AFC NORTH Subplots abound as Old Browns visit Cleveland

Ravens cornerback Deion Sanders has challenged Jeff Garcia to throw his way.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Only one thing will be missing from the Baltimore-Cleveland rivalry on Sunday: the man who made it one.
Art Modell, who broke one city's pro football heart and mended another's when he moved the Browns to Maryland, has stepped aside and out of the spotlight.
Although the venerable owner is no longer at the center of the one of the NFL's fiercest matchups, there is no shortage of subplots in the season opener. Just look at:
*The Old Browns vs. the New Browns.
*Kellen Winslow Jr. vs. Ray Lewis.
*Deion Sanders vs. Jeff Garcia and Father Time.
*Kevin Johnson vs. Butch Davis.
There is one other helmet-to-helmet tilt, however, bigger than them all. And last season it was not only lopsided, but historic.
Ravens running back Jamal Lewis ran away, through, around and over the Browns in 2003. He rushed for a league-record 295 yards in his first game against Cleveland, and then for good measure, tacked on 205 more yards the second time he faced the Browns.
Lewis 500
The Lewis 500 was a race Cleveland's defense doesn't ever want to see run again.
"We're in the record books," said end Kenard Lang, "for the wrong reason."
Stopping No. 31 and the Ravens in Week 1 is -- and has been -- a priority for the Browns for months. They've obsessed about bringing him down.
"When we found out Baltimore was on the schedule, the weight room got a little crunker [more hyped]," said linebacker Andra Davis. "We went 5-11 last year. We know we're better than that."
To prove they've improved, the Browns will need to tackle better than they did a year ago. In addition to yielding 500 yards to Lewis, Cleveland was also shredded by San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson, who picked up 200 yards in a win.
Lewis got his total with long gains, busting loose for runs of 82, 63, 48, 45 and 24 yards.
With the Browns scheming to stop him in the second game, Lewis was held to 54 yards on his first 17 attempts before breaking free for a 72-yard touchdown that put the Ravens ahead 14-0 en route to a 35-0 win.
"We know it could have been a lot different if we would have stopped the big runs. He went 2 yards, 2 yards, then 80 yards. If we hold him to 2 yards, 2 yards and he gets 10 or 12 yards every now and then, that's totally different," Davis said.
Prime time
The Browns will also have to deal with Sanders, the one-time TV analyst and eight-time Pro Bowl cornerback who makes his return after three years on the sideline.
Sanders dared new Browns quarterback Jeff Garcia to throw an out route his way. Garcia isn't backing down, although it's a safe bet he'll check where No. 37 is before taking the snap.
"That's just Deion being Deion," Garcia said of Prime Time's challenge. "He's going to bring a certain attitude, a certain flair and personality. I can't get caught up in any one-on-one battles when I step out on the field. If I do, I'm not doing what's best for this team."
Nothing figures to be easy on Sunday for the Browns, who have more to worry about than Sanders.
Cleveland is 0-5 in home openers since coming back in 1999, and the Browns are just 11-29 in their lakefront stadium over the past five years.
It's never a good idea to emphasize one game over any of the other 15 on the schedule, but this opener is different -- and the Browns know it.
"Everybody is so focused on this one game," Davis said. "I know we're taking it one game at a time, but this is so big. It's going to be a tone-setter for the whole season."