(Sports Network) - Cleveland Browns running back Jamal Lewis will be playing with a little more aggression on Sunday, when his former team, the Baltimore Ravens, pay a visit to their AFC North rivals for a Week 4 showdown.
Lewis spent his first seven years in the league with Baltimore and rushed for 7,801 yards and 45 touchdowns on 1,822 attempts for the Ravens. Lewis, who ran for 1,132 yards and nine scores on 314 carries last year, suffered through a drop in productivity and was eventually released by the Ravens during the offseason.
Even though Lewis ran for 1,364 yards and helped lead the Ravens to a Super Bowl victory in 2000 as a rookie, Baltimore had seen enough and was ready for a new start. After a few problems such as an ankle injury, a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy and a conviction on a federal drug charge, Lewis had his bags packed for Cleveland.
Now Lewis is enjoying a new city, a new coach and new teammates with the Browns. He has rushed for 307 yards and a score on 53 carries for 1-2 Cleveland, which is coming off a close 26-24 setback to the Oakland Raiders.
Baltimore, which registered a 26-23 win over Arizona at home in Week 3, quickly erased the memory of Lewis by trading for Buffalo Bills running back Willis McGahee in the offseason. McGahee, who rushed for 990 yards and six touchdowns in 14 games last year for Buffalo, owns 272 yards on 66 carries in his new digs. He is a different type of back than Lewis and has been picking up speed as the young 2007 season moves on.
While McGahee keeps opposing defenses honest with his ability to break free, Ravens veteran quarterback Steve McNair still has the ability to perform at a high level. McNair, though, has been battling a groin injury this season, although playing with pain is par for the course for the 1994 recipient of The Sports Network's Walter Payton Award.
Billick noted McNair was favoring his injured groin against Arizona and replaced him with backup Kyle Boller in the fourth quarter of Sunday's win. Boller led the Ravens on their game-winning drive, which was highlighted by kicker Matt Stover's 46-yard field goal as time expired.
Baltimore plays three of the next four games away from home, while the Browns play two of their next three contests at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
SERIES HISTORY
Baltimore holds a 11-5 lead in its all-time series with Cleveland and swept its AFC North rival in a home-and-home last season. The Ravens were 15-14 road winners when the teams met in Week 3 and took the return matchup in Baltimore by a 27-17 count in Week 15. The Browns' last win in the series came in Week 17 of the 2005 season, a 20-16 victory at home.
Baltimore's Brian Billick is 11-5 against Cleveland in his career, while the Browns' Romeo Crennel is 1-3 against both Billick and the Ravens as a head coach.
WHEN THE RAVENS HAVE THE BALL
Injured groin or not, McNair (401 passing yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) will start for the Ravens on Sunday. The 34-year-old is still productive, but will be looking over his shoulder more often now that backup Boller (287 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) is slowly emerging. McNair has turned the ball over five times so far this season, while Boller has just once. Billick knows that playing musical quarterbacks could hurt a player's feelings or ruin chemistry inside the locker room, but also has to do what is right for the team. Although Boller is Billick's guy, the reigns are in McNair's hands right now. The four-time Pro Bowl selection, who inked a five-year, $32 million contract in June of last year, owns a 5-1 record with nine touchdown passes in his career against Cleveland. Most of those numbers were compiled while with the Tennessee Titans.
McNair's top two targets, Derrick Mason and Todd Heap, will be counted on to take advantage of Cleveland's 24th-ranked passing defense. Mason (209 yards, 1 TD) leads the team with 23 receptions in the NFL's 17th-ranked passing offense, while Heap (165 yards, 1 TD) is second with 15. Mason, fourth in the NFL in catches, has caught seven or more passes in all three games this season. Five of his eight catches against Arizona last week went for first downs. Heap caught four passes for 60 yards against the Cardinals last week before leaving the game with a mild concussion. Baltimore's big threat in the red zone, Heap needs to start find more openings in the end zone after hauling in 73 passes for six TD's in 2006. The Ravens are 15-7 when Heap scores a touchdown. He often lines up next to future Hall of Fame tackle Jonathan Ogden, who has missed the past two weeks with a hyperextended toe and sprained left foot. Ogden is questionable to return this week.
The Ravens hope that the play of McGahee can help forget the departure of Lewis to Cleveland, as well as take pressure off of McNair. McGahee (272 yards) has yet to reach the end zone in his new uniform, but it's only Week 4 and the Ravens are still one of the best teams in the AFC. The former Bills standout enjoyed his best game so far with the Ravens last week, totaling 98 yards on 21 carries. In a win over the Jets a week earlier, McGahee carried the ball 26 times for 97 yards. He can only imagine how much more yards he could rush for if a healthy Ogden was in the starting lineup. Backup running back Musa Smith is much bigger than McGahee and is a solid change-of-pace option for Billick. Smith (53 yards, TD) is also a threat out of the backfield with his great hands. Baltimore is 14th in rushing this season and will go against Cleveland's 31st-rated run defense. Expect McGahee to eclipse the 100- yard rushing mark for the first time this season.
