vs Vikings

10:22 p.m.: Two minutes left in the game, and I've got to get down to the field for post-game press conferences.  Don't forget to keep it here on BaltimoreRavens.com for all your post-game coverage, and a look at the Michael Phelps tribute planned for after the final whistle.

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10:10 p.m.:  Heeeere's Flacco!  THe fans seem to be pretty enthusiastic about No. 5's insertion into the game, as everyone is on their feet cheering. 

Flacco is immediately flushed from the pocket, gets hit, fumbles and recovers.  Then he's sacked.  Then he's again chased out.  Ouch.

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10:04 p.m.: Still Kyle.  We're at 10:01 in the fourth quarter.  Any sign of Joe?   Might be soon, considering Boller just threw the Ravens' second interception of the game.

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9:54 p.m.: Does anyone else want a jersey that says "Booty" across the back?  John David Booty is now in the game for the Vikes. 

Not such a great start, however.  Cornerback Derrick Martin jumps in front of receiver Nate Jones on Booty's first pass and takes a pick to the house.  Martin even slows up as he nears the end zone and casually placed the ball just across the goal line for the score.

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9:49 p.m.: We might be seeing Joe Flacco earlier than expected, as Kyle Boller was just tattooed by reserve defensive tackle Letro Guion.  Boller got up pretty slowly, and I don't expect him to play beyond this series. 

About the hit, Guion left his feet and caught Boller right in the chin for the sack.  It was definitely a bone-rattler that we felt in the press box.

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9:43 p.m.: I'm noticing that Vikings kicker Steven Hauschka is doing all of the kicking duties tonight.  He's hit three field goals, including a 48-yarder hust now.  The rookie free agent from NC State has a pretty big leg, something that incumbent Ryan Longwell can't be happy about.

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9:25 p.m.: Fire drill!  Minny holder Chris Kluwe flubs the snap on a routine 35-yard field goal, and Derrick Martin and Haruki Nakamura are on kicker Steven Hauschka like white on rice.

Meanwhile, we've just seen the second time an official has been knocked over, as Boller checked down to running back Cory Ross and didn't realize the referee was standing in the middle of the field.  Ross hauled in the reception, but was tripped up by the zebra. 

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9:16 p.m.: The announced attendance for tonight's game is 70,585.  Seriously, this is a perfect night to watch some football.  Balmy and breezy and no sign of rain.  I'm definitely jealous of all those fans with a beer in their hand enjoying the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.

That being said, the Ravens begin the second half with Kyle Boller at the helm, and he promoptly goes three-and-out, running two screen passes to Ray Rice in the process.

On defense, we're getting a chance to see the Ravens' depth, and already, I like what I've seen from the defensive line.  J'Vonne Parker and Amon Gordon are up in Bollinger's grill on seemingly every play, and Gordon even drilled the signal-caller to the turf after he got rid of fthe football. 

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9:00 p.m.: Some leaders at the half:
Troy Smith - 3-of-5 for 25 yards and a score
Ray Rice - seven carries, 71 yards
Yamon Figurs - one 10-yard grab
Dawan Landry - [unofficial] six tackles

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8:56 p.m.: While many starters are sitting now, Batt Scott remains on the field, and he's been flying around like eit's the regular season.  Scott just walloped running back Mo Hicks for a loss, then jumped over a guard that went low to block for a screen pass on the next play. 

Get that man some water!

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8:54 p.m.: Not a good way to end his night, as Smith tosses sa pick to Darren Sharper.  I don't think you can really attribute that interception fully to Smith, though.  He placed a nice ball in the hands of Mark Clayton, even if it was slightly behind the receiver.  Clayton bobbled the pass off his pads into the waiting hands of Sharper.

Minny ball deep in Ravens territory.

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8:51 p.m.:  We're officially at the two-minute warning, and it seems that both coaches are beginning to sub for their starters.  But, with one more possession before halftime, it seems head caoch John Harbaugh is keeping Troy Smith in the game.  I'll wager that Smith is going to run the no-huddle, at which he's excelled in training camp.

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8:39 p.m.: Just in case fans were getting sleepy, Troy Smith woke the crowd up with an electrifying - and slippery - run for 18 yards.  Smith was all but gobbled up by Jared Allen, but he somehow ducked from the wrap, and weaved around the field dodging all sorts of defenders. 

