Ray Lewis Still Intimidates In Pass Coverage

As Jets tight end Dustin Keller came over the middle during the fourth quarter at M&T Bank Stadium the Sunday before last, it looked as if there was going to be a repeat of last year’s smack down from Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis.

That hit was used as part of the NFL’s tutorial on how to make a clean, big hit. It was also constantly aired on commercials, presumably being seen by Keller and all of Lewis’ opponents all offseason.

This time, Keller stopped, ducked, and allowed the pass to fall incomplete. The Jets punted.

Call it Lewis’ intimidation factor – a key part in the linebacker’s pass coverage skills.

“Once you kind of establish your reputation for being that guy in the middle and people know you’re going to take those shots, you’ve always got to be conscious of things like that,” said Lewis, who was recently voted the No. 2 meanest player by his peers in a Sports Illustrated poll.

“You create your own mentality once you’re in the middle and you make people respect. And if they do come through there, you make them pay for it.”

Some fans still question Lewis’ pass-coverage skills, and one called in to “Ravens One On One” Tuesday night to ask Head Coach John Harbaugh whether he has considered subbing Lewis out during third-down situations.

Harbaugh said it’s a “fair point” to discuss the option of substituting for Lewis, but laughed at the notion of what it would take to sub Lewis out.
“I’m not sure exactly how we would do it right now in terms of getting him off the field and how many people it would take to accomplish that,” he said.

Lewis will have a tough challenge this Sunday with Texans running back Arian Foster and Houston’s two pass-catching tight ends. Foster caught five passes for 116 yards last Sunday against Oakland and Owen Daniels and Joel Dreessen combined to haul in 12 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown.

But at 36 years old, Lewis’ smarts and intimidation still make him an every-down linebacker, a mainstay in rushing and passing situations.
Lewis missed only five plays all last season. Harbaugh said the notion of taking him out of the game on a few select plays in third-down situations has been discussed, but it’s not something they’re in favor of at this time.

Instead, the Ravens have somewhat built their defense around Lewis in obvious passing downs.

“We try to keep him in situations where he doesn’t have to cover as many one-on-one situations against receiving-type guys as much as we can,” Harbaugh said.

Lewis has often been a blitzer, an area where he has long excelled (39.5 career sacks). He is also excellent in zone coverage of the shallow middle of the field.

“You’re not going to take him off the middle of the field,” Harbaugh said. “He owns that low middle part of the field.

“Guys do not want to run routes in there because they know where Ray Lewis is patrolling. That’s his turf. We’ve seen that time and time again, so he brings that to the table and that’s a pretty valuable thing.”

Lewis said he would always choose the player he is now over the young Ray Lewis, who he called a “time bomb” running all over the field without knowing what was really going on. In his 16th year in the league, Lewis has slowed the game down mentally, and relies on that in pass coverage.

“It’s hard for people to try to complete passes on me because of the knowledge of the game,” Lewis said. “You’re going to get beat sometimes. But more times than not, I’m going to make those plays. I treat it all the same, being the complete linebacker and being able to be on the field on all downs.”

This season, Lewis leads the Ravens yet again with 30 tackles and has also notched one sack and one interception. He was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week after his Week 3 performance in St. Louis, in which he stripped quarterback Sam Bradford after blitzing up the middle.

How long can Lewis keep up that type of production? Harbaugh admits that he doesn’t know.

“Hey, let’s be honest. Ray’s a human being,” Harbaugh said. “At some point in time, he’ll tell you he’s going to have to come off the field. He’ll probably tell you it won’t be before he retires, and I don’t know when that is either. He’s playing at a really high level right now.”

“Ray takes a lot of pride in [his pass coverage]. And he’s done a really good job with it. Obviously he’s not a cover guy, per se. But he believes he is and he’s done a good job of it so far.”

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(baltimoreravens.com)