Dude is slow as hell now and did he play tonight... It's a young mans game and he look like Junior Seau now.

Right now Ray is doing what he will be doing right after he retires.....TV!

Source?

Ravenatic20 wrote: Source?

Probably the same guy that told him CJ Spiller and 8 undrafted guys are better than Ray Rice. At least CJ Spiller is playing well, not so sure about those random 8 undrafted guys.

Watever, I am the biggest Ray Lewis fan there is, this cat is a SHELL of himself. His skills right are showing now that Suggs can't cover up for him and the rest of them bums on defense...

CJ SPiller is a baller.. Most running backs just need opportunity..

brace for impact

SpankyJohnson wrote: CJ SPiller is a baller.. Most running backs just need opportunity..

You're a funny dude.

I don't think Ray is the problem as much as our current defensive coordinator is. What's the deal with being conservative for 3 1/2 quarters and not showing a blitz until the final drive of the game? I'm tired of this soft zone BS I keep seeing. Last year our press man to man coverage with attacking front 7 worked great. Now teams just move on us at will.

Done or not....

Ray Lewis arguing with Prime Time Sanders about how well he hit in batting practice with the Orioles yesterday is just pure classic TV!

DeltaRaven wrote: I don't think Ray is the problem as much as our current defensive coordinator is. What's the deal with being conservative for 3 1/2 quarters and not showing a blitz until the final drive of the game? I'm tired of this soft zone BS I keep seeing. Last year our press man to man coverage with attacking front 7 worked great. Now teams just move on us at will.

Sizzle covered up a multitude of sins...

DeltaRaven wrote: I don't think Ray is the problem as much as our current defensive coordinator is. What's the deal with being conservative for 3 1/2 quarters and not showing a blitz until the final drive of the game? I'm tired of this soft zone BS I keep seeing. Last year our press man to man coverage with attacking front 7 worked great. Now teams just move on us at will.

I see what you're saying, but there's a pretty big difference in personal this year compared to last.  We're missing JJ, Redding, and Suggs.

Ray is never done....he can play until he is 80 if he wants to.

What true Ravens fan would ever say something like that? 

old slow ray is going to win a SB this year

RAVEN4LIFE wrote: Ray is never done....he can play until he is 80 if he wants to.

what a riot it'd be to see him chasing down halfbacks on his rascal scooter!

Oh....you must mean Ray Edwards of the Falcons...yes, then I agree.

brawltimore wrote:

RAVEN4LIFE wrote: Ray is never done....he can play until he is 80 if he wants to.

what a riot it'd be to see him chasing down halfbacks on his rascal scooter!

I can see it now!!!

"#52 makes the sideline to sideline tackle on the 2035 1st round pick.......IN HIS HOVEROUND!!!!"

You know, if there were a sticky post listing every time someone had a knee-jerk, reactionary and premature "throw-a-team-legend-under-the-bus" episode, I bet people would THINK twice before starting these threads. The funny thing is, I remember people started throwing Ray and Ed under the bus 3 or 4 frickin' years ago! How many of those geniuses had egg on their face?

We all see the guy's lost a step... but even if he is done, you'd think there would be a little respect for a legend who's legitimately in the conversation for best defensive player OF ALL TIME! If a fan can't respect that guy, it makes me wonder who in the world they do respect.

Ray Lewis is not Ray Lewis of 2000.

But Ray Lewis now is still better than more than half of the starting LBs in the game. That should tell you something about his career. He was an absolute monster in his prime and despite his age he's still one of the top LBs.

Perspective people

I'm not going to say he is done, he's still a good run defender.  But the guy can't cover, was talking to an independent analyst who has watched the game tape and pointed out that the Browns were using crossing routes to attack Ray through the game and were very successful doing it.  I've not re-watched to confirm that, but I trust the guy's opinion.

the coaches need to step up and get him off the field on 3rd and longs...regardless of what people say and think HE IS NOT the coach of the team, and if he is hurting the team, the coaches need to do whats best. im sick of these 10-15 yard passes in the down the middle of the field.

That game would have been a lot worse without Ray last night, he made some crucial stops.
I sure don't see that we have anybody better to fill in for him. I'm not saying he hasn't lost a step, but he is still the best we have right now

Ray isnt done but its time that he comes out on certain passing downs...pees refuses to match up to personell amd we frequently have too many slow linebackers playing coverage.

This thread is a joke.  Some posters on this board have been putting Ray in his grave the past three years.  He's still a top 5 LB in this game and what he now lacks in speed, he covers with his head and being where the ball is. 

4 games in 18 days has worn on the whole team and it showed some last night.

Even Ray knows and said he isn't as fast as he used to be. That's why he dropped some lbs this off season!! You can't take away Ray's mental aspect of the game. You can easily put someone who's a lot faster out there, but that doesn't mean they will do a better job.

Most 20 somethings could play 4 games in 17 days. Meant to say couldn't

hes a great team leader and very carismatic.players follow respect and give 100% every down because he leads by example. I'll take him over 95% of the ILB's in the NFL period.

21XXXV wrote: Most 20 somethings could play 4 games in 17 days.

4 pick up flag football games in the park maybe.

When you add 300 lb linebackers smaching into you at full speed into the equation the stamina of th ehuman body tends to degrade a tad.

