Ravens Fall To Rams

Arena Football League and NFL Europe alumnus Kurt Warner proved he was ready for prime time.

Warner, a third-stringer last year with all of 11 NFL passes under his belt before Sunday, threw for 316 yards and three touchdowns as the St. Louis Rams opened with a 27-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens.

Dick Vermeil, the emotional Rams coach, choked up as he talked about his 28-year-old quarterback, who became the starter when Trent Green went down with a season-ending knee injury in the third preseason game.

The loss spoiled the head coaching debut of Baltimore's Brian Billick. The Ravens managed just 223 yards and 13 first downs.

"We don't have enough paper to list my frustrations," Billick said.

The Ravens' offensive woes were a combination of bad throws by Scott Mitchell, dropped balls and inopportune penalties overall, Baltimore was whistled 11 times for 106 yards.

"The only thing that can hurt us is if we start pointing fingers and say, this guy can do better, or that guy can do better," said Mitchell, 17-for-40 for 188 yards, with a touchdown and two interceptions.

Warner was sharp except for a tentative spell in the third quarter and two interceptions only one his fault.

"I know this is the NFL and a lot of people want to make it a big deal," Warner said. "But I've played football a long time and I felt like I was just playing another game out there."

The Rams took control in the second quarter, when Warner threw touchdown passes of 6 yards to Roland Williams and 2 yards to Isaac Bruce. Warner and first-round draft pick Torry Holt combined on a 20-yard fourth-quarter pass that iced the win.

Bruce had eight catches for 92 yards. In his first game with the Rams, Marshall Faulk had seven catches for 72 yards, though he was held to 54 yards rushing on 19 carries.

Faulk also let a Warner pass slip through his hands in the second quarter, and rookie Chris McAlister returned it to the Rams 5. He had an open lane to the end zone, but banged into teammate Rod Woodson, making his first start at safety after 12 years as a cornerback.

"We just got tangled," McAlister said.

Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis had 14 tackles and intercepted a pass at the Ravens 7 and returned it 60 yards late in the first quarter. But the Ravens failed to score when Matt Stover's 54-yard field goal try missed.

Mitchell's 28-yard pass to Brandon Stokley late in the third quarter cut the deficit to 17-10. Then early in the fourth quarter, Warner was hit from behind and fumbled, giving the Ravens the ball at the St. Louis 30. But Baltimore moved backwards, and Stover's second 54-yard effort also missed.

Jeff Wilkins kicked two field goals for St. Louis, including a 51-yarder in the fourth quarter.

Baltimore's two-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden left early in the second quarter with a hip pointer and didn't return. The Ravens felt his loss St. Louis had five sacks, two by Kevin Carter.

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