February 26, 2004
Jamal, Jamal, Jamal
In the midst of the 2003 NFL Draft, Baltimore Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome and head coach Brian Billick were manuvering to draft a quarterback. At first, they wanted Byron Leftwich, but Jacksonville crushed those dreams. Eventually, they settled on Cal's Kyle Boller, but to get him they needed to swap a few picks with the New England Patriots, giving up a second round pick, and their first round pick in 2004 to grab Boller with the 19th choice in the first round.
Boy, is that looking like a mistake now, considering that the true heart of Baltimore's offense, running back Jamal Lewis, is now facing federal drug charges.
The storyline reads like something out of HBO's Baltimore-based crime drama, The Wire. Federal officials, looking to break the hold drug traffickers have on a public housing project in Atlanta snared Lewis in their investigation after he was drafted by the Ravens, but before he signed his first contract with the team.
If anything, it sounds as if Lewis is refusing to cooperate with prosecutors, who are now only too happy to announce a high profile indictment of a pro football superstar.
If there was any team that made the playoffs last year that couldn't afford any margin of error, it was Baltimore. There simply isn't any other team in football that needs standout performances week in and week out from each unit in order to win. If one unit is even off half a beat, this team comes apart. If Lewis misses time next season in connection with these charges, there simply isn't any reliable backup plan.
With their first round pick gone to New England, Baltimore can't pick up a decent running back in the draft. With that option closed, you have to wonder whether or not Antowain Smith, late of the Patriots, might not be a viable option.
In many ways, the situation is looking a lot like the season where the Ravens couldn't defend their Super Bowl championship without Lewis in the lineup. The key difference here, is that the offense was far more reliant on Lewis last year than it was even the year that they won the Super Bowl. With Trent Dilfer, Shannon Sharpe, and Quadry Ismail elsewhere, the Ravens continually struggled to deliver the ball effectively to their receivers.
If the Ravens are without Lewis for any significant amount of time, Boller and his receivers are going to have to get their acts together right quick. This team just dropped from contending for home field, back into the pack struggling for a Wild Card berth.
POSTSCRIPT: As you might imagine, the Baltimore Sun is the place to be for all things Jamal today. The Ravens have publicly expressed their support, and the man on the street in "Charm City," is having trouble believing the story the Federales are telling.
The Sun's Mike Preston sees nothing but trouble ahead:
But whether or not Lewis has done anything wrong, nothing good comes from the indictment of an innocent man. Lewis will have to stand trial, and prosecutors will dig into his background and make public all his past mistakes and errors in judgment. The lives of friends and family members will change.
Another Lewis will be back in Atlanta, and we'll constantly see the old videotape of Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis going into the Atlanta courtroom for a double murder trial in 2000.
The Ravens can't win, either. They already have the identity of being the Oakland Raiders of the East Coast, and the indictment of Jamal Lewis will only fuel the negative image of him and the team. We don't know if Jamal Lewis is guilty or innocent. As sportswriters, we like to think we're the link between the fans and sports heroes, but we really don't know these players personally.
For more on the federal investigation, click here for details from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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Based on the facts as I understand them right now, I hope Lewis beats the rap. Federal prosecutors cannot be trusted in these types of cases. I have enough experience following them to say this with a good degree of confidence. Whatever Lewis's offenses may have been, they pale in comparison to the daily abuses that take place under the authority of the United States Department of Justice.
Posted by:
at February 26, 2004 02:52 PM
FYI, I'll be on Steve Czaban's national show tonight discussing Lewis's case.
Posted by:
at February 26, 2004 06:00 PM
I don't know if anyone else noticed, but early AP headlines online identified "LB Lewis" as the one who was busted; this was later corrected to "RB Lewis". Partly it was miscommunication over the same last name on the same team, partly it stemmed from Ray Lewis' prior legal problems.
Posted by:
at February 27, 2004 11:08 AM
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