Ravens Week 6 - Gus Who's Coming to Dinner

"It's Gus!" exclaimed Ed Reed, who was wired for sound this weekend as the Ravens battled the Rams. "It's Gus. It's Gus." For those of you who frequent Rehoboth Beach in the summer, Ed wasn't referring to the fried chicken hole-in-the-wall on the boardwalk. That would be Gus & Gus, where the smell of the fryer, old bay and vinegar combine to form a chemical compound that could probably clean the grease off a bicycle chain. Considering the residue left on your hands after finishing a meal resembles that very same substance, it's hard to imagine who would eat such sweet slop. Well not that hard, considering my wife, the very same woman who ran the half-marathon on Saturday along with fellow Ravens runners, Reba Koppelman and Jeff Atkinson, is a devout diner. Rather, Ed was referring to the St. Louis back-up turned starting quarterback, Gus Frerotte, who had the unfortunate fate of lining up against a hungry Ravens defense on Sunday. It is possible, however, that Gus had the team bus driver take a detour over the Bay Bridge to grab a greasy bucket before the game because the ball just seemed to slip out of his hands all day long. Of course Ed Reed and Co. were nowhere near the surf and sand of the shore on Sunday morning. As fall settled in on M&T Bank Stadium, some of the team's recently injured stars got back on the field a few hours early to test out their faulty parts. Todd Heap gave his hamstring a stretch, Samari Rolle zig-zagged across the field, getting his legs back after missing a month, and even Stephen Jackson of the Rams ran some sprints in the end zone before ending his day just before eleven o'clock. One healthy Raven appropriately basking in the morning sun was the California kid, Kyle Boller, who was apparently preparing for his second start of the season. With Steve McNair nowhere to be found, I felt like giving Rachel Nichols a call to let her know who would be lining up under center, at least according to blog reports, but for some reason I couldn't seem to find her number. Oh that's right, I don't actually know her. My pre-game private screening continued as I waited outside the locker room with Jeff and Lauryn for the team to make their way into the tunnel. Most of the men in purple had already departed before Reed began his walk with his eyes seemingly staring through the concrete at the enemy on the other side. His eye black streaked across his face, reminiscent of The Ultimate Warrior's paint job, and added an element of fear to the former NFL Defensive Player of the Year. As we kept the camera focused on the fearsome one, I kept Jeff from back-peddling into the referees, who apparently text message one another across the country as one official commented to us that he heard it started to drizzle in Chicago. Fortunately, there was no rain in the forecast for Baltimore, but the clouds rolled in real quick as the smoke machines filled the tunnel with fake fog. Out of the mist, the Ravens defense was introduced one by one, with players like Ngata, Scott and Suggs all savoring the sounds of the crowd. The last two men to make their entrance were Reed and as always, Ray Lewis. As Reed's name was called, Ed spun through the smoke and out into daylight, with Jeff trailing closely behind. Unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, I got picked off trying to follow suit as security secured the area just as Nelly welcomed No. 52. Since I was 'forced' to stay back, I had a front row seat for the show that never ends as Ray reminded the 71,000+ in attendance that despite the breezy 68 degree temperature at kickoff, its still as hot as ever when Lewis is introduced. To find out what Gus did to help the Ravens earn their 4th win of the year, visit www.coffeeonthe50.com.