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Ravens’ Lewis Sidelined by Dislocated Shoulder

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From Associated Press

Linebacker Ray Lewis will not play when the Baltimore Ravens face the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

Lewis, a five-time Pro Bowler, partially dislocated his shoulder while trying to recover a loose ball during last Sunday’s 26-21 victory over Cleveland.

He has not practiced all week and will break his string of 69 consecutive starts by missing the game. Lewis leads the Ravens with 69 tackles and has two interceptions and a forced fumble.

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“Ray’s not gonna play, it’s just not going to happen,” Coach Brian Billick said.

The game will be the first Lewis has missed since a dislocated elbow sidelined him for three games in the middle of the 1998 season. Free agent Bernardo Harris, who has been inactive the last two weeks, will replace Lewis.

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Michael Vick will be the emergency No. 3 quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday against the New York Giants.

Falcon Coach Dan Reeves said he would use rookie Kurt Kittner as a backup if Doug Johnson were to leave the game at New York.

Vick sprained his right, non-throwing shoulder in last week’s loss to Tampa Bay. He tried to throw the football early in practice Friday but felt too much pain to continue for more than five minutes.

Atlanta defensive end Patrick Kerney signed a new contract that includes a team-record $8.5-million signing bonus.

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On a winless team off to its worst start in nearly four decades, St. Louis Ram running back Marshall Faulk apparently didn’t care to discuss it with broadcaster Bob Costas this week.

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During a Monday taping for this weekend’s “Inside the NFL” on HBO, Faulk abruptly ended an interview with Costas after being questioned about the Rams’ dismal start, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported in a story on its Web site Friday.

Faulk has not discussed the interview, though Costas said Faulk appeared uncomfortable from its outset.

“I really wish for Marshall’s sake he had declined the interview,” Costas said. “He’s a bright guy, and I think it occurred to him that as we got a few questions into it that if he answered with any candor he would be in a no-win situation. So I think he decided to cut his losses.”

The Rams continued their quarterback shuffle, tapping Marc Bulger to make his first NFL regular-season start Sunday against the undefeated Oakland Raiders. He will replace injured Jamie Martin.

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