Brandon Stokley looked at Jamal Lewis an hour after the morning practice and did not think much of the running back's hurting knee.
Stokley figured Lewis would be gone for a week or so at the most. He was shocked to find out that the Ravens likely lost Lewis for the season after he suffered torn and sprained ligaments in his left knee.
"Wow! I'm shocked. I talked to him before meetings," Stokley said. "I asked him how was his knee. He acted like it was fine. I never expected ligament damage. He's been through it twice now."
Lewis tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee as a sophomore at the University of Tennessee. This time, a magnetic resonance imaging exam revealed a tear in the ACL in his left knee, along with a sprain in the medial collateral ligament.
It happened on a simple running play in the morning practice when defensive tackle Kelly Gregg fell into the knee fighting off a block by center Mike Flynn. Gregg, 6 feet, 285 pounds, is a third-year player out of the University of Oklahoma.
"It's a big loss," Gregg said. "He led us to the Super Bowl last year.
"It's tough when a guy gets hurt. But there is nothing I could have done different, me or Mike Flynn. I was just trying to get penetration."
Defensive tackle Larry Webster was as shocked as Stokley was to hear about Lewis' injury.
"Oh man, that's bad news. I didn't think it was that serious," Webster said. "This is depressing. He was a big part of the offense. But this is the NFL. Things like that just happen. The next man in line has to step up and do the job. Jamal is going to be a hard guy to replace."
The Ravens have scheduled a news conference at 5 p.m. today to discuss their options. First-year running back Jason Brookins will run with the starters for tomorrow's practice. Fifth-round draft choice Chris Barnes will be the second-string back. The Ravens can also use fullback Obafemi Ayanbadejo at running back.
Ayanbadejo has been the featured back when the Ravens take the fullback out and switch to a three-receiver set during camp.
"As a team, we have to move forward and find other ways to get the production we lose with Jamal's absence," Ravens coach Brian Billick said. "We will adjust. We have to adjust. We have a team of champions, they'll respond."
The Ravens had not scheduled a practice today, and most of the team left the hotel last night with no knowledge of the injury.
The few players who remained were mostly rookies. Lewis was the second player in less than a week to be lost for a significant amount of time due to injury.
Right tackle Leon Searcy left the team hotel yesterday and headed home after tearing the triceps muscle in his arm. Searcy will be out 10-12 weeks.
Lewis was having a solid camp before the injury.
"He was legit," defensive end Dwayne Missouri said of Lewis. "He's a complete back. He's got speed, power, all of that. Going against him in practice the times I did, I can see he's real good."
Lewis led the team with 1,364 yards last season. He became the offense's most dependable weapon throughout the Ravens' championship run.
Stokley and Lewis each had touchdowns in the team's Super Bowl win over the New York Giants, and the two were on the field again yesterday when Lewis went down with the injury.
"When it happened, it didn't look like anything bad," Stokley said. "I thought he would be out a week or so. But this hurts. He's our workhorse. Last year, he controlled the game and the clock for us. Somebody's got to step up and take his place. You can't replace Jamal Lewis.
"But you have to go on. Billick tells the guys that all the time. Everybody on offense has to step up, especially when you lose as much as we have."
BEFORE LEWIS
Ravens rushing leaders before Jamal Lewis joined the team last season:
Year ....... Player ............... Yards .......... Team .........Team
.......................................... .................... Yards ......... record
1999 ...... Errict Rheet ......... 852 ........... 1,754 ........ 8-8
1998....... Priest Holmes ...... 1,008 ........ 1,629 ........ 6-10
1997 ...... Bam Morris ............. 774 ........ 1,589 ......... 6-9-1
1996 ...... Bam Morris ............. 737 ........ 1,745 .......... 4-12
With Lewis
Jamal Lewis gained 1,364 yards last season, a Ravens regular-season record. He also had a team-record five 100-yard games in the regular season, and two in th epost-season. The Ravens rushed for a team-record 2,199 yards last season.
Date .............. Opponent ................... Carries ......... Yards
1/28/01 .......... *NY Giants ................ 27 .................. 102
12/31/00 ......... *Denver ..................... 30 .................. 110
12/17/00 ......... Arizona ...................... 29 .................. 126
11/26/00 ......... Cleveland .................. 30 .................. 170
11/19/00 .......... Dallas ....................... 28 ................... 187
11/5/00 ............. Cincinnati ................. 22 .................. 109
9/24/00 ............. Cincinnati ................. 25 ................... 116
* playoffs
Finding a replacement
Remaining running backs in camp as listed on the depth chart:
Jason Brookins, Lane College. Second-year man had strong scrimmage Friday leading team with 38 yards. He's the starter for now.
Chris Barnes, New Mexico State. Rookie has been disappointing so far but now has an opportunity to shine.
Derek Homer, Kentucky. The rookie converted fullback has seen little action on offense so far in camp.
Aaron Kernek, Austin College. The rookie has played less than Homer on offense but has started to play well on special teams.
Obafemi Ayanbadejo, San Diego State. Right now he's No. 2 on the depth chart at fullback, but the fourth-year player has gotten a look on offense in one-back sets and has played well.
