OWINGS MILLS — Jamal Lewis isn’t talking much this week due to a sore throat, but the burly Baltimore Ravens’ running back appears to be on the verge of breaking his silence. The Cleveland Browns will be at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday, and Lewis has gained more career yards with 1,415 on the ground against the Ravens’ AFC North rival than any other NFL team.
Plus, the Browns (4-9) are coming off an embarrassing defensive outing during a 27-7 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers where they allowed 303 rushing yards as Willie Parker gained 223 rushing yards on 32 carries.
There was no bite from the Browns’ 3-4 defense.
“We watched a lot of that film,†Ravens fullback Ovie Mughelli said. “The Steelers film showed us what we can do to beat them. We know we can run on a 3-4 defense because we did it against
Pittsburgh .
“We worked all week on establishing a running game first and trying to dominate them overall. Jamal hasn’t had a 100-yard game in a while, so we’re trying to get him back to that and be as productive as we can be.â€
Lewis rushed for 81 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries in last week’s 20-10 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Now, he has the blueprint of what the Steelers did against
Cleveland : pounding the football, an approach that mirrors the Ravens’ usual game plan.
“The Steelers were real physical with them and kept it simple,†rookie offensive guard Chris Chester said. “It came down to who was more physical, which is what we always try to do."
EXTRA PREPARATION: The Ravens don’t spare expenses or leave many specialized stones unturned in their preparation for a game. They brought in free agent punter John Torp last week for one day to allow rookie return specialist Cory Ross a chance to catch left-footed punts prior to his NFL debut against left-footed Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt.
This week,
Baltimore had left-footed punter Glenn Papulak at practice one day to prepare Ross for playing against another left-footer: former Ravens punter Dave Zastudil.
“It definitely helped me a lot,†Ross said. “The kicker they brought in, he kicked it almost identical to the way Zastudil does. I told him he did a great job of putting it in the air.â€
TRAINING ROOM: The Ravens upgraded wide receiver Derrick Mason (thigh) to probable. Offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden (knee) was added to the injury report as probable, but is expected to start and wasn’t limping after practice.
The Ravens officially ruled out linebacker Dan Cody (partially torn posterior cruciate ligament). Lewis (illness) practiced and remains probable.
The Browns made no changes to their injury report, but placed former
University of
Maryland star inside linebacker D’Qwell Jackson on injured reserve. He’s scheduled to undergo toe surgery.
The Ravens have spent most of the week preparing to play against former
Baltimore practice squad quarterback Derek Anderson with starter Charlie Frye questionable with a bone bruise on his right wrist.
Anderson is immobile, whereas Frye is a scrambler.
“There’s a difference in style, that’s the toughest one,†Ravens coach Brian Billick said. “You have to carry a little bigger game plan to account for both sets of abilities.â€
QUICK HITS: One important reason behind the Ravens’ improvement from 6-10 last season to 10-3 has been improved health. “Check the Super Bowl teams every year, it’s usually a team that stayed relatively healthy throughout the year,†Billick said. “You do everything you can to protect the guys, short of making them play on Thursday. You adjust your practices, but, at some point, fate takes a hand.†… Billick said he hasn’t noticed any signs of complacency this week. “It’s subtle, nobody is going to just blatantly not show up or not do their job,†Billick said. “It’s the little things you worry about, the coaches as well. Did you watch that extra film? You watch for that when you have a team that has had some difficulties.†… The Ravens don’t appear to be nervous about Sunday. They continued their Friday tradition of dodge ball in the locker room, targeting a few reporters in addition to teammates.
Aaron Wilson covers the Baltimore Ravens for the Carroll County Times in Westminster, Maryland
