OWINGS MILLS, Md. —
Two-time Defensive Player of the Year. Super Bowl
Most Valuable Player. One of the greatest middle
linebackers in football history.
Now, the Ravens’ Ray Lewis can add another title
to his illustrious career: The Godfather of the NFL.
While Lewis is known for slamming players to the
ground, he is the first to pick them up off the field,
becoming a confidant to many around the league.
From Chargers OLB Shawne Merriman to Seahawks MLB Lofa
Tatupu to Vikings RB Adrian Peterson, Lewis has
mentored the NFL’s young superstars on the game,
training regimen and, most importantly, life.
Lewis estimated that he talks, sends text messages to
and counsels 15 to 20 players on some days.
“It’s a rush for me. It’s a high for
me,” Lewis said. “My greatest legacy will
not be about how hard I hit on the field but how many
people I was able to bless.”
Lewis first runs into players at the Pro Bowl and at
different social events. The meetings usually end with
Lewis giving out his cell phone number.
When players find themselves with a problem,
that’s when Lewis usually hears from them again.
It was just last training camp when disgruntled Bengals
WR Chad Ocho Cinco phoned Lewis for advice.
Lewis’ message: Stop complaining and start
appreciating life in the NFL.
“He’s my spiritual father when I’m
having problems,” Ocho Cinco said earlier this
season. “Ray has been there for me through
everything. Ray is really the only reason I’ve
somewhat shut up and calmed down and came back and
refocused my energy on helping my team get to the
playoffs and all my energy being positive.
“So, Ray is really the reason I’m back here
happy, smiling and ready to go again.”
Lewis routinely will call players and tell them a
favorite scripture passage. He’ll remind them to
drink the right amount of water. He’ll even chat
for a half-hour about dissecting the screen pass, like
he did recently with 49ers LB Patrick Willis.
Before the Ravens’ Monday-night game at
Pittsburgh on Sept. 29, Lewis received a text message
from Willis, his newest pupil, which read: “Show
me what you got because you know I’ll be
watching.”
“It turns into a real brotherhood from our
conversation,” Lewis said.
But Lewis knows the connection extends beyond a
brotherhood.
He has become a father figure to many players, much
like Shannon Sharpe and Rod Woodson were for him years
ago.
“When I was a child, that’s the thing I
never had,” said Lewis, 33, who was raised by his
mother. “As a man, that’s what you’re
looking for — some real good advice from somebody
they can trust.”
While Lewis seems to be giving so much — advice,
time and energy — he insists that he receives
more in return.
“What I get out of it is watching these guys
grow,” he said. “That’s the reward
for any parent. When you instill something in a kid and
you get it put into fruition, you’re like,
‘Wow. He really listened.’ ”
Lewis has not only grabbed the attention of the players
around the NFL. After recent injury-marred seasons,
Lewis is playing like an elite linebacker again.
Run up the middle of the Ravens’ defense at your
own risk. Draws don’t work, and neither do
screens.
“It’s getting to the point with Ray where
it’s almost ridiculous,” Ravens defensive
coordinator Rex Ryan said. “He’s a phenom.
His contact and tackling is as crisp and as good as I
can remember. He is still flying around and is always
in the right spots. If I had to describe one thing
about Ray that stands out, I couldn’t, because he
is the total package.”
The Ravens are in a transition season with a new coach
in John Harbaugh and a new quarterback in Joe Flacco.
The one constant has been the Ravens’ top-notch
defense, whose determination comes from Lewis.
That was proven in Week Three, when the Ravens trailed
the Browns 10-7.
On the third play of the third quarter, Lewis crushed
Kellen Winslow over the middle, dislodging the ball
from the Browns’ physical tight end. CB Chris
McAlister plucked the ball from the air and ran 12
yards to the Cleveland 12-yard line, setting up the
go-ahead touchdown in the Ravens’ 28-10 victory.
“He just knew he had to make a play, and
that’s what leaders do,” Ravens ROLB
Terrell Suggs said of the Lewis hit. “I mean,
were y’all shocked?”
The biggest surprise is how Lewis can maintain this
level of play.
After years of chasing down running backs, all of the
NFL’s great middle linebackers eventually found
something they themselves couldn’t elude —
time.
Bears star Mike Singletary decided to retire after 12
seasons, before his play declined. Pittsburgh’s
Jack Lambert walked away after 11 years because of a
severe toe injury. And the Bears’ Dick Butkus
stopped after nine seasons because of multiple knee
injuries.
So, how can Lewis continue to remain in Pro Bowl form
after 13 seasons?
His play on the field is dictated by his work off it.
His workouts are legendary. He still runs steep hills
with a log on his back. He is constantly in the sauna
and always is stretching, which helps to cut down on
injuries.
At home, he has hired a personal chef, who cooks fish
and vegetables. He keeps himself hydrated by drinking
two gallons of water daily.
Then, at night, Lewis watches hours of film.
He’ll pick up how a lineman puts his hand down on
certain plays. He’ll note how a running back
stands before a screen play.
These details help him predict where the ball is going
before it is snapped.
“My greatest reward is in my sacrifice —
how much film I watch,” Lewis said. “Some
of them might want to run a screen or try to run in my
area. I’m like, ‘Are you serious? You
don’t think I watched that all week?’
“I would never want to be in my 20s again. I know
too much right now.”
Colts QB Peyton Manning has a firsthand knowledge of
Lewis’ film work.
“There’s many a time when I’ve heard
Ray calling out our plays, and he’s been pretty
accurate at times,” Manning said.
Lewis’ psychological game even extends to running
backs. With some vicious head-on hits, he is putting
fear into opposing runners. He ended Steelers RB
Rashard Mendenhall’s season in Week Four. It was
the same back in 2000 when he train-wrecked Jerome
Bettis, Corey Dillon and Eddie George.
“I was pretty intimidated by him, and I was on
his team,” Ravens LOLB Jarret Johnson said.
Still, how long will Lewis remain on the team?
Lewis is scheduled to make $6.5 million in the final
season of a seven-year, $50 million contract. That
included a $19 million signing bonus (an NFL record at
the time).
Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said earlier this year
that the team would actively pursue Lewis if he reaches
free agency.
“If he becomes a free agent, I think the Ravens
would probably outbid other teams,” Bisciotti
said at the NFL meetings in March. “We know
Ray’s value more than the other teams. We know
the leadership he brings to the team. We know the
commitment and the effort he gives to winning.”
This is the first time the Ravens have allowed Lewis to
reach the final year of his contract.
There is a possibility that the Ravens could use the
franchise tag on Lewis to keep him for another season.
Lewis hopes it won’t come to that.
“If the season ends and I’m a totally free
agent, for the first time in my life I will be totally
free,” he said. “You know what that feels
like for a man? It’s one thing to deal with a
contract. It’s one thing to deal with life
without a contract. I can see the light at the end of
the tunnel to make my own decision.”
(profootballweekly.com)