OWINGS MILLS -- Time and treatment haven't had the desired effects on Baltimore Ravens veteran wide receiver Lee Evans' damaged left ankle.

Hampered since the third preseason game, Evans will miss his third consecutive game Sunday against the Houston Texans.

Evans was officially ruled out Friday along with strong safety Tom Zbikowski (concussion), cornerbacks Chris Carr (left hamstring) and Jimmy Smith (left high ankle sprain).

And left offensive guard Ben Grubbs is questionable with a lingering right turf toe that has kept him out for the past three games. He's expected to be a game-time decision.

It's a discouraging situation for the Ravens, who had hoped that Evans would provide a consistent deep threat when they acquired him via a trade from the Buffalo Bills.

"We thought it would be fine by now, and it's just going a lot slower than we thought," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "We say we're day-to-day on it, but you know he hasn't practiced. So, I don't see him playing in the game right now.

"He's going to need some practice. It's been very disappointing. No one's been more surprised than all of us, but just wait and see if the doctors can figure it out. He has to keep working on it."

Rookie wide receiver Torrey Smith will start for the third game in a row. He caught three touchdown passes against the St. Louis Rams in his starting debut.

Smith said he's growing more comfortable with an increased role.

"My job is to get open and catch the ball," said Smith, a second-round draft pick from the University of Maryland. "It helps a lot obviously. I'm not worried at all. I just want to go out and execute and play my role."

Smith and quarterback Joe Flacco nearly connected for a touchdown pass against the New York Jets, but the pass was thrown behind him.

"It's just like anything: one day we could be on, one day we could be off," Smith said. "Joe is a great quarterback I believe we're going to hit more often than not."

Bernard Pollard will start against his old team Sunday with Zbikowski still experiencing symptoms from a concussion suffered against the New York Jets and not cleared for contact.

Meanwhile, Grubbs' bad toe got stepped on during practice Thursday. If he can't go, Andre Gurode will start in his place again.

"He got stepped on, so we'll just have to see," Harbaugh said. "It was a little bruised, so we decided not to take a chance. We'll have to see on Sunday before the game how he's moving."

The following players are probable for the Ravens: safety Haruki Nakamura (sprained right posterior cruciate ligament), wide receiver and kick returner David Reed (left shoulder), linebacker Dannell Ellerbe (right hamstring) and rookie running back Anthony Allen.

The Texans ruled out star wide receiver Andre Johnson due to a hamstring pull, and starting fullback James Casey is doubtful with a strained pectoral.

Nineteen Texans are probable, including running back Arian Foster (quadriceps), quarterback Matt Schaub (right shoulder), wide receiver Kevin Walter (illness), running backs Ben Tate (groin, Achilles) and Derrick Ward (ankle), linebacker DeMeco Ryans (elbow, hamstring, knee) and cornerback Kareem Jackson (knee).

RICE FINED: Ravens running back Ray Rice was fined $7,500 by the NFL for stiff-arming St. Louis Rams cornerback Bradley Fletcher.

Rice plans to appeal the fine.

Fletcher was actually flagged for a facemask penalty.

It's not illegal to stiff-arm an opponent under the NFL rulebook, but the league made it a point of emphasis in 2008 that offensive players aren't allowed to grab defensive players' facemask.

"The stiff arm is legal, but you can't grab or twist the facemask, which I didn't really see on that play," Harbaugh said. "I didn't realize he got fined for that. I'm sure he'll be appealing that."

SALUTING PAT MODELL: The Ravens will honor the late Pat Modell, the wife of former Ravens and Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell.

She passed away Wednesday at age 80.

The Ravens will observe a moment of silence prior to kickoff.

"So, so gracious and kind," general manager Ozzie Newsome said. "Pat was one of the special people put in your life. She knew football and was not afraid to ask the tough questions. We'll miss those, and we miss her now."

And the Ravens will have a decal with the initials "PBM" on the back of their helmets, which stands for Patricia Breslin Modell.

