JFTR, Lewis has almost twice as many solo tackles right now(63) as Farrior(36), plus the Ravens’ D feeds off his energy. Has he lost a step? Sure, probobly even a step and a half, but he’s still two steps better than anyone else.
As a Giants fan, the truth of these words makes me want to experience my own deceleration trauma.
Too soon? Inappropriate?
Wow, you must have even greater admiration for Ray Lewis than most Baltimore fans.
I mean, you apparently hold him to such high standards that you feel the need to criticise him for not making every single defensive play. I know he’s fast, but really, even Ray Lewis can’t be at more than one spot on the field at a time. He might not have made a play on either of the Jets’ OT possessions, but i think you’re being a bit generous calling them “drives.” They were 3-and-out both times, if i remember correctly. Seems like the Ravens’ defense still has a few people besides Ray Lewis who can make tackles.
But i’m sure you’re right. I’m sure that if we look at the stats for that Ravens-Jets game we’ll find evidence of Lewis’s decline.
No, wait, we won’t! 14 tackles; 11 solo and 3 assisted. More than any other defender on the field that day—Ravens or Jets.
Sure, he’s probably not as quick or as dominant as he once was, but he’s still third on the defensive leaders board, and is on pace to have a fairly typical Ray Lewis season, with ESPN projecting about 150 tackles for the regular season. Also, while opposing supporters seem to see his constant talk as some sort of defect, it’s that leadership that helps make the Baltimore defense what it is.
I assume you’re having a laugh, right?
You should really use a 
when you say stuff like that.
That is a quote from SI’s Dr. Z.
But let’s look at the real stats.
Farrior-48 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 INTs, 3 FRs in 507 team defensive plays
Lewis- 63 tackles, 1 sack, 0 INTs, 1 FR in 579 team defensive plays
I can’t find FF stats anywhere online.
My favorite Ray Lewis play of this year? When he was mic’d up (I think it was vs the chiefs) and he busts out with “My GOD! THey can’t double team me every play, can they?” all shocked and dismayed. Then they show him in the next 15 minutes getting dominated, one on one, by various members of the opposing teams OLine.
Ray Lewis still is the best LB in Football, and yes he has lost a step. But, at this point, if we could pluck any one player away from Baltimore, forget Ray Lewis. I’d take Ed Reed in a heartbeat.
Feeding off his energy strikes me as the nebulous sort of asset that falls in line with being on fire in basketball or good in clutch situations in baseball. It sounds good to say and seems to make sense, but in the end it’s not exactly a statistically verifiable concept and probably has a whole lot less to do with how the Ravens play than we might think. Lewis is certainly a fantastic player and the Super Bowl year was amazing to watch, but it sure seems like Lewis gets lauded for things like fire, energy, and passion as being critical to his teams success much more than it really comes into the equation.
I’d be inclined to say that his teammates play better D because opposing teams game plan around Lewis trying to minimize his impact which gives other players an opportunity to step up. His jumping around like Jim Carrey on uppers may get the blood flowing a little bit, but I’m more inclined to say that the desire to win, desire to play for the next contract, and desire to perform well are what really gets his teammates going.
The problem, though, is that both weirddave and i only brought the issue up because other people (like capa) were implying that the statistics and other evaluations of Lewis’s actual ability suggest that he’s losing it.
I made the point that if you look at his statistics for this year, he’s actually on pace to have a pretty typical Ray Lewis season, with about 150 tackles. Sure, he might not have as many sacks, interceptions, or fumble recoveries as someone like Farrior, but those things are often out of the linebacker’s hands. If the ball doesn’t get thrown at him, he can’t make an interception, and QBs make a determined effot not to throw the ball anywhere near Ray Lewis if they can help it.
Furthermore, people seem to forget that, good as Lewis is, he’s not the only defender on the Baltimore team. When you’ve Terrell Suggs making 7.5 sacks so far, and Ed Reed with 5 interceptions averaging 57 yards on the return, and 9 passes defended, then it’s not crucial that Lewis be making every single play. What he does best is cover ground and make tackles, and the figures suggest that he’s doing that pretty well so far.
Sure, the whole “feeding off his energy” thing is a bit nebulous, but when someone looks at Lewis’s statistics and still tries to argue that he’s losing it, then what else is there to say? I’ve already conceded (as has dave) that he’s probably lost a yard or so of speed, but i also think that anyone who tries to paint him as having lost it as a linebacker is seriously out of touch with reality.
Oh I’m not suggesting he has lost it, and in fact I believe he is still one of the top 5 LBs in the NFL.
I’m just opening up for debate whether or not Farrior is having a better year.
