Sayonnara, Jamal

The NFL hammer came down on several veterans yesterday, most notably Jamal Lewis, late of the Baltimore Ravens. You would think that Lewis was about 33 years old by the way his play has fallen off and the perception that he is washed up. But in reality, Lewis is merely a very old 27.

As I mentioned after the Ravens were bounced from the playoffs earlier this year, I don't think Lewis has ever been the same since that whole "jail experience" in 2004:

                 +--------------------------+-------------------------+
                           Rushing                 Receiving  
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
 Year  TM    G    Att  Yards    Y/A   TD    Rec  Yards   Y/R   TD
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
 2000 bal   16    309   1364    4.4    6     27    296  11.0    0
 2002 bal   16    308   1327    4.3    6     47    442   9.4    1
 2003 bal   16    387   2066    5.3   14     26    205   7.9    0
 2004 bal   12    235   1006    4.3    7     10    116  11.6    0
 2005 bal   15    269    906    3.4    3     32    191   6.0    1
 2006 bal   16    314   1132    3.6    9     18    115   6.4    0
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
  TOTAL     91   1822   7801    4.3   45    160   1365   8.5    2
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+

From those stats, it looks like Lewis' best days are far behind him.

Yet the Ravens insist that they are currently negotiating with Lewis to bring him back into the fold. As a Steeler fan, I can only hope they continue to hitch their wagon to Lewis as their feature back. His yards per carry the past two seasons are almost a full yard below his career average, and I don't see that improving anytime soon.

Brad Johnson was cut by the Vikings in favor of Tarvaris Jackson, he of the $5,000 rookie card. Johnson says he plans to play 3-4 more years in the league. If any teams are looking for a 38-year old, conservative signal caller who had a TD-to-INT ratio of 9-15 last year, then he'll be in luck.

Despite the start of cuts, Joey Porter remains a Steeler...for now. Ed Bouchette mentioned that Peezy may go as early as Friday. He would then join the ranks of great Steeler linebackers who were free to pursue other options (Kendrell Bell, Jason Gildon, Levon Kirkland, Greg Lloyd, Kevin Greene, and Chad Brown, among others).

Somehow, I think the Steelers would find a suitable replacement who wears #92.