of his agreement to postpone his retirement. ... Baltimore played without tight end Dallas Clark, who signed a one-year contract on Tuesday. Visanthe

BALTIMORE -- Matt Ryan looked sharp, Steven Jackson ran the ball well and the Atlanta defence was exceptional in the first half. That, more than the final score, is what the Falcons will take out of their 27-23 preseason loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night. Ryan threw for 97 yards and a touchdown in four series, and the Falcons led by 16 before the Ravens backups rallied with a 20-point fourth quarter. Atlantas starters bounced back nicely from an opening 34-10 loss to Cincinnati one week earlier. Under Ryans direction, the Falcons pierced Baltimore (2-0) for 11 first downs in 16 1/2 minutes and built a 20-7 lead at halftime. The defence limited the defending Super Bowl champions to three first downs and 13 yards rushing before halftime -- a mere 10 by Ray Rice on eight carries. "The feel on the sideline was that there were a number of areas that we improved on as a football team," Atlanta coach Mike Smith said. "Players that were going to be counting on, I think took a big step from Week One to Week Two." It was 23-7 before Baltimore came back against Atlantas subs. After Tyrod Taylor threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Tandon Doss to make it 23-20 with 7:52 left, and Asa Jackson scored on a 78-yard punt return with 6:18 remaining. "Were just happy to come away with the win," Rice said. "Our young guys are really improving. Thats special to us." Ryan went 8 for 15 and threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Julio Jones. "We were better this week than we were last, and thats what you want to do in the preseason, you want to continue to get better," Ryan said. "Again, weve got a long way to go, but it was a good start." Steven Jackson had 42 yards rushing on eight carries against a defensive unit that has seven new starters. "Having success tonight is great for our confidence," he said. "Weve been working on the chemistry between the running back and the offensive line, and we feel the hard work showed tonight." The Ravens, conversely, were embarrassed by the easy fashion in which the Falcons moved downfield. "That was not us," Ravens defensive co-ordinator Dean Pees said at halftime. "Thats not how we play. Our fundamentals were not what they should be." Baltimores offence wasnt much better. Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco played the first half, completing 7 of 9 passes 118 yards, including a 77-yard touchdown pass to Torrey Smith. But over the first 30 minutes, the Ravens got only 54 yards on 18 plays besides the pass to Smith. "That first half was about as poorly as we can play," sixth-year coach John Harbaugh said. "I cant remember us playing worse since we came here." Atlanta had its way with Baltimores defence, even though receiver Roddy White hurt his ankle in the first quarter and did not return. "We made the decision that Roddy was not going to come back in the ballgame," Smith said, refusing to address the particulars of the injury. After going three and out on the opening series, Flacco put the Ravens up 7-3 with a touchdown pass to Smith, who cut across the middle of the field from the right side and outran Asante Samuel to the end zone. Atlanta bounced right back, moving 80 yards in seven plays to take a 10-7 lead. Jones burned cornerback Jimmy Smith for three catches totalling 55 yards, including an 8-yard touchdown play. In the first quarter, the Falcons ran 21 plays compared to seven for Baltimore and built a 10-1 advantage in first downs. "We were just sloppy. We never got into a rhythm," Flacco said. "The one drive we did score on, it was just one play." A field goal by Jeremy Shelley and a 2-yard run by Jacquizz Rodgers made it 20-7. Last season, the Ravens held opponents under 20 points in nine games (including two in the playoffs). In their preseason opener, they hammered Tampa Bay 44-16. This game was decidedly different. "This was good for us. A little humble pie," linebacker Terrell Suggs said. "We had a lot of success last week, with everything pretty much going our way. Atlanta is a very good team, and you cant make the mistakes we did. Its that simple." Guard Jah Reid said, "Well learn from it, well watch film from it and well get better from it." NOTES: Falcons backup quarterback Dominique Davis went 8 for 10 for 98 yards. ... Atlanta tight end Tony Gonzalez was scratched because hes participating in only portions of training camp as part of his agreement to postpone his retirement. ... Baltimore played without tight end Dallas Clark, who signed a one-year contract on Tuesday. Visanthe Shiancoe, another newcomer at tight end, did not have a catch. Adidas NMD R1 Alennus . Pence singled in the winning run with no outs in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday. Adidas Eqt Kengät .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. http://www.nmdhalvalla.com/adidas-alphabounce-halvalla.html . -- Devin Hester is done returning kicks in Chicago. Adidas NMD Naiset .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Kevin Porter and defenceman Chad Ruhwedel from the minors as part of a five-player roster shuffle made by the NHLs worst team. Adidas NMD R2 Suomi . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. CHASKA, Minn. -- Masters champion Danny Willett hopes Team USA fans dont go too far after he heard a few hecklers during practice on Thursday.He wants to finally focus on Ryder Cup golf after having to apologize for disparaging comments made about the home supporters by his brother, Pete.Willett learned Wednesday of the blog Pete Willett wrote for the National Club Golfer website. It described U.S. fans as a baying mob of imbeciles and pudgy basement-dwelling irritants pausing between mouthfuls of hot dog so they can scream Baba booey until their jelly faces turn red, among other things.Some believed the story to be tongue-in-cheek, but European captain Darren Clarke was not pleased, nor was Danny Willett, who said the distraction has dampened his first Ryder Cup experience.We [Danny and Pete] spoke to each other about what was said, how it got interpreted and reactions from it, Willett said Thursday during a news conference at Hazeltine National, where the 41st edition of the competition begins on Friday.I was disappointed in what he wrote and obviously it put a bit of a downer on my first Ryder Cup for the last couple of days.Luckily, its not been too bad with the fans. The fans have still been great. Theres a few shouts out there but you can expect that.The golf itself so far has been pretty good, and hopefully everyone can draw a line under it and we can just come out here and play.Its been pretty tricky for me to get back on and fully focus thhese last few hours.ddddddddddddWillett said he has spoken to U.S. captain Davis Love III and done his best to defuse the situation. He noted how great American fans were to him when he won the Masters in April, but also acknowledged that the Ryder Cup is different.I dont think anyone ever came to America, any of the European lads, and thought it was going to be a walk in the park, Willett said. Theres some pretty rowdy American fans every Ryder Cup. Thats the nature of the beast.Same when the guys come to Europe. Obviously, the European spectators are more behind the European team. You dont mind the odd bit of heckling, but hope it doesnt go too far.Lee Westwood, who is playing in his 10th Ryder Cup and is a fellow Englishman, said he enjoys the partisan atmosphere the competition generates but sympathized with Willett.Its a tricky situation that hes been put in, one that Im sure he didnt want to be in, Westwood said. But things dont always run smoothly. He seems to be handling it fairly well.Its not his opinion, its not really anything to do with him. He should be left to just play golf. Thats what the Ryder Cups about, 12 players teeing it up, playing a golf match against each other -- not all this other stuff.Its not in the spirit of it. Samuel Ryder -- just read his idea on it and well just stick to that, I think.