Ray Lewis: "Rex can talk all he want to, Rex ain't putting on pads."
As far as Ray Lewis is concerned, the Jets can keep talking.
They can follow Rex Ryan’s lead all they want – flapping their gums all the way to their predicted postseason. But they better be careful, he cautioned.
“The only danger is writing a check that you can’t cash,” the Baltimore Ravens linebacker said. “I mean, Rex can talk all he want to, Rex ain't putting on pads. So that’s pressure on his players. And if his players respond to that, then they’re going to respond. But at the same time, you put that bull’s eye on your team’s head and they doing all their talking: They’re in the Super Bowl, they’re in the Super Bowl. OK. That’s fine. Do what you do, but come Monday night, no matter what you do, the whistle’s got to blow and somebody’s got to get hit.”
During his Thursday morning conference call with the New York media, Lewis talked candidly about Monday night’s season opener between the Jets and Ravens at the New Meadowlands Stadium. He didn’t shy away from talking about Ryan, his former defensive coordinator. Nor did he hesitate when asked if the thought the Jets could “cash the check” they’ve written with their constant chatter.
“I don’t know. That’s for the Jets to deal with that pressure for the rest of the year,” he said. “I don’t have to do nothing but deal with my team which is the Ravens and get us ready to play Monday night. So whatever check they done wrote – saying they’re this and they’re that – we’ll see Monday night.”
Lewis did praise the Jets running game, though, highlighting their explosive ability to dictate game tempo. "You go back to the last two playoff games they made Cincinnati and San Diego’s defense as if they didn’t want to play football anymore,” he said.
“…Whether that’s success on their part or the team that they played, but the bottom line is, they ran the ball the way that they wanted to run it and if you watch the formula this year, they’re kind of doing the same thing.”
Lewis, the linchpin of Baltimore’s defense, lauded LaDainian Tomlinson the most, citing the running back’s finesse and fortitude.
“LT to me is always going to be LT. Everybody else talks about ‘LT has lost his step’ and this and that. LT to me is the probably one of the greatest to ever do it and the greatest to ever keep doing it,” he said. “And that by itself to me means that you have to prepare a certain way when you’re getting ready to play a guy like this. Don’t ever get caught up in whatever anybody else is saying: ‘Well, LT don’t have it no more.’ I’m telling you, LT is probably one of the top three/four best backs in the game right now.”
As for all the hype surrounding the return of Revis Island to Florham Park, Lewis said he couldn’t care less.
“I understand the importance in getting him signed because he’s a key part of what they do on defense, but for us, I don’t care nothing about that,” he said. “…Darrelle Revis put his pants on one leg at a time. He’s not a machine. He’s a simple man and he has to deal with everything we’re willing to bring to the table as well. So bottom line is hopefully he ready to play. Hopefully his 35-day layoff didn’t hurt.”
Lewis also called out QB Mark Sanchez for his passing game: “We don’t even have to guess. All we have to do is look at the film. He struggles a lot when he has to throw the ball a lot. That’s just not his forte.”
