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Flying solo When rookie RB Lewis soars, so do Ravens
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) -- The Baltimore Ravens drafted Jamal Lewis for his ability to either zip past a would-be tackler or run right over him, qualities he displayed while rushing for a team-record 1,374 yards this season. The rookie running back recently has unveiled another facet of his game, bringing new meaning to head coach Brian Billick's catch phrase of "going vertical." Lewis got a key touchdown in last Sunday's playoff game against Denver by soaring over a pile of players and placing the ball over the goal line with his extended arm. He landed flat on his face and lost the football, but was credited with a 1-yard score. It marked the second time in three weeks that Lewis reached the end zone in that fashion. "I hope it hurt, because I don't like it when he sticks the ball out there," Billick said. "He's got a great vertical, but at some point doing it that way might cost him." Billick usually associates the word "vertical" with a long passing attack, but the Ravens in recent weeks have abandoned attempts at opening up the offense in favor of simply handing the ball to Lewis and watching him run. That will be the game plan in Sunday's playoff game against the Tennessee Titans. "You have to feed the stud in playoff time, and he's our stud," Billick said of Lewis, who ran 30 times for 110 yards in Baltimore's 21-3 rout of Denver. Ravens quarterback Trent Dilfer took the conservative route against the Broncos, completing only nine passes of 14 for 130 yards, 58 of them on a freak deflection that tight end Shannon Sharpe took for a score. The Titans' Eddie George may be the marquee back on the field Sunday, but the game could be decided by Lewis, who ran for 99 yards and a touchdown in a 24-23 victory against Tennessee on Nov. 12. In his first game against the Titans, three weeks earlier, Lewis gained 58 yards on 17 carries. "I think we underestimated him the first time we played him," Tennessee head coach Jeff Fisher said. "A number of our guys the following week were saying what a powerful strong runner he was. Based on what he's done since then, I think you'd have to rate him one of the better backs in the league." Lewis starred for the University of Tennessee before becoming the No. 5 overall pick in the draft. Despite starting the season in the bench with an elbow injury, he quickly made his way into the lineup and immediately went about punishing the opposition. "I'm just aggressive. I'm an offensive player with a defensive mentality," he said. On the ground and through the air, Lewis accounted for 44 percent of Baltimore's 2,837 yards from scrimmage during the team's current eight-game winning streak. Lewis is a hardworking player on the field and a soft-spoken individual virtually everywhere else. He gives much of the credit for his success to his offensive line, and showed his appreciation last month by buying each starter an expensive watch. "I'm just another seasoning in the meal. We've got plenty of good players here," he said. The Titans don't see it that way. Defensive end Jevon Kearse, a former Florida Gator, knew all along that Lewis would become a force at the professional level. "I knew he was good playing against him in college at Tennessee. He's a big, strong, bruising back," Kearse said. "He runs north and south. ... The first time we played them, I guess they were still experimenting with the offense trying to throw. Now they have a weapon in Jamal Lewis."
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