Tomlinson, who vowed to bounce back this season and dispel the notion that NFL running backs trend way downward once they hit age 30, suffered a sprained ankle in the Chargers’ come-from-behind win against the Raiders on Monday night. L.T. hasn’t practiced all week and has been officially ruled out against Baltimore. That means Darren Sproles will take over as the featured back, with Michael Bennett also likely to get some work. In addition, the Chargers will be without starting center Nick Hardwick and possibly guard Louis Vasquez.

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Now, Sproles was very good last week against the Raiders. He replaced Tomlinson on pretty much every third down even before L.T. was hurt and had nine rushes for 23 yards but also caught five passes for 43 yards in addition to his three punt and five kickoff returns (one for 59 yards). His 5-yard touchdown run with 18 seconds remaining gave the Chargers the victory. But Sproles is a little guy (5-foot-6, 185 pounds), and it’s rather unlikely he can handle something like 15-20 carries a game (along with his kick-return duties), especially against the ferocious Ravens defense that owns the NFL’s longest current streak of not allowing a 100-yard rusher: 36 games.

It was Baltimore’s offense that shined last week. The Ravens, who are 3-point underdogs this week on Bodog, had a team-record 501 yards in beating Kansas City. Second-year QB Joe Flacco looked tremendous, throwing a career-high 43 times for a career-best 301 yards and three touchdowns. When he has a TD pass in his young career, Baltimore is 10-2. By the way, San Diego’s pass defense was No. 31 in the league last year.

And it’s not like the Ravens abandoned the run last week, as Ray Rice rushed for 108 yards – part of Baltimore’s 198 yards on the ground. The Ravens had more first downs than the Chiefs had rushing yards (29), so that 38-24 score was very misleading.

With the Chargers’ offensive line in shambles, the Ravens’ defensive front should dominate. But San Diego QB Philip Rivers is 22-5 in his career at Qualcomm Stadium. Rivers will be throwing more than usual this week with Tomlinson out. The Ravens were 5-3 on the road last year and then won two playoffs games away from home.

San Diego and Baltimore have split six previous meetings.

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Backers are now hoping that an offense that features star running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, Pro Bowl receiver Steve Smith, and an outstanding line can carry the team.

They will have to do it against a Ravens defense that looks to be in midseason form already. Despite being a 2-point underdog in this one, Baltimore is 2-0 in the preseason so far, including a shutout of the Redskins in Week 1.

RB Willis McGahee has been rotating with Ray Rice, but it remains Rice who is starting at running back for now.

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Bodog has the Ravens listed as 3-point home favorites for tonight's game.

While it is just the preseason Ryan might have a little extra incentive to prove that he could have been the Ravens coach after being bypassed last year for John Harbaugh. Harbaugh does not seem to take much interest in the preseason, which means his aging veterans won't get much more than a few series.

The Jets have a quarterback battle in full swing between rookie Mark Sanchez and Kellen Clemens.

The Ravens have a position battle of their own at running back between Willis McGahee and Ray Rice. Right now it is too close to call, with both players playing well in last week’s win over the Redskins.

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The 3-point favored Ravens are coming off an 11-5 season in which they made it all the way to the AFC Championship Game. The team did lose defensive coordinator Rex Ryan as he left to take the top spot with the Jets, as well as two defensive starters in Bart Scott and Jim Leonhard.

The Redskins have some choices to make at quarterback during the exhibition season. Jason Campbell is the clear-cut starter, but there is a battle for the third-string spot between Colt Brennan and rookie Chase Daniel. If the coaching staff likes what they see out of the two youngsters, it may be veteran quarterback Todd Collins who gets cut.

Thursday's game is scheduled to get underway at 7:30pm ET at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

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The Ravens, who are listed at +2200 to win the Super Bowl, are poised to make another run, but only if Flacco continues to improve and the defense can overcome the loss of defensive coordinator Rex Ryan.

Coach John Harbaugh is hopeful that Derrick Mason will return to the Ravens but couldn’t predict whether the team’s top receiver will do so.

Mason hasn’t spoken to reporters since announcing his retirement earlier this month.

Mason, 35, has been the team’s only dependable receiver, leading the Ravens in catches for three of his four seasons with the team.

Rookies, quarterbacks, and select players will report to training camp today, with the first full-team practice open to the public on July 31.

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Flacco also led his team to two playoff wins and the AFC title game, while Ryan struggled in the Falcons' wild-card loss. The Ravens were the first team to advance to the AFC Championship Game with a rookie head coach and quarterback.

Baltimore in theory returns 19 of 22 starters this year, but the team didn't address a big need at wide receiver. The Ravens ranked 28th in the NFL last year in passing yards – certainly a big part of that was the run-oriented offense (fourth in the NFL), but Flacco had no deep threats. And one has to wonder about Willis McGahee's health after a disappointing 2008, although Ray Rice is there to handle a big load.

The defense should be in the NFL's top five as it usually is, especially since the team re-signed future Hall of Famer Ray Lewis. Although remember that defensive coordinator Rex Ryan is gone, and he took a few defensive starters with him to the Jets.

