An old Ray Lewis is still the Lewis of old

LAKE FOREST — Ray Lewis. The two scariest words in football in 2000 remain the two scariest words in 2009.

“He’s definitely intimidating,” Bears right tackle Kevin Shaffer said.

The fifth linebacker taken in the 1996 draft was once thought by some to be too small to play linebacker. He changed such thinking quickly, leading the NFL with 15 tackles for a loss as a rookie and leading the league in tackles in 1997 (184) and 1999 (168). By the time the Ravens won the Super Bowl in 2000 and set an NFL record for fewest points allowed, Lewis had firmly established himself as the baddest man in football.

Now in his 14th season, nothing has changed for the six-time first-team All-Pro, who played in his 10th Pro Bowl last year.

“He’s still one of the best in the game,” Bears coach Lovie Smith said. “Ray Lewis is Ray Lewis. He’s one of the guys you know you have to have a plan for every time you play the Ravens.”

Yet the toughest of all defenders, who faces the Bears at 3:15 p.m. Sunday when Chicago (5-8) travels to Baltimore (7-6), stays tough by, of all things, practicing yoga.

The 6-foot-1, 245-pound Lewis credits yoga for keeping him healthy. His career briefly appeared to be on the downslide after he missed 11 games in 2002 with a shoulder injury and 10 games in 2005 with a hamstring injury. He said he learned the second time that he couldn’t rely on “straight weight lifting” in the offseason.

“Yoga classes really save your body,” Lewis said on a teleconference, joking he was doing the interview with his legs crossed sitting on top of a garbage can.

But that doesn’t mean yoga is a joke. He said he “faithfully” attends 90-minute yoga classes.

“It stretches you that much,” Lewis said. “For us, being muscular people, it’s hard to keep your muscles flexible. When you’re young, you can keep that flexibility, but yoga can save a lot in your career (as you grow older).”

As long as he stays flexible, the 34-year-old Lewis said age is no detriment.

“If you look at the most consistent players in the league, you are going to find people of age,” Lewis said. “It’s based on wisdom, understanding the game, understanding how to get from Point A to Point B without taking three false steps, without reading the wrong things. Age is not too big of a deal. If you take care of your body, it will always show on the field.”

It certainly shows with Ray Lewis.

“He’s one of the very best linebackers in the National Football League, and that’s 14 years in,” said Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who called Lewis “amazing.”

You could also call him “fearsome.” Even if the reason he still thrives is because he likes to sit with his legs crossed.

“Whatever he’s doing, he’s doing it well,” the Bears’ Shaffer said. “He’s leading that defense the same way he was seven or eight years ago.

“If he’s in there, they click. If he’s not in there, it’s a totally different defense. He’s all over the field.”

He’s Ray Lewis. Still.

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(rrstar.com)