Published: October 12, 2008 11:44 pm            

Colts Notebook: Cam Cameron’s Ravens struggle on offense

Indianapolis — Cam Cameron was glad to be back in Indiana, just 75 miles from his adopted home town. The Baltimore Ravens’ first-year offensive coordinator, though, was not pleased with what he saw in Sunday’s 31-3 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

“It’s always great to come back. We didn’t play a very good football game. We’ve got a lot of work to get done. We’ll get back to the drawing board. But it’s nice to be back,” Cameron said after the game outside the Ravens’ lockerroom.

“Offensively, we got beaten fundamentally. [Colts coach] Tony [Dungy] does a great job and his staff. They’ve been talking about getting back to fundamentals, getting back to basics. They wanted to play faster than we did, than our offense did. And you’ve got to take care of the football. I can’t remember the last time we had five turnovers in a football game. Offensively, you can’t do that to our team. You can’t do that to our defense. You don’t give yourself a chance.”

The former Terre Haute South High School quarterback has spent much of his time in Baltimore trying to coach up rookie quarterback Joe Flacco, the Ravens’ No. 1 draft choice last spring. Flacco, like most first-year players, has been inconsistent through the first five games of the season.

“I thought there were some plays, especially early, that I know he would want back. But he’s learning every snap. There was some growth that took place. But this season is not about Joe Flacco’s growth. It’s about us having an opportunity to win. We’ve got a lot of veteran players in this lockerroom. Whether you’re a rookie or not, you’re out there to help us win football games,” Cameron said.

“At the same time, the only way to learn is to play. And he’s learning what a lot of rookie quarterbacks have to learn, that when you go against a lot of hard-playing defenses, you better be sharp. And I think he’ll learn a lot from this.”

• • •

• Cam meets with old high school coach — Former Terre Haute South coach Bobby Clements and his wife Libby attended Sunday’s game to watch his old protégé’ on the Baltimore sidelines.

Bobby and Libby Clements had a chance to visit with Cameron and the Ravens’ coaching staff Saturday night at the team’s Indianapolis hotel.

“I love what I do. It started in Terre Haute playing for Bob Clements. I got the itch for coaching from my stepfather [former Indiana State football coach Tom Harp]. I love doing this at any level, any position and right now my focus is helping the Ravens win a championship,” Cameron said.

• A shoutout to his ISU coaching friend — Cameron wanted to know how first-year Indiana State football coach Trent Miles was doing.

“I know Trent will get the job done there. Let him know that if he ever needs anything from me, any help, just call me and I’ll try to be there for him,” he said.

Cameron and Miles were ballboys for the Sycamores at Memorial Stadium in the late 1970s.

• Crean, Hendry watch from the pressbox — First-year Indiana University men’s basketball coach Tom Crean and Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry were among the interested pressbox spectators Sunday.

Crean, a brother-in-law to Baltimore coach John Harbaugh, spent some time in the Ravens’ lockerroom after the game with Harbaugh and Cameron.

“I got a chance to visit with Tom [Saturday] night and after the game. I look forward to getting to know him. But he’s going to do an outstanding job. I know everybody [in Indiana] is going to give him support and get Indiana basketball back to where we all want it to be,” Cameron said.

Hendry, meanwhile, is a friend of Colts team president Bill Polian and has been a frequent visitor with his family to Indianapolis games in the past. He is the former baseball coach at Creighton.

• Injury list — There was no immediate word on the status of running backs Joseph Addai and Mike Hart.

Addai suffered a hamstring injury in the first quarter, while Hart left the game in the second quarter with an apparent knee injury. Colts coach Tony Dungy didn’t think that Addai’s injury was serious, but he wasn’t as optimistic about Hart.

Weak-side linebacker Freddy Keiaho got dinged up in the second half but appeared to be fine after the game.

• Record setters — Quarterback Peyton Manning’s 67-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Marvin Harrison in the first quarter was Harrison’s 125th career TD. His second TD catch, a 5-yarder, allowed him to pass former Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton and tie former NFL great Jim Brown for ninth-place on the league’s all-time list with 126.

Also, Harrison’s 126 career touchdown tied him with New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss for fourth in NFL history. He also recorded his 29th career multiple-touchdown game, tying Cris Carter for third most in league history (beind Jerry Rice’s 43 and Terrell Owens’ 30). Harrison has caught 110 touchdown passes from Manning.

The Colts’ signal-caller has won 108 games in his career, passing Terry Bradshaw for seventh place on the all-time quarterback win list. Manning registered his 49th career game with three or more touchdown passes.

Wide receiver Reggie Wayne now has 51 career touchdown receptions, 50 from Manning. His 51 scoring catches ranks third in franchise history. Wayne’s 118 receiving yards against the Ravens marked his 23rd career game with 100 or more yards receiving.

Defensive end Robert Mathis recorded his 10th career multiple-sack game and his second career three-sack game. He now has five this season and 47 in his career. Mathis also has three forced fumbles this year and 28 in his career.

His 28 forced fumbles tied him for third in the NFL since 2002 (Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney, 33; Washington defensive end Jason Taylor, 30; St. Louis Rams defensive end Leonard Little, 28).

Running back Dominic Rhodes’ 38-yard run in the second quarter was the Colts’ longest run from scrimmage since Joseph Addai’s 41-yarder in 2006.

        

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