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.
His story drips with irony, given the fractious history of the two franchises, as well as the fact that it was only four years ago that Lewis broke the NFL's single-game rushing record with 295 punishing yards against the Browns.
"I think he's definitely a good running back, but now he's a good running back and he's got a chip on his shoulder, and that's going to make him even better," said Browns cornerback Gary Baxter, who played four seasons in Baltimore with Lewis.
Said linebacker Andra Davis, "I think he wanted to prove not only to the organization but to himself that he has it in him, that he's still one of the best backs in this league. I know we're going to cater to him; this offense fits his style. He's going to have the opportunity to show the world."
Lewis, who turns 28 next week, signed a one-year contract reportedly worth $3.5 million that can bring him as much as $5 million if he reaches all of his incentives. He reported to camp last month at 238 pounds, about 12 pounds lighter than he played with the Ravens.
"I've got a fresh start, I'm happy, it's fun again," Lewis said after a recent practice at the team's facility in the Cleveland suburbs. "That's what it's all about. I've got a bunch of good guys in here that are ready to win, that are young and talented, and it's just all about team here.
"That's where the spring in my step comes from ."
But Lewis is aware doubters remain, and says he believes most of the skepticism emanates from Baltimore.
"I think these guys, from the coaches on down, they know what I can do, don't feed into the whole 'What does he have left in the tank' story. Whatever Baltimore put out there, they didn't buy into that," Lewis said of the Browns. "They know what they were looking for to establish their running game, what they had been missing, and I fit what they're trying to do."
Lewis looks at what happened last season, when he rushed for 1,132 yards and nine touchdowns on 314 carries while playing with painful bone spurs in his left ankle that required injections during the season and surgery after it.
His dissatisfaction in Baltimore goes back to the 2005 season, when he had career lows for yardage (906) and yards per carry (3.4). While his critics say Lewis began to show the wear of an NFL running back going into his eighth season, Lewis points to the Ravens offense.
"The scheme changed, and we went to more of trying to use the tight ends in the backfield blocking, getting more to a passing game and less of a running game, which we were known for," said Lewis, who was unhappy when tight end Darnell Dinkins, now with the Browns, was not resigned by the Ravens after spending 2004 and 2005 in Baltimore. "That's when I kind of just lost it; it just wasn't fun.
"All the complaining about the running game, but there were no moves to improve the running game. That's not where their focus was. I was just ready to go. It was time for me to go because I no longer fit their scheme."
His connection to Cleveland came through Phil Savage, who was the director of college scouting for the Ravens when Lewis was drafted in 2000. Savage, now in his third season as vice president and general manager of the Browns, knew he needed to upgrade at running back.
"He's bigger, faster and stronger than what we had at that position before," Savage said. "No knock on Reuben Droughns, but we feel Jamal will be more productive. Deep inside, he wants to prove himself, and we feel that a hungry Jamal is a good Jamal."
In the past 20 years, only one Cleveland running back had gained more than 1,000 yards in a season. Droughns, who led the Browns with 1,232 yards on 309 attempts in 2005 before falling off to 758 yards on 220 carries last season, was traded to the New York Giants two days after Lewis signed with Cleveland.
One more thing: In 12 career games against the Browns, Lewis averaged nearly 130 yards, going over 100 yards six times, over 150 four times and over 200 twice.
"I think Phil Savage is a smart guy; he knows what he's doing," Lewis said. "What better back to get than somebody who's in your division and knows Pittsburgh, knows Cincinnati, played against these guys, had success against these guys and also came from a team that I know their defense?"
Said Davis, "He was a thorn in our side for years. Now he'll be a thorn in somebody else's side."
Lewis' other connection to Cleveland came through Davis. They had known each other since their high school careers ended playing on opposing teams in the Florida-Georgia All-Star Game. The rivalry continued when Lewis went to the University of Tennessee and Davis attended the University of Florida.
"As soon as the season was over, I told him to call Phil Savage and that I wanted to be in Cleveland," Lewis recalled. "We've been good friends, and we had a lot of good phone conversations. One of those conversations led to me being here."
The two worked out together near Lewis' home in Atlanta, along with mutual friend Robert Cromartie, who had played with Lewis in high school and with Davis at Florida. Cromartie was the instigator of the now famous three-way telephone conversation that resulted in Lewis predicting he would have a "career game" against the Browns in 2003.
Cromartie said last week that the workouts this winter were a little more intense than in the past.
"Every year he works out hard, but this year you could see a little more fire in his eyes," said Cromartie, who works as a personal trainer for several professional athletes. "A lot of people think he's old and he's lost a step, so he has something to prove."
Since his first conversations with Browns coach Romeo Crennel and new offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski, Lewis could see that he would be used differently by the Browns than he was by the Ravens.
The weight loss was encouraged by the coaches, who envision Lewis getting out to the edge as well as pounding between the tackles.
"Coming off the ankle surgery, his weight probably wasn't where it needed to be, and him coming in great shape was a pleasant surprise," Crennel said. "He has a burst to get to the corners. I know that he can run between the tackles on the inside. I don't think [the Ravens] asked him to run outside much."
Lewis and the Browns' rebuilt offensive line are being counted on to improve a running game that finished next to last in the league in total rushing yardage last year. (It won't help that right tackle Ryan Tucker, who missed part of last season with a mental disorder, was suspended for the first four games because he violated the league's steroids policy.)
Lewis is looking forward to being used as more than a human battering ram.
"I think they're going to use me more in the offense than just pounding the football; that's what I was used for in Baltimore," Lewis said. "Right now with this scheme, I'm more involved, and they're using more of my abilities and what I can do."
Cromartie doesn't see any lingering bitterness in his longtime friend toward the Ravens.
"He's moving on. He had a good career with Baltimore. It's a business move; you have to do what you have to do," Cromartie said.
Lewis said that he will miss the fans at M&T; Bank Stadium and many of his teammates, in particular cornerbacks Samari Rolle and Chris McAlister.
"Regardless of what happened [in Baltimore], the bottom line is that no player can stay with a team forever," McAlister said last week. "I definitely think he has something to prove, and he's had the complete offseason to dedicate himself to his craft. Every year he's truly had an offseason to gear up for the season, he's put up big numbers."
What kind of numbers Lewis has left in him is up for debate. Some thought the Ravens hung onto to him too long as it was. Savage is hopeful, but he is also realistic.
"I think it's unfair to wish for the 2,000-yard back of 2003, but based on what we've seen in training camp, our expectation is that he can be somewhere between where he finished last year and the peak of his career," Savage said. "People talk about Jamal like he's 37, not 27."
Baxter, who left Baltimore for Cleveland three years ago, is a little surprised at how good Lewis has looked.
"He's moving faster," Baxter said. "Guys are in awe when he's making cuts. He's lifting weights. He's in the training room every day. When I talk to him, he says he's on a mission, and he's trying to redo everything."
With a bounce in his step, and a chip on his shoulder.
don.markus@baltsun.com