Running Back

The fullback position in professional football is often overlooked, wedged in a no-man's land between the quarterback and the featured running back in a team's offense. As a result, fullbacks go relatively unnoticed by casual fans. "There's a lot of work that's done that's not seen, but by the guys in the running back room," Ravens fullback Justin Green said. "You look at a guy like Ovie Mughelli or Lorenzo Neal [of the San Diego Chargers], they are really important to their team. I just try to model myself after guys like that."

When new Ravens running back Willis McGahee takes his first handoff at training camp tomorrow, he'll pound home a point that's easy for defenses to forget. Too often, tacklers assume they'll easily bring down McGahee. But McGahee quickly reminds them with each bruising collision that he weighs 232 pounds. "I think half of the weight is in his head," linebacker Bart Scott said jokingly. It has been only 4 1/2 months since the Ravens acquired McGahee in a trade from the Buffalo Bills, but the players are already familiar with their brash new teammate.

Although the Ravens appear determined to draft a franchise quarterback, a move that most likely will require them to trade up from their No. 10 slot in the first round on April 17, the possibility exists that the Ravens could move up to take a running back.A running back like Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams of Texas.The Ravens have spent the past week rating players throughout next month's draft. While much of their focus has revolved around quarterbacks Tim Couch, Daunte Culpepper, Donovan McNabb and Akili Smith, they also have wondered about the chance to grab Williams.

Given the choice, Ravens coach Brian Billick would love to hang the bulk of his ground game on the shoulders of one running back. Given the reality he faces, Billick is prepared to let a slew of candidates share the chore.The Ravens are not exactly long on star power at the tailback position. They also are not short on bodies. The crowded picture looks like this:Priest Holmes, fresh off a breakthrough year in which he became the first Raven to rush for 1,000 yards, remains the top tailback on the depth chart.

His parents, Rashidi Scott said, have grown to accept the gold cap that frames one of his right front teeth, "a reminder of the bad atmosphere I was in, things I don't want to do, and places I won't go."Scott's name in Swahili means "warrior," and, said Patterson football coach Roger Wrenn, the running back/linebacker can run like one.He leads Patterson as a running back with 11 touchdowns, and, as a linebacker with three sacks and two fumble recoveries. Scott and the seventh-ranked Clippers (6-0 overall, 3-0 league)

ASHBURN, Va. -- Washington Redskins running back Stephen Davis found himself trapped and the NFL's leading rusher couldn't break free this time."Can I put my clothes on now?" Davis asked a crowd of reporters who circled around his locker after Sunday's win. "Everybody else here has their's on. Don't you want to talk to anybody else?"The media got off easy. On the football field, he eludes his pursuers by lowering his shoulder pads and running them over.It's that power running style that has Davis perched atop the league in yards rushing (235)

Quotable"This team is better than this. I know I am. I know Coach [Bill] Cowher will get things resolved."-- Kordell Stewart, Steelers quarterback, after throwing three interceptions in 21-0 loss to Dolphins."

If Morgan State's Jay Hinton sticks around long enough, he might just learn how to run. For now, the running back's 4.4 speed has been enough.Despite limited carries in the first two games, the Phoenix native has rushed for 649 yards this season, including a 127-yard effort in a win over Delaware State last weekend, the team's first homecoming victory since 1980.This is Hinton's fifth locale in five seasons (after Maryvale (Ariz.) High School, Arizona State University, Glendale (Ariz.) JC and Arizona)

His passion, other than running the football, is reading U.S. history, particularly about the Civil War, and one day he hopes to teach the subject.But for now, Rayvon Johnson is making history as a junior running back for the 13th-ranked, playoff-bound Annapolis Panthers (6-2), a team steeped in rushing tradition.Coach Roy Brown calls his "very coachable, quiet and very popular" running back, who "always has a smile on his face," an example of hard work day in, day out.Johnson has emerged as Anne Arundel County's top running back with a school-record 1,529 yards, declaring war on the county record book in his first high school football season.

1Is Jim Harbaugh the answer at quarterback?Harbaugh offers the team qualities that former starter Vinny Testaverde lacked, such as leadership and the ability to pull out close games in the final two minutes. But Harbaugh has to have a solid preseason to earn respect from his teammates, because he hasn't been impressive throwing in practices. The Ravens wanted a gamer; now, Harbaugh has to live up to expectations.2Who were the top players signed and lost by the Ravens during the off-season?

There have been many obvious changes with Ray Rice this offseason, more than just his promotion to the Ravens' top running back. He "trimmed the fat," as Rice likes to say. Last year's second-round draft pick is running with power, driving through tacklers in training camp. Rice is also much smarter. When the hole closes up, he knows where to bounce, making the cut with confidence. But to understand the reason he made those improvements, one has to take a closer look at Rice. The word Gifted is tattooed on his right forearm, and One is on his left.

