Ray Lewis is going to retire this year

[mantlefan2010]

any thoughts on how he will fit into nfl history

[familytoad]

He's the best ever.
Best linebacker.
Best interview.
Best friend.
Canton will likely waive the 5 yr retirement requirement.
The list goes on...just ask him, he'll be sure to alleviate any doubts.

But for his legacy, he's probably right along side LT.
They both played football well. Once you take football out of the equation, you don't have much to cheer for....although admittedly that list is much longer than just these two guys in the NFL.

[Jlighter]

What about Dick Butkus?

[howard38]

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[hoot-owl]

I am not a Ravens fan even though I have lived just south of Baltimore for upwards of 20-years (true confession, I am a life long Buffalo Bills fan). It has been interesting perusing a few chat boards about Ray's retirement--and it is a shame he is being judged entirely by his, readily admitted, youthful heinous mistakes. I have to disagree with my friend Brian's statement:

"But for his legacy, he's probably right along side LT.
They both played football well. Once you take football out of the equation, you don't have much to cheer for....although admittedly that list is much longer than just these two guys in the NFL."

Ray's post-Atlanta Super Bowl crimes probably should have landed him in jail--and he did testify against his friends. And this is where Art Modell stepped in and became the wise counselor father figure that Ray never had growing up. With a second chance, Ray moved beyond his friends from the "hood." He wants his kids to know their father as he never did (albeit he has kids from several different mothers--he takes care of all of them placing them in exceptional schools).

Baltimore loves the Ravens and what Ray has brought to each and every game. Baltimore also loves Ray for what he has given back to the community--this again comes from the Modell family's influence on the Ravens team. Ray Lewis has given of himself, his time, his money and his prestige to the City of Baltimore.

I really don't expect Ray to be one of those players who squanders his NFL fortune, or who is arrested for cocaine possession or soliciting prostitution. I do expect him to continue to give back to Baltimore.

I may be wrong--but that is my, more than two cents, in watching his maturation post-Super Bowl while living locally in Maryland.

[EvilKing00]

IMO - he will go down as a top 2-4 D player ever. LT is the best ever

[familytoad]

Peter
I respect your opinion and obvious deeper insight into Ray Lewis.
I wasn't trying to make people read between the lines, but I should have simply said that I don't like Ray Lewis at all. Not even a little tiny fragment.

I think he and LT are probably good football players but I can't look beyond the way they have carried themselves.
My only disclaimer was that they have plenty of company among NFL players for whom I carry no hint of admiration.

In fact, I likely shouldn't have replied to the original question (which was a serious question about how Lewis's football legacy will play out) due to my preponderance to be negative about him. Maybe he's better than I give him credit for.
If he really has turned his life around, great.
I still don't care though, and hearing that ESPN game day is going to hire him just means I'll tune to a different channel
I mean it's not like they are hiring Carruth or Vick...or LT.

[chaddurbin]

a murderer who ra-ras it up so people will forget about it. seems to have worked.

[HRBAKER]

Ray Lewis - YAWN.
Great player with an old, old act.
I won't miss it.

[tiger8mush]

While I think both LT and Ray Lewis (along with a handful of others like Butkus and Singletary etc) are in the discussion of "best defensive players ever" I think they are/were different players. LT seemed more of a pass rusher whose sole intent was getting to the QB. Ray Lewis, while he could get to the QB, was just as good in stopping the run, absorbing run blockers, covering a TE, etc. Ray could read a play better than LT, I think.

thoughts?

[EvilKing00]

other teams feared LT every time that opposing team had the ball, almost like a big power hitter coming to the plate. Few D guys have to have the other team set a game plan for. He was dominant I think the most feared D player to play against.

[howard38]

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[pclpads]

Originally Posted by HRBAKER

Ray Lewis - YAWN.
Great player with an old, old act.
I won't miss it.

+1

[familytoad]

Hopefully his NFL playing career ends 3 hours from now and he can take a stab at something new

[Runscott]

Ray Lew is will go to the HOF in five years. Do you think he'll drive the extra 20 miles to visit the graves of the two young men who were murdered that night 13 years ago?