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10-20-2012, 07:47 PM #13Hall Of Fame Poster
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Re: Oz thinks Ray will be back this year
If you think Ray Lewis was having a good year before he got hurt, you weren't watching the games.
I firmly defended Ray Lewis last year and pointed out how he was still playing at a high level--against both run and pass. He was shutting down the run between the tackles, holding QBs to a fairly low rating and YPA into his coverage, and just generally playing as one of the best ILBs in the league.
But that was last year. In 2012, based on the 6 games he played, #52 had fallen off a cliff in every facet off his game. Some guys that have been great for a long time get a little worse year after year, and some guys that have been great for a long time suddenly aren't great anymore.
It looks like the latter was the case for Ray this year. He's not alone--have you watched London Fletcher this year? He, too, is having an awful year and looking like he's fallen off the cliff.
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10-20-2012, 08:19 PM #14
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Re: Oz thinks Ray will be back this year
To the one's who believe there is younger, faster, better Middle Backer on this roster than Ray, please tell me where they are because I see not only Ray but the rest of those younger Backers getting ran over. I promise you if Ray was in on that final cowboy drive there would be no way Tony Romo picks up a 3rd and 27 then a 4 and 11 for a 1st down. Those younger faster backers? they were lost without Ray on the field, you could see the confusion, they had no idea where to line up. Again show me what Linebacker we have right now on the roster that can take Ray's place?
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10-20-2012, 08:23 PM #15Legendary RSR Poster
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10-20-2012, 08:28 PM #16Pro Bowl Poster
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Re: Oz thinks Ray will be back this year
I may be wrong, but I think that Ray's performance this year (or lack thereof) has had a lot to do with defensive line play that's been significantly worse than it was last year. Baltimore currently sits 20th on CHFF's defensive hog index--I don't remember specifically where they ranked last year, but I'm pretty sure it was top three. FO has the Raven D-line at #19 against the run and #24 against passing attempts this year, where last year those numbers were 13 and 2, respectively.
No argument that Lewis' play has declined... but a drop in unit performance like that doesn't indicate to me a problem with just one player. I think the Ravens really miss Redding, Suggs, and are not getting anything like the performance expected from Cody, Kemoeatu, Jones... or maybe everything just hasn't gelled yet. Or maybe Pees isn't doing a great job scheming with what he's got. Anyway, my .02...
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10-20-2012, 08:28 PM #17
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10-20-2012, 08:33 PM #18Hall Of Fame Poster
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Re: Oz thinks Ray will be back this year
Tackles are not a stat indicative of a high level of play. Yes, Ray is making a lot of tackles--and most of them are because teams are running right at him for 5-8 yards a pop. Sure, he's going to bring the RB down from behind, but the damage is already done. He's also missed quite a few tackles that he probably makes even last year.
The league's top tacklers each year are every-down ILBs. That doesn't mean all of those guys are playing at a high level, although many of them are. It just means they have a lot of chances to make tackles.
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10-20-2012, 08:38 PM #19Hyperbolic curmudgeometer
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Re: Oz thinks Ray will be back this year
Is there anyone who could bring more energy, more motivation, more work to come back?
No argument from me. The fly in the ointment is Ray's age, which will act to slow the healing process.
Because it’s Ray, we’re willing to take this chance. ... If we were going to bet on one player coming back, we were betting on Ray Lewis.
No argument here either. At first thought I was concerned that some other significant Raven might come down with a 6-week injury as early as next Sunday...but in that case you carry that player on the 53-man roster & you go forward one player short of those available for activation on game day. It's not like you'd have to play a man down...
(I can almost hear Ray ringing the changes on his 2000-season "I have to get to Tampa" speech--only this time it will be, "We have to get to New Orleans--I will be with you all the way, just not on the field--you all will have to get us there on the field--but when we get there I will be on the field with you!")
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10-20-2012, 08:39 PM #20
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Re: Oz thinks Ray will be back this year
wah??? Teams are not running RIGHT at Lewis, they are attacking the edges because we don't have one LB that can set the edge right now, to push those runs back to the inside where Ray can clean them up.Teams have been pressing our edges and sealing those edges for either off tackle runs or outside runs. I agree Ray has declined in some apsects of his game but I would take him over many LBs in this league. If Patrick Willis had this group of LBs around him he would look bad too.
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10-20-2012, 08:40 PM #21Hall Of Fame Poster
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Re: Oz thinks Ray will be back this year
The fact that there is nobody behind Ray Lewis playing at a high level is completely irrelevant to the evaluation of Ray's play. No, we do not have an All-Pro sitting behind him, certainly not anybody he would have been BENCHED for, but that's not at issue here at all.
Ray's individual performance is appreciably, perceptibly worse than it was last year--he's not getting off blocks even from FBs and pulling guards like he used to, missing more tackles, getting run over, not getting depth in his pass drops, getting turned around in his zones, etc. That doesn't mean he's BAD (just not great), and it doesn't mean he wouldn't have improved as the year went on--he very well might have. But that's irrelevant now.
That doesn't mean I'm excusing the defense, the main culprit for our poor performance on defense is not Ray. It's our defensive line, which has played like one of the worst in the league thus far.
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10-20-2012, 08:45 PM #22
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Re: Oz thinks Ray will be back this year
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10-20-2012, 08:48 PM #23
Re: Oz thinks Ray will be back this year
NFL Total Access Willie McGinest & Shaun O'Hara say we are better off without Ray... "his body is telling him its time.... you see it on the film...so we are not sayin' nothing a lot of people dont see.. just afraid to say"
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prepared to <spit> and <swear> at any minute.. blame it on PMS!
NEW AVATAR! I GOT A NEW AVATAR!
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10-20-2012, 08:50 PM #24
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Re: Oz thinks Ray will be back this year
Look I would be all for "we are better off without Ray" campaign, but WHO on this roster we have waiting to take that throne who can even remotely play like Ray Lewis?
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