Breaking sharply from what had been the norm over the past several days, all three Ravens quarterbacks had good outings during this morning's practice at McDaniel College in Westminster.

Kyle Boller had some zip on his passes and made some throws that in the past would have resulted in interceptions. His best pass occurred during a 7-on-7 drill with wide receivers Matt Willis and rookie Marcus Smith running similar post patterns, but Willis' route was a few yards deeper. Boller slung the ball over Smith and cornerback Corey Ivy to a wide-open Willis, who would have added substantial yardage downfield.

Troy Smith showed off his arm strength with sideline throws, and his ability to scamper out of collapsing pockets and turn losses into modest gains can only help the patchwork offensive line. On one play, Smith bounced to his right to get out of the pocket before turning upfield.

Rookie Joe Flacco can get the ball to his receivers. Sometimes the receivers don't secure the passes, but Flacco seems to have faith that his teammates will be in the right spots. On one play, he launched a pass before Smith made his move on a deep post pattern, and the football hit Smith in stride.

Other observations:

* Sure, they are teammates, but it seems at times that the offensive and defensive players don't like each other. Linebacker Antwan Barnes shoved right guard Marshal Yanda twice after a play, fullback Le'Ron McClain and cornerback David Pittman traded barbs, and safety Ed Reed kept trying to goad wide receiver Derrick Mason into a verbal exchange. Maybe this 24-hour respite from camp will do wonders for the soul.

* Rookie running back Ray Rice continues to impress with his hard-nosed running style and ability to cut back across the grain for holes. Rice appeared to have his own cheering section as several fans dressed in Rutgers scarlet red T-shirts populated the area behind the end zone of one practice field and screamed, "Ray!" every time the running back touched the ball.

* Linebacker Ray Lewis's heart must have heaved a sigh of relief with the sight of defensive tackle Haloti Ngata jogging on the adjacent practice field. With Ngata (sprained right medial collateral ligament), Kelly Gregg (left knee) and Justin Bannan (undisclosed) not practicing, Dwan Edwards was at times joined by Kelly Talavou and Lorenzo Williams in the trenches.

* Safety Dawan Landry pulled off a spectacular interception by leaping over 6-foot-5 rookie wide receiver Ernie Wheelwright to pick off Smith, but cornerback Corey Ivy registered the most acrobatic takeaway. Wheelwright could not control a Boller pass, and the ball bounced to Ivy, who juggled it three times before securing the interception.