Then again, Allen did record his first sack of the game on the next snap, so I guess you can't dodge them all.  Allen pushed Chad Slaughter back into Smith, and the left guard Ben Grubbs blocked Allen away from Slaughter's grasp.

Mark it, Brooks Bollinger into the game for Frerotte.  Now, we only need to see USC rookie John David Booty to complete the Vikings quarterbacks quartet.

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8:31 p.m.:  Gus Frerotte jsut sliced and diced the Ravens' defense.  The veteran quarterback does a great job of selling pump fakes and looking away from his receivers, drawing the Ravens out of position.  And, he's beeen getting too much time. 

The Ravens have yet to mount a significant pass rush, instead dropping most linebackers into coverage.  That was a big reason why the score is now 17-7, as Frerotte calmly found Robert Ferguson in the back left corner of the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown pass. 

Interestingly enough, the one time when the Ravens did get into the backfield - when linebacker Nick Greisen laid a solid hit on the signal-caller - Frerotte spiraled a 31-yard pass to Martin Nance, who beat Frank Walker. 

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8:20 p.m.: Apparently, Jared Allen likes to talk trash.  The marquee free-agent signee for the Vikings has been primarily held in check by Chad Slaughter, but he did manage to chase Troy Smith out of the pocket and tackle him on the Ravens' sideline. 

When Allen held on a little too long, Smith kicked the defensive end away, which led to a little trash-talking between the two - with Frank Walker joining in. 

On the next play, Allen came in hard off Smith's blind side, but Slaughter again stymied him.  Not too shabby performance against the NFL's reigning sack leader.

It should be mentioned that the Vikings did get the better of Baltimore on that drive.  Even though Smith had time to survey his receivers, Yamon Figurs couldn't hold on to the ball on a 25-yard attempt when he was de-cleated by Darren Sharper.  I'll be interested to see if Figurs goes over the middle much more in this game. 

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8:07 p.m.: Tavaris Jackson goes down with what looks to be a right knee injury.  The quarterback was replaced by Gus Frerotte.

Jackson was tagged low by Antwan Barnes when he was flushed out of the pocket by Dwan Edwards and Trevor Pryce.  A hush fell over the press box as Minny's trainers looked at their starting signal-caller.  Here's hoping he can recover, because you never want a bad injury in a preseason game.

Random jersey sighting part III: A Randy Moss Vikings purple jersey!  I can't tell if this person is a Vikings fan or hater.  He's either die-hard to keep sporting the old-school No. 94, or he's making fun of the team that couldn't retina one of the best receivers in the NFL.

Also, it looks like Peterson is going to make more of an appearance than I originally thought.  He's an absolute beast, and I have to say I was excited to finally see him play live.  He may only be 6-foot-1, 217 pounds, but he can really carry people with him.  Safety Jim Leonhard literally had to grab him and jump in the air to weigh Peterson down, and Dawan Landry, who's pretty well-built, jumped on Peterson's back and hung on before finally wrestling him to the turf.

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7:54 p.m.: Rookie Ray Rice followed a huge hole created by Jason Brown and Marshal Yanda for pop off a 42-yard run up the right sideline.  He even gained a few extra yards with some change-of-speed moves.  Rice then capped off the seven-play drive with a 6-yard score.  Good for Ray and his home debut.  The diminutive back was bear-hugged by Ben Grubbs and lifted up to the adulation of a feisty M&T Bank crowd.

Random jersey II:  Just spotted in the stands was a blue No. 5 Joe Flacco jersey from his days at Delaware.  I wonder if they're selling more of those now that Flacco's a Raven.  It's a pretty cool throwback, if you ask me. 

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7:48 p.m.: For those of you watching at home, the Ravens just got blown up for a 23-yard touchdown pass. Wideout Martin Nance was so open in the end zonee, there wasn't a defender within 10 yards of him.  While it may seem like Fabian Washington was the culprit, I think it was more of a miscommunication between him and safety Dawan Landry. Looking at the replay, Landry bit hard on a fake to the inside, leaving the back end of the defense exposed.  Tavaris Jackson just delivered an easy floater. 

