Ray Lewis to Retire (Merged)

[4G63]

The act of leaving his feet is what made it illegal.

Not sure why that's such a hard thing to understand.

Not based on the call from the field. It was flagged "helmet to helmet" and the refs were reacting to the hit, not actually what happened. Chad being airborne makes a difference too.

Either way, I liked the hit at the time and as the picture shows, it wasn't actually illegal. Its almost identical to the hit by Bernard Pollard earlier this year on the sideline that wasn't flagged.

[Murphey37]

I think the best way to thank Ray is to make M&T the loudest it's ever been!

[bacchys]

That hit was called illegal because Johnson didn't put his chin strap on properly. If Johnson's helmet stays on his head, it might not have drawn a flag.

[Ghoulahoo]

Now the ravens have something to counter the Pagano eeffect.

[StingerNLG]

BTW really enjoying the Ray Lewis coverage on ESPN NFL Live right now. It's just starting to sink in he's retiring.

[B-more Ravor]

I loved this hit on Chad Johnson.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttcp0HdNGrY

I love this video about Chad Johnson trying to block Ray. Starts at 45 seconds. The reaction of the Bengals coach is priceless! There's also some great dialog between Ray and Chad at the Pro-Bowl discussing the play.

[sayitloudnow]

I loved this hit on Chad Johnson.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttcp0HdNGrY

My favorite thing was Chad's response...

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2347665

[iggyman555]

Negative. He left his feet but the hit wasn't illegal based on league rules. His shoulder pad hit Chad's shoulder pad and he was airborne when he hit Ray. No different than Bernard Pollards earlier this year on the sideline.

showing facts might get u in trouble lool

[iggyman555]

Aaron Wilson ‏@RavensInsider

John harbaugh said he was aware ray lewis would announce retirement when he did had known for weeks

[Ravenswarrior19]

I would imagine most of the braintrust knew. Harbs, Ozzie, Cass, and Bisciotti. And they most likely brought Kevin Byrne into the discussion over the last few weeks to lay out how it should all go down with media coverage, etc.

The team roster decisions, the "IR designated to return" and Ray's decisions with his treatment were all geared to this one final run. So they all were likely in on the plan.

[iggyman555]

Aaron Wilson ‏@RavensInsider

Ed Reed indicated he knew before the season that Ray Lewis would retire after being informed by the veteran middle linebacker
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[Ravenswintitle]

I think most of us pretty much suspected this was his last year too. He was slowing a little and his son is set to play in Miami next year. But those guys who knew for sure did a good job keeping it quiet