The dynamic duo

Football Digest, Jan, 2004 by William Wagner

WITH RANDY MOSS, THE ISSUES were in his head. With Jamal Lewis, they were of a more physical nature. So what do these two players have in common? They have left the past behind and have emerged as two of this season's best stories.

Let's start with Lewis, the Baltimore Ravens running back who is the very essence of perseverance. Lewis made an immediate impact as a rookie in 2000. He was the key offensive weapon in Baltimore's Super Bowl-winning season, rushing for 1,364 yards and scoring six touchdowns.

Prior to the next season, however, Lewis tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, a devastating injury that put his career in jeopardy. Sidelined for the entire season, he devoted himself to his rehab, to salvaging his NFL career.

All of his hard work paid off: In 2002, he rushed for 1,327 yards and showed flashes of the power and speed that had defined his promising rookie season. Still, Lewis' comeback went virtually unrecognized, as he himself noted in feature story FOOTBALL DIGEST ran on him this past off-season ["Back in the Groove," June 2003].

"The only thing next year I am looking forward to is to gain the respect of the elite runners in the league, from everybody in my organization, from other teams and players," he said. "I don't think I have gotten that, but it will come."

It has come, all right. When Lewis set a single-game rushing record in Week 2 with 295 yards, he officially joined the league's elite. And he solidified that status by reaching the 1,000-yard plateau in just eight games.

A lot of players never make it fully back from the type of injury Lewis suffered. Edgerrin James of the Indianapolis Colts, for instance, hasn't been the same running back since he blew out his knee in 2001. But Lewis has done the unfathomable: Not only has he fully recovered from his injury, but he has become even better than he was before it.

For Moss, physical ability has never been the problem. Since he first stepped onto the field for the Minnesota Vikings in 1998, he has been among the league's most gifted wide receivers.

It's his attitude that sometimes has gotten him into trouble. That certainly was the case in 2001, when Moss admitted to occasionally taking plays off. After that comment, Moss was labeled a selfish player who cared little for his team.

And even though he had a Pro Bowl season in 2002, with ah NFC-best 106 catches and 1,347 yards, his critics--which included us--continued to pile on. Despite Moss' enormous talent, the thinking went, his me-first attitude was an impediment to the team as a whole.

Well, this year that me-first attitude is gone. As we examine throughout this issue, Moss has done all of the little things that ate so important to being the leader of a team. The results have been evident in Minnesota's transformation from ah also-ran into a Super Bowl contender.

Both Moss and Lewis are prime candidates to win the league's most valuable player award. And considering where they started, their achievements have been doubly remarkable.