Friday, December 4, 2009

Thanks for the memories, Jamal

Thanks to a concussion, the best offensive player in the short history of the New Browns has completed his sterling NFL career. Jamal Lewis, who ends his career 21st on the NFL's all-time rushing list, announced several weeks ago that he would hang up his cleats after this season, and he is now done for the season. He rushed for 10,607 yards in his career, the last 2,806 of which were for the Browns.

Lewis' best moment as a pro, as we all must remember, came in a Ravens uniform, in a game against the Browns. On September 14, 2003, Lewis ran wild over the Browns defense, going for an NFL-record 295 yards on 30 carries, including touchdown runs of 82 and 63 yards. He was busting long runs left and right, and the Browns were helpless to stop him. Lewis rushed for 2,066 yards that year, the second-best rushing season in NFL history, behind Eric Dickerson's 2,105 in 1984.

His career appeared to be slowing down when he came to the Browns in 2007, but he rattled off two straight 1,000-yard seasons in the brown and orange. His 1,304-yard total in 2007 was by far the best rushing season in the history of the New Browns, and the best total by any Brown in my lifetime. In fact, the great Jim Brown is the only one to top that total in a Browns uniform. Lewis will be joining Brown in Canton in a few years. I'm glad to have seen him on our team in the twilight years of his career, and wish him the best of luck in his post-career endeavors.

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