"Spending time with Pat was always special," owner Steve Bisciotti said. "There was a spark about Pat that was visible. She lit up a room when she entered. Conversations and dinners with her were electric and exciting. She made you feel good by being with her.

"Art and Pat bragged about each other, delighted in each other's company. Their love was so visible. We already miss her terribly, and our thoughts and prayers are with Art and his family."

Harbaugh has fond remembrances of the noted philanthropist and television and film actress.

"The first time I met Pat, she squeezed my face with her hands and brought me closer to her," he said. "It made me feel special. She had that ability to do that for people. She treated Ingrid and my family with kindness; she was so welcoming. She enjoyed life, helping others and loved Art so much.

"She he was Art's protector and their love for each other stood out every time we got together. Her intelligence was impressive, and I loved to have serious discussions with her on politics, the economy and which plays we should run. Classy, glamorous, but most of all generous and loving, that was Pat Modell."

TEXANS' DEFENSE IMPROVES: The Texans ranked last in the NFL in passing defense a year ago and 30th in total defense, allowing 267.5 yards through the air last season.

Now, the Texans have climbed to seventh in the NFL in total defense and rank sixth against the pass.

Under new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, who installed an aggressive 3-4 scheme, the Texans have recorded 15 sacks to rank fourth in the NFL.

"Probably the biggest key is we are pressuring the quarterback much better than we ever have," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. "That is the key to being successful defensively in this league - you have to be able to make the quarterback get the ball out."

The Texans have lost outside linebacker Mario Williams for the season with a torn pectoral muscle, but have rookie defensive end J.J. Watt, rookie outside linebacker Brooks Reed and defensive lineman Antonio Smith. In the secondary, they added former Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Johnathan Joseph.

The secondary is playing a lot better this year.

"I think they have some good guys back there," Flacco said. "We are just going to have to make sure we do our best of running routes and staying confident in our ability to attack them."

REMEMBERING AL DAVIS: A former Oakland Raiders secondary coach, Pagano paid his respects with a salute to the late Raiders owner Al Davis.

"When that happened, I just looked back on it and I think, like everybody else, such an honor and privilege," Pagano said. "No. 1, he gave me a job. I was on the street, and I'll always be in debt to him for that. An honor and privilege to be around a man that's done so much for this game and is such a pioneer for this game. Just thinking back to everything that I learned from football to personnel and how you build a squad and all those type of things, he was a great man."

QUICK HITS: The Ravens will match Pollard against athletic tight end Owen Daniels, who has caught 21 passes for 271 yards this season. "Can he hang with me?" Daniels said. "He'll probably get the assignment to cover me. We'll see. It'll be fun. I really didn't get to go against him that much last year during camp or anything like that because I was injured. All those guys are tough to get open on, so we'll see." The Ravens are impressed with Daniels and his backup, Joel Dreesen. "Owen Daniels is a top target," defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano said. "He poses some problems, some matchup issues. So, you've got to do a great job of, No. 1, locating where he's at, because they're going to move him all over the place and displace him and do that to try and get the right matchup that they want. And then Dreessen, you can't fall asleep on him. He caught a 56-yard throw-back off of one of their bootleg passes for a touchdown last week. So, we've got to do a good job with those guys."...

Harbaugh has noticed a difference in free safety Ed Reed one year removed from spending the first six weeks on the physically unable to perform list after undergoing hip surgery. "Ed has been really healthy," Harbaugh said. "He looks great physically. You look at him, he really is in great shape. He has bulked up a little bit, even I think from previous years. He holds us together back there. We had a play out here [Friday] where we were in a certain coverage, and we had young corners out there with him, and they really didn't know where to go. Ed changed everything in a split-second and made everything work, not the way it was really designed to work, but he made it work because of where guys were misaligned. That's what a guy like that can do for you." ... Harbaugh and middle linebacker Ray Lewis spent time after practice with children from the Make a Wish Foundation. "Obviously, it's a huge part of what we do here and just a great, great program," he said. "Anybody who wants to donate to Make a Wish, it's pretty awesome."