Goonlecker wrote: I'm not going to say he is done, he's still a good run defender.  But the guy can't cover, was talking to an independent analyst who has watched the game tape and pointed out that the Browns were using crossing routes to attack Ray through the game and were very successful doing it.  I've not re-watched to confirm that, but I trust the guy's opinion.

Everyone should take a mental note of this moving forward, cause thats EXACTLY how NE was killing us, as well as picking on Cary.

It's a team game. Failure of any one part will be problematic. More pressure from the front four will make average lb's and backs look better. Having said that I would like to see Ray take a seat on some third downs move Pollard into his spot and bring in another cover back.

RAVEN4LIFE wrote: What true Ravens fan would ever say something like that? 

the ones who are realists.. the ones who watch him play and understand his ego is now a liabilty to the team..

theravenkidd wrote:

Goonlecker wrote: I'm not going to say he is done, he's still a good run defender.  But the guy can't cover, was talking to an independent analyst who has watched the game tape and pointed out that the Browns were using crossing routes to attack Ray through the game and were very successful doing it.  I've not re-watched to confirm that, but I trust the guy's opinion.

Everyone should take a mental note of this moving forward, cause thats EXACTLY how NE was killing us, as well as picking on Cary.

it was painfully obvious last night.. Teams do not fear Ray anymore..

Watch the coaches tape in every game and you will see why the middle is open. It isn't always on Lewis. One play last night Ellerbe got caught up in coverage and did not pass the receiver to Lewis. Created a big gap in the zone. Weeden found it and hit his WR. On one play in the Eagles game to Celek, where he got smashed by Pollard. People say that was on Lewis. Again, if you watch coaches tape you will see the Eagles released the back on a curl route which froze both Lewis and McClain enough for Vick to find Celek in the seam.

It is easy to point fingers based on the television camera angle. Coaching tape will give you a better idea of what's going on. I will say this though. Lewis got obliterated on one of those blitzes. At first it appeared he would have a clear shot. Then he was on the ground. The back did a fantastic job of blocking on that play.

We are going to need some more pass rushers down the stretch. Upshaw and McPhee need more breaks. They are playing a hell of a lot of snaps. So is Ngata.

OQuaTanginWann wrote: Ray isnt done but its time that he comes out on certain passing downs...pees refuses to match up to personell amd we frequently have too many slow linebackers playing coverage.

I agree with this.  Ray isn't 'done', but he may be more effective as a 2 down LB at this point. He would probably be a bit more fresh as well if he came off for a few plays on 3rd and long.

We kept Kindle and I think it is time for Him to see some more of the field. We need to see what we can get with him and Kruger in Nickel and dime. Upshaw and McClellan do a great job of setting the edges. Kruger, I think is at his best as a role player. But he needs someone opposite him. I think it's worth a shot to see what those two would look like in nickel and dime. Upshaw seems to be winded by the second qtr from playing so many snaps.

They gotta shore up the communication as well. Some of the holes in these zones are absolutely insane. There has to be communication breakdowns. I cannot fathom an NFL defensive coordinator designing zones with these gaping holes. All zones have soft spots/holes but some of this is crazy. Also I'm not sure why Jimmy Smith was playing ten yards off of Travis Benjamin. Sure respect his speed. But he's built like a twig. Jimmy probably could have pressed him into the ground. Then you don't have to worry about speed.

Wouldn't say he's done.  Agree he's a shell of what he was and has lost significant speed, but he does make some plays on sheer awareness and knowledge.  His leadership is also significant.

I don't put a ton of blame on Pees --- the personnel this year (minus Suggs, specifically) has really hurt the D.  Even with heavy blitzing, pressure was scarce, so not sure him being more aggressive would have been all that beneficial.

At least the O has stepped up and put some points on the board.  Kudos to Flacco, Smith, Boldin, and Rice.

I'd like to see what you'd say with another MLB in place who can't stop the run half as well as Ray. You'd be saying, "I want Ray back no matter how old he is". This defense comes down to more than just Ray's plays, there are a lot of players we're missing. Besides, I'm sure if you look back at Rays games in his prime there were times he didn't cover, he got blown up. Ray may have seemed invincible, but that's only because you may only remember the good stuff. Way was good, but he was never perfect. No one is. That's why when someone comes out and say "He's done" it's time for you to get your head checked. Yeah he aint what he used to be, but he ain't done. Like someone here said. Ray may be slower but he's going to win a Superbowl with this TEAM.

canuck2002 wrote: It's a team game. Failure of any one part will be problematic. More pressure from the front four will make average lb's and backs look better. Having said that I would like to see Ray take a seat on some third downs move Pollard into his spot and bring in another cover back.

I would like this approach alot, pollard is a hard hitter and can cover, same with ellerbe.' Ad between these two they can blitz whenever their name is called, which is why i dont understand why we dont use Pollard more creatively. But ive been behind this idea for the longest with using pollard all over the place instead of Webb. Pollard can lay any one out especially QB's, blitzing Webb just doesnt have the same effect as it owuld if you blitzed Pollard who would have any opposing QB think twice about standing in the pocket.

21XXXV wrote: Most 20 somethings could play 4 games in 17 days.

agree 100% he is the best on this team without him we are the browns on the clock