Jamal Lewis

When Jamal Lewis last left Tennessee, he sustained some critical parting shots. But the rookie running back returns to that state Sunday as the biggest punch in the Ravens attack. Lewis has turned from a draft-day gamble to an offensive jackpot, leading all NFL rookies with 856 yards from scrimmage. In fact, the former University of Tennessee standout has paced the Ravens the past two weeks by accounting for half of the team's total yards. The Ravens remember the cries of skepticism for making Lewis the first running back taken over the likes of Thomas Jones, Ron Dayne and Shaun Alexander.

If the name Edward T.M. Garland sounds vaguely familiar, think back four years to the murder trial of Ravens star Ray Lewis in Atlanta. Garland, the smooth and gentlemanly criminal defense lawyer known in that city for his high-profile cases and way of wooing juries, won Lewis his freedom with a misdemeanor plea. Now, Garland, 62, is defending another Ravens star: running back Jamal Lewis, who was indicted Wednesday in Atlanta on federal drug charges. With his tailored suits and pocket handkerchiefs, his youthful smile and polite demeanor, the sixth-generation lawyer has a reputation for charming jurors.

How are sports teams' national images formed today? "The sound bite, the headline, the news brief; most people don't delve any deeper than that," said Peter Roby, director of Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society. "It's true in politics and true in sports. Snap judgments are made on what is often superficial evidence." In that climate, the Ravens could suffer in the wake of Jamal Lewis' indictment on federal drug charges in Atlanta. The intricacies of the case being analyzed here - the quality of the evidence, Lewis' possible culpability - are getting little attention elsewhere, where the story is simply "another star athlete in trouble," with the original twist that it's another star Ravens player named Lewis.

ATLANTA - The change in Jamal Lewis last season was subtle but unmistakable. An extra measure of resolve. A willingness to lead. Most of all, a hunger for recognition, not as one of the workmanlike but faceless NFL running backs who dependably gain chunks of yardage, but as one of the league's elite performers whose name was on everyone's lips. The result was a season for the ages - nearly a single-season rushing record and one glorious afternoon against Cleveland when Lewis ran for more yards than any other man in NFL history, accomplishing what he most desired to unleash on a football field.

The first full-contact practice of Ravens training camp ended with Jamal Lewis leaving untouched and first-round pick Ed Reed remaining unsigned. Lewis, who is returning from major knee surgery, was held out of no-holds-barred hitting drills yesterday as a precautionary measure. Although the running back has been cleared physically to practice, the Ravens are worried about wearing him down at his current weight. Team officials want Lewis to lower his body fat to 8 percent, which amounts to losing 10 pounds off his 245-pound frame.

The evolution of Jamal Lewis, rookie running back and fifth pick in the NFL draft, has come to this: When the Ravens assemble in Westminster on July 23 for the start of training camp, it will be time to put on the pads and take off the kid gloves. After 17 practices and four off-season camps, it's almost time to see just how good this 20-year-old prodigy is, and how much he can contribute in 2000. "He's had enough of the gentle handling," coach Brian Billick said after the team's second minicamp closed yesterday.

When the spotlight shifted back to Priest Holmes yesterday, as it invariably has during his Ravens career, the 26-year-old running back endorsed the two-back attack. With a healthy Jamal Lewis pounding inside and a fresh Holmes scampering outside. And vice versa. "You never know exactly what type of attack we can come up with," Holmes said yesterday between workouts at Western Maryland College. "Just as soon as I'm breaking it to the outside, Jamal is breaking it up the middle. "Just as soon as I'm running it up the middle, Jamal can break it outside.

The last time anyone doubted the grit of Chester Taylor, Toledo coach Tom Amstutz says, came when the running back was a redshirt freshman. Working with the scout team, Taylor had to essentially be a tackling dummy in practice, running into the teeth of Toledo's starting defense for short-yardage drills. But on the first snap - a third-and-two situation - Taylor gashed the defense for a first down. Amstutz told the team to run it another time, and again, Taylor drove up the middle for a first down.

Berea, Ohio -- There didn't seem to be much of a hole for Jamal Lewis to squeeze through. Studying his blockers, Lewis cut quickly to his right, through a blur of orange helmets, and suddenly found himself in the clear. It was only training camp, and only the first week of August, but a player whose career in Baltimore had leveled off the past two seasons has found himself rejuvenated with a new team in a new city. Lewis, the leading rusher in the history of the Ravens, is a Cleveland Brown.