I completely agree (and wasn’t trying to suggest otherwise). I just had issue with the energy thing.
As another Sunday rolls around I’m back in the country and ready to see some major butt-whoopin’ inflicted by the Steelers. But before that happens, I’d like to send a shout-out to everyone who said from the beginning that the Steelers probably would finish last in their own division: Bwahahahaha! Boy were you wrong!
After the Steelers dispatch a few more lightweights, it’s on to the Super Bowl and eternal glory. The Bungles won’t even know what hit them today. I’m calling it 28-3 Steelers today. If the Bengals are lucky.
On the Lewis/Farrior debate, I’d suggest that total tackles is not a good indicatorr of success. According to the stats, the Steelers as a whole have almost 100 less tackles than Baltimore (440 vs. 537) suggesting that they are on the filed a lot less. I don’t see stats for 3 and outs but it seems that the Steelers have forced a lot of them this season.
And also on that page, mhendo, it shows that the Steelers as a team have 14 forced fumbles as opposed to 8 for Baltimore. As for individuals, Farrior has 3 (2nd in the conference) and Lewis has 0.
A Steeler win today (although Cinci played tough) and an INT ret for TD for James Farrior.
I am speaking as a fan of football, not as a Ravens fan.
For all of you Stiller fans, has it occured to you just how much alike our two teams are?
We have Kyle Boller, a QB who is finally coming into his own after a year and a half of codeling, and is making plays without making mistakes, which I think is key.
Y’all have Big Ben who has done what no rookie before has done, winning his first 8 games, although he has thrown wild balls at times.
Both teams seek to minimize the demands they place on their QBs with sterling play in the other two phases of the game.
We have an agressive, punnishing defense that plays harder than any other and always seems to manufacture points on it’s own, it’s #1 in points allowed.
Y’all have the #1 defense in the league.
Both teams key off of their defensive prowess.
We have endured an absurd ammount of injuries, to Pro-Bowlers, no less, and are still 7-3
Y’all have played through injury problems too, and are 9-1
Both teams should be at or close to full strength when we meet at Christmastime.
Even though the schedule favors y’all (we have road games with Philly, New England and Indy, Y’all had New England and Philly at home, with only Jacksonville on the road), we’re both still winning more than we lose.
It’s going to come down to the next to last week of the season for the AFC North title, and it’s going to be epic.
As a football fan, I just have to say “isn’t this great?”
I fully expect that either you or us will be representing the AFC in Jacksonville.
Isn’t this great?
Yes, except all Steeler fans are thugs who will attack at the slightest provocation when you try to peacefully attend a game.
On a related topic, the media assholes who link the fight on the field before the game at Cleveland to all the other violence in sports over the last week and insinuate that it somehow caused the rest to happen. Yes, it sucked, but how is it anywhere near the same thing? One situation was two players built up to a pre-game frenzy, another was a player attacking the fan who threw a drink on him. The Steeler/Brown incident did not lead to a total breakdown of discipline either, like the college game that went awry.
Hey, way to take the partisan rivalry bullshit out of your post. Good job following my lead.
BTW, Getcher ass to Baltimore next year and go to the Stillers/Ravens game with me, then give me your opinion afterwards based upon, you know, actual experience and stuff.
Assuming that JLewis’ ankle is ok, I think it will be either us, your boys, or the Pats. Any 3 of those teams match up well with Indy, who I see as the only otherserious contender in the AFC.
I would be shocked if Baltimore was not the AFC wildcard representative,. and think that theyre as good as any other team in the conference. Now I just need those stinky Pats to lose a couple games. While our home record for AFCC games is less than stellar, I’d still much rather be in Heinz field in January than in Foxboro.
Hey Bubbadog, you out there? Go Chiefs (tonight)!
::wag::
When’s the Pats/Ravens game?
And I forgot to add, yes this is good times for the AFC north. Rivalries are a lot more fun when both teams are doing well.
Talk about regretting something…
Why, oh why, did I get impatient and sell my tickets (4) to the Steelers/Ravens game two weeks ago? Gah, another week or two and I’d have probably gotten 2-3 times what I got for them two weeks ago.
Not to ruin the partisan love-fest occuring here between the Steelers and Ravens fans but I’m really, really pulling for whomever is playing the Ravens week in and week out. Sorry, if I want to see a strong rivalry I’d rather see Cleveland make a return to a competitive position in the AFC North. I just don’t like you Ravens ilk. 
MeanJoe
Mouthbreather,
We play the Patsies this coming Sunday in Foxboro.
Mean Joe,
Poopie head!
Potty mouth! I’m telling mom!