Ravens' Lewis not intimidated by New York Giants' Jacobs - or anyone

First of all, a disclaimer: What I've transcribed below can - and probably will - be misconstrued as Ravens LB Ray Lewis taking shots at Giants RB Brandon Jacobs. Having been in the Giants' locker room for five seasons now, I know they'll use these words as motivation.

But having been around all kinds of football players, especially a prideful middle linebacker in Antonio Pierce, I know what Lewis was saying and it wasn't anything close to the shots the Browns were taking at Jacobs.

With that said, here's what Lewis said on a conference call with reporters a few minutes ago when asked about Jacobs:

"He's a physical back. He plays the game very physical. The only way to stop somebody like that is to run into him full-speed. That's the game of football. The name of football is hit or be hit. So the bottom line is I don't care how big his size is, how big none of that is. Football is football. And when you strap on your chin strap, I don't care how big you are, deal with whoever's got the ball and let life take care of itself. You just know, as a middle linebacker, you don't want to start letting them get into your secondary like you see the Eagles and a lot of people did, like big gaping holes to where he's getting up on your corners and your secondary, I don't think that's an even match. But when you're dealing with the front seven where linebackers meet running backs and fullbacks and things, then let it take care of itself. Our job is to not let him get to our secondary because he can be an imposing threat back there."

Again, when you look at the above, you might be tempted to infer Lewis is saying he and the rest of Baltimore's front seven can easily handle Jacobs. That's not the case. And if anyone expected a guy like Lewis to come on the conference call and even hint about how much he's worried about playing Jacobs for the first time, well, then you don't know Lewis, you don't know middle linebackers and you don't know football.

When asked about Jacobs' size and the disparity between him and the average back, Lewis displayed the swagger I'm talking about and the cockiness you need to play in the middle in the NFL:

"Okay, so what are you going to do? Run from it? You just play football. I don't look at the schedule, look at somebody's weight and say, 'Oh, guess what, he's 260. I can't run into him.' Hell no, I'm chasing him. It doesn't matter. Size has never mattered in this game. And the day you put size in this game, you lose all your credibility on why you play the game. You play the game for that. I remember these same stories about how big Eddie George was - so big and so bruising. Okay, let football take care of itself. That's what it's always done and always will do.

Strong words? Sure. A shot at Jacobs? No way. Just a guy who's confident in himself, as he should be.

(nj.com)