Here is the Ravens' 2009 schedule, and we'll break it down after:
Sept. 13 vs. Kansas City Chiefs, 1 p.m.
Sept. 20 at San Diego Chargers, 4:15 p.m.
Sept. 27 vs. Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m.
Oct. 4 at New England Patriots, 1 p.m.
Oct. 11 vs. Cincinnati Bengals, 1 p.m.
Oct. 18 at Minnesota Vikings, 1 p.m.
Week 7: Bye
Nov. 1 vs. Denver Broncos, 1 p.m.
Nov. 8 at Cincinnati Bengals, 1 p.m.
Nov. 16 at Cleveland Browns, 8:30 p.m.
Nov. 22 vs. Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m.
Nov. 29 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, 8:20 p.m.
Dec. 7 at Green Bay Packers, 8:30 p.m.
Dec. 13 vs. Detroit Lions, 1 p.m.
Dec. 20 vs. Chicago Bears, 1 p.m.
Dec. 27 at Pittsburgh Steelers, 1 p.m.
Jan. 3 at Oakland Raiders, 4:15 p.m.

Strength of schedule: 28th (opponents combined to go 111-143-2, .438, in 2008)
Projected record: 10-6
Projected Bodog over/under total: 8 ½
Bodog odds to win AFC: 10/1
Bodog odds to win Super Bowl XLIV: 22/1

One would expect Baltimore to win at least six of its home games considering the Ravens own the second-best home record in the NFL since 2000. They should be decent favorites in their first four home games: Kansas City, Cleveland, Cincinnati all had losing records last year and Denver is rebuilding.

But the Ravens' first three road games are all against Super Bowl contenders, so I think Baltimore backers are looking at a 4-3 start. The good news then comes in the form of back-to-back games against the Bengals and Browns, teams that Baltimore swept last year, although both should be improved in 2009.

The toughest stretch would appear to begin the Sunday before Thanksgiving with home games against AFC powers Indianapolis (with Baltimore coming off a Monday night game) and Pittsburgh. The Colts have beaten Baltimore six of the past seven times, while Pittsburgh got the Ravens three times in 2008. Then comes a game at Green Bay, which no doubt will be frozen tundra by then. I think the Ravens are 7-5 heading into the final quarter of the season.

Baltimore concludes with two games against NFC North teams Detroit and Chicago before  having to see the Steelers again way too soon (Pittsburgh's first prime-time game in Baltimore since 2003) and then at Oakland in the finale, with the Raiders assuredly having nothing to play for. There's no reason the Ravens can't win three of those games to finish at 10-6, which should be enough for another wild-card spot in the loaded AFC.

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But today let's talk about Denver's Brandon Marshall, who has demanded a trade from Denver because he wants a new deal. Yes, he is another receiver with plenty of legal troubles but at least is eligible to play this year — which we still don’t know about Burress.

Frankly, Marshall would be a better addition to any team than would Plax. The stats aren't even close. Marshall has exceeded 100 catches and 1,250 yards receiving in each of the past two seasons. Burress has had one season over 1,250 yards and has a career-high of 78 catches. In fairness, Burress never played in a passing offense like Marshall has in Denver. But Marshall is also seven years younger.

So if Denver caves to his demands, and we know from Jay Cutler that they may do just that, where would Marshall best fit?

Obviously the first answer would be the Bears, and Cutler has lobbied for his former teammate. But there's almost no way that happens – the Broncos aren't going to supply the Bears with another star, and Chicago already has given Denver its 2010 first-rounder.

The best answer, if a deal happens, is in Baltimore. The Ravens, who are 20/1 odds to win the AFC this season at Bodog, already have a Super Bowl-caliber defense. What they don't have is a deep threat and red zone receiver for Joe Flacco. Mark Clayton and Derrick Mason are solid but nothing spectacular. Adding Marshall would open up a running game that ranked fourth in the NFL last year as it was.

The Ravens have admitted they have interest. As they should, considering the team finished 27th in receiving last year, averaging just 192.8 yards per game.

Will Marshall get traded? One would think the Broncos wouldn't give in to another player. But if the Ravens can get him, they immediately become a threat to dethrone the Steelers.

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Sharp handicappers across all sports recognize the underdog and the under as the Beatles and Rolling Stones of value betting. Casual fans love winners, and they love touchdowns. They also love to put their money where their mouth is. The Super Bowl draws more of these bettors than any other sporting event.

This would therefore be the right time to support the Arizona Cardinals (+7, -120) and the under (47, -120). Keep in mind, though, that the Pittsburgh Steelers were one of the Super Bowl favorites to cover, beating Seattle (+4) 21-10 three years ago.

“It was physical, low-scoring – just like everyone thought it was going to be,” Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger told the Associated Press after the game.

The same expectations hold true for the Conference Round; a total of 34 has been posted, with Pittsburgh as a 6-point home chalk (-105). I like the Ravens to at least cover this matchup, as they did in Week 4’s 23-20 overtime loss at Heinz Field getting the same six points.

In the divisional round, the Steelers were favored by 6 over the Chargers, and the Ravens were 2.5-point underdogs at Tennessee.

Pittsburgh won the AFC North and Baltimore was second, earning a wild card. The Steelers won both regular-season meetings, 23-20 in overtime and 13-9.

Will the third time be lucky for the upset-minded Ravens? Get your NFL odds before it's too late. The Ravens are 6-2 ATS in their last eight meetings with the Steelers, while the underdog is 4-1 ATS in their last five meetings.