Ravens' Pains Helped Vickers Gain

Lee Vickers spent two years working for an electrician in order to earn enough money to play Division II college football. When he entered the NFL in 2006, he did so as an undrafted defensive end. And until the Philadelphia Eagles switched him to tight end last season, he had never played a position where he was required to catch the football.

Vickers probably will be starting at tight end for the Baltimore Ravens against the Pittsburgh Steelers today.

"It definitely is kind of surreal," Vickers said.

In many ways it is an entirely appropriate coda to what has been an injury-filled season for the Ravens (4-11), who likely will be missing seven starters when they face the AFC North champion Steelers (10-5).

Baltimore's top two quarterbacks are out, which means rookie Troy Smith will start for the second consecutive game. Running back Willis McGahee, the NFL's fifth-leading rusher (1,207 yards), won't play because of cracked ribs, so Musa Smith will make his first career start.

Vickers is the only healthy tight end left on the roster; Todd Heap will miss his 10th game with a hamstring injury, Daniel Wilcox is sidelined with an injured thigh and Quinn Sypniewski is out because of the aftereffects of a concussion.

Referring to the rash of injuries, Coach Brian Billick said, "In my 30-some odd years [of coaching], I don't remember ever having gone through this type of thing."

The Ravens cannot blame their struggles this season entirely on injuries; they do, after all, lead the NFL in turnovers (39), and their offense has scored the second-fewest touchdowns (21) in the league. But it has been difficult trying to plug holes constantly.

For much of the season, the Ravens have been without one of their top receivers (Heap) and their top pass rusher (defensive end Trevor Pryce). They will have played more games without their two Pro Bowl cornerbacks in the lineup together (six) than they did with both Chris McAlister and Samari Rolle (four).

In some cases, Baltimore has been able to turn to experienced backups. Musa Smith is in his fifth season -- he's appeared in 47 games and has shown flashes of potential as the third-down back -- but he's never been Baltimore's featured back. In last week's 27-6 loss at Seattle, Smith carried the ball seven times, which matched his career high, for 25 yards.

But more often, the Ravens have had to look to new faces. For Troy Smith, the 2006 Heisman Trophy winner, this was supposed to be a season of watching and learning behind starter Steve McNair (injured reserve) and backup Kyle Boller (out with a concussion). But he was thrust into a starting role last week and responded by passing for 199 yards and one touchdown.

"I'm not surprised at all, because I have an understanding that football in itself is a fragile game," Troy Smith said. "It happened by default, and I never would have wanted it to happen like this, with Kyle going down, with Steve going down. But when you were selected to the [53-man roster], you have to have an understanding that when your time comes, you have to be ready."

Vickers may be the most extreme example. At the start of the season, the Ravens expected tight end to be a position of strength and depth, with the two-time Pro Bowl selection Heap and the veteran Wilcox -- who combined for 93 catches and nine touchdowns in 2006 -- as well as Sypniewski, a promising young blocker. Vickers was an afterthought when he was signed to the practice squad in late September after being released by the Eagles.

Vickers was a standout cornerback and punter at Athens (Ala.) High, where he was also the backup quarterback to Philip Rivers. He played baseball at Calhoun Community College before deciding what he really wanted to do was play football. So he spent two years working for a contractor in order to raise money, just in case he couldn't secure a scholarship. He walked on at North Alabama, where he played defensive end for four years.

The Eagles moved Vickers to tight end, after one of their coaches watched the 6-foot-6, 275-pound Vickers catch passes from Tarvaris Jackson at a pro day workout. That's where he's stayed.

He started for Baltimore against Buffalo and San Diego, as the Ravens opened the game in a two-tight-end set, and he caught his first NFL pass in Baltimore's 32-14 loss to the Chargers Nov. 25. Since the catch went for minus-one yard, the calls he got from his friends weren't exactly congratulatory.

"All my buddies back home gave me a hard time after the San Diego game: 'Ooh, that's some nice stats, Lee.' I was like, at least I caught the ball. It could've been worse -- it could've hit me in the face," said Vickers, who had a five-yard reception against the Seahawks to raise his career total to four yards. "I got out of the minus yardage this past week. I'm big-time now."