Browns' Lewis Takes Aim at Ravens

OWINGS MILLS, Md., Sept. 26 -- So much of Jamal Lewis's identity as a football player was forged during the seven seasons he played with the Baltimore Ravens, and for so long the offense revolved around the bruising, physical back. But there will be very little sentimentality on either side Sunday in Cleveland, when Lewis -- now playing for the Browns -- faces his former team for the first time.

"The bottom line is he's not a Raven anymore. He's a Brown," linebacker Ray Lewis said. "When the ball is snapped, he's got to be hit. That's no secret. It's football, and that's the beauty of this business. You have to understand that people move on."

The Ravens cut Jamal Lewis Feb. 28 to avoid paying him a $5 million bonus, and though both sides said at the time they hoped to find a way to keep the franchise's all-time leading rusher, Lewis now says he didn't want to come back. He felt he no longer fit into the Ravens' offensive scheme, so he signed a one-year contract with the Browns, where he has been given a "fresh start" and a "new beginning." Baltimore countered by trading for Willis McGahee.

"So no hard feelings. It was just the fact that I'm a runner, and I like to be utilized in many different ways, and it wasn't happening there," Jamal Lewis said during a conference call Wednesday. "I have nothing against [Coach Brian Billick], but when it comes to my career and the things that we've accomplished there and in the past, it kind of leaves a sour taste in your mouth a little bit. It's kind of like you don't really fit into this offensive scheme anymore, and you try to do something else when you've established something already on that offense over the past seven years."

Said Billick: "It's kind of standard operating procedure: Any time someone leaves some place, I don't know that that's an easy thing to do, and I certainly understand the anxiety with it."

Lewis appears to be happy with the Browns (1-2), where he is the workhorse back. Thanks to a huge game against Cincinnati -- a team he historically runs through (his 216-yard performance was the ninth time he has run for more than 100 yards against the Bengals) -- Lewis is third in the NFL in yards (307 ) and fourth in average (5.8).

"After we were able to acquire him, he kind of felt like maybe he was on the outs down there, and now he definitely had something to prove," Cleveland Coach Romeo Crennel said during a conference call Wednesday. "So he got in great shape; he reported to training camp, his weight was down, and he was in good shape and had a burst. So he is showing some of the same type ability that he did early in his career."

Lewis's tenure with the Ravens was a mix of highs and lows: He was the leading rusher on the 2001 Super Bowl team but missed the following season with a knee injury; he was the NFL offensive player of the year after running for 2,066 yards in 2003 but was bothered the next three seasons by injuries and off-the-field problems (in 2005 he served four months in a federal prison as part of a guilty plea for using a cellphone to facilitate a drug deal in 2000).

He started to become disenchanted in Baltimore during the 2005 season, when he had career lows in yards (906), per-carry average (3.4 yards) and touchdowns (three) and the Ravens were 6-10. He averaged 17.9 carries per game -- two fewer than his career average, and six fewer than his average during his historic 2003 season.

Still, he said he doesn't regret re-signing with the Ravens prior to the 2006 season -- "For $6 million? Yeah, I think I would've signed back with them" -- and he ran for 1,132 yards and nine touchdowns on 314 carries as Baltimore won 13 games and the AFC North title.

"Jamal would never -- I don't think amongst us -- say that he was unhappy," wide receiver Derrick Mason said. Being "a back of his caliber, of course, you want the ball 25 to 30 times a game. Unfortunately for him he wasn't able to get that game-in and game-out. When he did get the ball, he was very effective in running it."

Lewis said he doesn't have anything to prove to the Ravens on Sunday because they know what he's capable of doing. But Crennel thinks Lewis, deep down, would love to have a career-type game. Lewis feels he has an advantage other backs don't because he is familiar with Baltimore's defensive schemes and personnel. He knows what they do well -- and not so well.

"He knows whose weaknesses? Our weaknesses?" Ray Lewis said when told of Jamal's comments. "I don't know whatever he thinks he knows. I do know this: If he touches the football, it's going to be more than one person hitting him. . . . Jamal knows who he has to deal with, so if there's a weakness, tell him to come find it. We'll be waiting for him Sunday."

Ravens Notes: Cornerback Samari Rolle is listed as out for Sunday's game because of an undisclosed illness. Rolle is with the team and attended practice, but he has not been able to play because of the medication he is taking. . . .

Tight end Todd Heap, who suffered a mild concussion against the Cardinals, practiced and said he'll be ready to play Sunday. Tackle Jonathan Ogden (toe/foot) also practiced and said he will be a game-time decision. Ogden did add that he feels a lot better than last week, and "that's progress, and you've got to be happy with that."