Cards release James, also cut Hood, LaBoy nfl The Arizona Cardinals on Tuesday granted running back Edgerrin James' wish to be released and cut two others who played significant roles in the team's run to the Super Bowl. While the James move was expected, the releases of cornerback Rod Hood and defensive end Travis LaBoy were not. The moves clear significant salary cap space for the Cardinals, who want to sign new deals with linebacker Karlos Dansby and safety Adrian Wilson, and eventually with unhappy wide receiver Anquan Boldin.

Less than two weeks after putting a franchise tag on him, the New York Giants signed bruising running back Brandon Jacobs to a four-year, $25 million contract yesterday. The deal, which includes $13 million in guarantees, came less than two days before the start of free agency. Jacobs, the 264-pound mainstay of the Giants' running attack the past two seasons, ran for 1,089 yards and 15 touchdowns to help the Giants win the NFC East last season. Jets: : New York restructured Laveranues Coles' contract, allowing the veteran wide receiver to become an unrestricted free agent tomorrow.

PITTSBURGH - The NFL's two best safeties were on display last night, and it was the Pittsburgh Steelers' Troy Polamalu who made the game's biggest play. Polamalu intercepted a pass by Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown with 4:24 left in the AFC championship game. That play gave the Steelers a 23-14 lead and pretty much sealed the game. It was the kind of play Ravens safety Ed Reed has been making all season. Flacco stared down his best receiver, Derrick Mason, on a third-and-13 from the Ravens' 29. As Mason started to come back, Polamalu jumped the route, reversed his field on the interception and scored the biggest touchdown of the game.

In a season when nothing has seemed to go right for the Ravens, even their offseason decision at running back can be debated. Based strictly on talent, the Ravens made the right call by going with Willis McGahee over Jamal Lewis, who returns Sunday to M&T Bank Stadium for the first time since leaving the Ravens. McGahee has been the more effective runner, averaging 19 yards more a game than Lewis and producing more yards per carry. He is also a more versatile back than Lewis. McGahee can run for power inside but also hit the edges and catch the ball out of the backfield.

Notebook After the Atholton football team lost its starting quarterback, leading wide receiver and workhorse running back to graduation, coach Chuck Fales knew he was going to look to running back Kelechi Odocha this season. But, before the season, Fales wasn't sure how much he would be able to lean on his 5-foot-7, 175-pound senior. He knows now. Odocha has rushed for 1,669 yards this season, averaging 8.4 yards on 22 carries a game as Atholton (6-3) has put itself in position for a playoff berth in the Class 3A East region.

The fullback position in professional football is often overlooked, wedged in a no-man's land between the quarterback and the featured running back in a team's offense. As a result, fullbacks go relatively unnoticed by casual fans. "There's a lot of work that's done that's not seen, but by the guys in the running back room," Ravens fullback Justin Green said. "You look at a guy like Ovie Mughelli or Lorenzo Neal [of the San Diego Chargers], they are really important to their team. I just try to model myself after guys like that."

When new Ravens running back Willis McGahee takes his first handoff at training camp tomorrow, he'll pound home a point that's easy for defenses to forget. Too often, tacklers assume they'll easily bring down McGahee. But McGahee quickly reminds them with each bruising collision that he weighs 232 pounds. "I think half of the weight is in his head," linebacker Bart Scott said jokingly. It has been only 4 1/2 months since the Ravens acquired McGahee in a trade from the Buffalo Bills, but the players are already familiar with their brash new teammate.

No matter where they go from here, the Ravens and Jamal Lewis will always have their Super Bowl victory. No matter how this divorce plays out, they will always have Lewis' enchanting run to 2,000-yard history. An era ended this week when Lewis, the mercurial running back who helped the Ravens win a Super Bowl in January 2001, signed a one-year contract with the Cleveland Browns. The Ravens are moving on, too, with Willis McGahee, a gritty running back acquired from the Buffalo Bills. The Lewis era was accented by glorious peaks and numbing valleys.

The return of running back Jamal Lewis is no longer a formality. A week after both sides seemed positive about reuniting, the Ravens and Lewis have begun to look elsewhere. The Ravens have expressed interest in a trade for the Buffalo Bills' Willis McGahee, and Lewis has begun to set up visits, beginning with the Cleveland Browns. Although neither the Ravens nor Lewis has ruled out a return, the tone was drastically different from last Wednesday, when the Ravens cut Lewis to avoid paying him a $5 million roster bonus.