Jamal Lewis is only 26 years old. It shouldn’t be unravelling so quickly for the former 1st round (5th overall) pick. But times are tough in Baltimore, and offense is about as hard to find as an Anthony Wright higlight. What is going on with Jamal Lewis?

In 2003 Lewis rushed for 2,066 yards, posting a per run average of 5.3. Last year that was down to 4.3. This year it’s 3.

The Ravens have shown their commitment to defense has somehow warped the minds of Ozzie Newsome and Brian Billick into thinking that the quarterback position is superfluous. Actually, forget that. The prevailing theory in Baltimore seems to be that offense is a secondary concern. It’s like the jerks who tell us every MLB post-season that pitching and defense win championships. It’s a little more complicated. Unless you’re posting shutouts every weekend you’re going to have to score more than 3 points.

Consider that the NFL’s best defense (Indy) has allowed 77 points in 7 games. Well Baltimore has only scored 88. That means that even if the Ravens could limit opponents to a league-best 11 points/game they’d only have won those tilts by an average margin of victory of 1 point!

So what does all this have to do with Jamal Lewis? Anthony Wright’s thrown 6 TDs in 7 games this year. He’s basically got 2 targets: Todd Heap and Derrick Mason. There isn’t a team in the league that can’t cover 2 receivers while still stacking the line against the run. And Anthony Wright isn’t good enough to make plays by himself. Basically, there’s just nowhere for Jamal to go. As good as he is you can’t expect him to break through a nose tackle and a couple linebackers.

What’s the long-term prognosis for Lewis? Well Kyle Boller will be back soon. Is that good news? I don’t know. He’s better than Wright, but certainly not any great talent. The Ravens just don’t have the personnel to spread the ball or stretch a defense. They barely have enough to move Matt Stover into FG range 3 times/game. As long as Jamal Lewis is the only offensive threat on this team you can expect him to run for William Green yardage and William Green TD totals.

A 3 yard average is disgusting, and certainly not what you expected when you took Lewis in the first round of your draft. Your only hope at this point is that Chester Taylor and his 5.1 yard/run average doesn’t start vulturing carries. He’s really looked like the much better back, so that’s a real possibility. I’m not sure why TJ Duckett and LaMont Jordan look like superior backs, but that’s the harsh reality.

Considering Lewis tore his ACL in 2001 and went on to rush for 2,000+ in 2003 this isn’t something you can chalk up to injury. And at 26 he shouldn’t be wearing down. So there’s got to be hope here. Just let the Ravens pick up Favre and we’ll see what Jamal can do.

Jamal Lewis Profile and Statistics