But, on that drive, linebacker Ray Lewis was unbelievable.  He nearly got a sack on the game's second play, then dropped in coverage to force a pass to the flat for no gain, and then wrapped up Chester Taylor in the backfield for a loss.  No. 52 came to play.

Also, Adrian Peterson made a brief appearance on that scoring drive for a few plays.  AP had one rush for 2 yards.

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7:37 p.m.:  As someone that works in football, my life tends to run with the season.  So, that's why I always get a little goose-bumpy when the first home game of the year comes around.  There is an indescribable feeling that comes with being in your home stadium, seeing all the purple and black fans and hearing a raucous crowd scream "OOOOOooo" at just the right time during the national anthem.

Intros were typically fired-up, complete with pyro and smoke.  Derrick Mason kicked things off with his signature jump out of the tunnel, but the biggest cheers came to secdon-round pick Ray Rice.  That was at least until Troy Smith came out.  Smith pulled a Ken Griffey, Jr., with the backwards baseball cap.

One final note on the intros:  I'm pretty sure that if you talked to Chad Slaughter or Adam Bergen a month ago, neither of them would believe that they would be marched out with the starters as their face appeared on M&T Bank's SmartVision boards.  That's what training camp injuries to many first-stringers can do for some players deep on the depth chart.

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7:10 p.m.:  Each team just got together for their little pump up huddle before heading back into the locker rooms.  Here come the Marching Ravens. Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.  [Insert cymbal noise here]

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7:04 p.m.: I just had a chance to speak with Mike Wobschall of Vikings.com for a new feature we'll have on BR.com this season.  It's called "Us against Them," and basically I grab my counterpart from the opposition and we chat about the pressing issues for that day's game. 

Wobschall talked about the VIkings' banged-up secondary, with starting safety Madieu Williams, one of their biggest free-agent acquisitions this year, out for up to six weeks with a neck injury.  We also discussed Troy Smith's chances for success in his inagural start of 2008. 

Check our media player - or the right side of this gameday page - for the "Us against Them" feature in a few minutes.

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6:55 p.m.:  The Ravens have a pretty extensive list of players not expected to play.  Here's the official release of players out:

-- Wideout Patrick Carter, safety Ed Reed, cornerback Chris McAlister, running back Willis McGahee, cornerback David Pittman, linebackers Dan Cody and Terrell Suggs, tackles Jared Gaither and Adam Terry, tight ends Aaron Walker, Daniel Wilcox and Todd Heap, wideout Demetrius Williams, and nose tackles Kelly Gregg and Kelly Talavou.  --

For the Vikes, safety Madieu Williams, tight end Garrett Mills, tackle Drew Radovich, defensive tackle Kenderick Allen, tackle Marcus Johnson and defensive end Brian Robison won't play. 

As of now, both teams just left their respeective tunnels and are warming up.  The Ravens are wearing their whites, probably due to the summer heat, although the weather isn't that bad.

Random jersey alert!  There is someone in the front row proudly rocking a  No. 73 Marshal Yanda purple jersey.  I'm pretty sure they had to get that specially

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6:02: p.m.: It’s amazing how fast time actually flies. As the giant green M&T Bank Stadium sign grew larger and larger on my walk through the parking lot this afternoon, I couldn’t help but ask myself where the offseason went.

After multiple minicamps and the gruel of training camp, we’re finally here. Live from Baltimore, your Ravens are about to take the field against the Minnesota Vikings.

It’s a beautiful day in Charm City, where the sun is shining and there is a light breeze blowing through the corridors of M&T. What great weather for football.

I’ve got to run down to the field to film a short piece with Mike Wobschall of Vikings.com to preview the game, but before I leave, here are some things to ponder before kickoff.

The Ravens are going to introduce their offense, with Derrick Mason leading off the roll call. Kicker Matt Stover is also going to be included in that group. The Vikings are introducing the entire team.

A large list of Baltimore starters are likely to be missing, with Willis McGahee, Todd Heap, Adam Terry, Jared Gaither, Ed Reed, Haloti Ngata, Kelly Gregg and Chris McAlister all doubtful with injuries.

Reports out of Minnesota say that the Vikings will play their starters for the entire first half.

The Ravens’ live bird mascots will be at the game, but won’t be flying across the stadium.  They will be perched in one of the end zones, I'm told.