushing, 31 passing