Cleveland's run defense allows an average of 176.3 yards per game and gave up 186 yards rushing to Oakland last Sunday, including 121 yards to running back LaMont Jordan. It doesn't help that Oakland converted 7-of-16 third-down chances and that the Browns missed a myriad of tackles. The Browns, who have allowed a 100-yard rusher in each of the first three games in 2007, have also surrendered an NFL-high 11 touchdown passes this season. The defense gave up the big play often against the Raiders.
On a brighter note for Cleveland, linebacker Kamerion Wimbley had two sacks last week and veteran Willie McGinest resumed practicing this week for the first time since undergoing surgery in the summer. Antwan Peek, who has been filling in nicely for McGinest, could miss Sunday's game with a foot injury, while defensive end Orpheus Roye is hampered with soreness and swelling in his left knee. Roye needs to make one more start to become the first Browns player since quarterback Bernie Kosar to start 100 games.
WHEN THE BROWNS HAVE THE BALL
Former Ravens quarterback and new Browns starter Derek Anderson will make his third start since the club shipped Charlie Frye to Seattle after a Week 1 loss to Pittsburgh. Anderson (760 yards, 7 TDs, 4 INT) has a touchdown pass in four of his five career starts and passed for 248 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions in last week's setback at Oakland. Baltimore's sixth-round draft pick in 2005, Anderson led the Browns from a 16-0 deficit in the first half last week despite his two picks, but failed to give Cleveland back-to-back wins in the same season for the first time in 61 contests. Anderson's days as a starter could be numbered if he performs miserably against Baltimore, however, as rookie signal caller Brady Quinn is patiently waiting in the balance. The only reason why the Browns have the 11th-best passing offense in the NFL is because of a Week 2 win against Cincinnati in which they recorded 554 total yards of offense and 328 yards through the air.
Anderson has 576 yards passing and six scores in two 2007 starts thanks in large part to wideout Braylon Edwards (278 yards, 3 TD) and tight end Kellen Winslow (271 yards, 1 TD), Cleveland's top options in the passing scheme. Winslow had 88 yards on six catches last week in Oakland, while Edwards reached the end zone once and posted 83 yards on four receptions. Edwards will be ready for this AFC North showdown, since he has recorded four of his five 100-yard receiving games against division foes. He had 116 yards against Baltimore last September 24. Winslow, who has had four straight games with at least 80 yards receiving, is hampered by a partially dislocated shoulder and is uncertain to play on Sunday. Browns offensive captain Joe Jurevicius (105 yards, 2 TDs) is another weapon at Anderson's disposal.
Cleveland's air attack will certainly test the 19th-ranked passing defense of the Ravens. It's a surprise Baltimore's talented secondary, spearheaded by Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed, has been that exposed this season.
Lewis (307 yards, TD) obviously has something to prove against his former employer, but will have a tough time since the Ravens rank first against the rush in 2007, allowing just 61.7 rushing yards per contest. Lewis will be an excellent matchup for Ravens All-Pro linebacker Ray Lewis (23 tackles, INT). Baltimore is expected to be without defensive lineman Trevor Pryce (six tackles, 1 sack) this week because of a wrist injury. Cornerback Samari Rolle is nursing an illness and is also unlikely to play on Sunday.
FANTASY FOCUS
Sunday's fantasy stars for the Ravens are tight end Heap, running back McGahee and the vaunted defense led by All-Pro linebacker Ray Lewis. McNair would also be included in that scenario, but it's unsure if he will be able to last all 60 minutes of the game. Mason isn't a bad choice either, but doesn't reach the end zone that often. If Ogden returns at full strength, then McGahee will have an even easier time hitting the 100-yard rushing mark against Cleveland's porous defense this weekend.
As for the Browns, starting Anderson at quarterback is a gamble, because you never know what kind of performance he will give from week-to-week. Winslow is off to a strong start, but his shoulder problem and questionable status makes him another risk. Edwards is a solid No. 2 receiver on most squads and leads the team with three touchdown catches. Last but certainly not least, Jamal Lewis has redemption on his mind this week and will be running between the tackles with some added fury.
OVERALL ANALYSIS
The Ravens own Cleveland in the all-time series, and it doesn't look as if that will change any time soon. Baltimore is coming off a close win, while the Browns just got clipped at the last second and are hungry for a much-needed victory, as a few more checks in the loss column may cost Crennel his job. McGahee will take advantage of a porous Cleveland run defense and McNair will again prove to his head coach and the NFL that he deserves to start without any controversy. Granted he is nursing a sore groin, McNair is still the polished leader of the offense. Heap should be ready at full strength to help anchor the run game as well as contributing to the passing game. Yes, Jamal Lewis is on a personal mission to run his former team to the ground, but it won't be enough for a win. Ravens defensive stars Ray Lewis, Reed and Chris McAlister will be prepared for the fury.
