00:00In a game of gladiators, Ray Lewis was perhaps the most feared and respected,
00:05the epitome of leadership and the hardened soul of the Baltimore Ravens for decades.
00:09Today, we're going to take a look at just how good Ray Lewis was actually.
00:15Raymond Jenkins was born in Bartow, Florida. Yeah, you heard that right, Raymond Jenkins.
00:20His mother was just 16 when he was born and his father was incarcerated for most of his life.
00:25A young Ray became the father figure of the house for his five siblings.
00:28That passion for family and disgust for his father's lack of value in it led him to change
00:33his last name to Lewis, name of his mother's boyfriend. When every corner of Lakeland,
00:37Florida, the town he grew up in, crawled with criminals, it was Lewis' main goal to get his
00:41mother out of there, to take care of her, and that motivated him to stay away from the streets.
00:46As a kid, his competitive drive in neighborhood football games under streetlights led him to
00:49be a dominant player underneath the Friday night lights as well. As a sophomore in high school,
00:53he got on the field mid-season and never looked back, playing safety, as he was considered too
00:58small to be a linebacker, a claim that followed him throughout his career. Lewis only knew one
01:02speed on the field, full go. And that served him well as he played on both sides of the ball as a
01:07senior, running the rock on offense and running sideline to sideline as a background defense.
01:12As rare as a talent as there was, Lewis overcame his small size with intensity and instincts,
01:17becoming an All-American linebacker and a state champion wrestler on top of that.
01:21After Florida State, his dream school, chose someone else over him,
01:24Ray was actually the very last recipient of a scholarship to the University of Miami in 1993.
01:30With a team as dominant as the Miami Hurricanes were in the 90s, freshmen didn't typically see
01:34the field. Well, unless that freshman is Ray Lewis. Cain's officials told him he wouldn't play early
01:39on, and he wasn't even included in the media guide. Lewis didn't need a fire lit, but now he had one.
01:45He was inserted into a week three game against Colorado due to injury and had 17 tackles to help
01:50Miami win a 35-29 thriller on his debut. He played every game for the remainder of his college career,
01:56and he finished his freshman year as a starter for the final five games and being named to the
02:01freshman All-American team. As a sophomore, he led the Big East with 152 tackles, breaking the
02:06Canes' single-season tackle record, and was named an All-American. As a junior, he eclipsed that by
02:11breaking his own record with 160 tackles, leading the number one defense in the nation, and falling just
02:16short of a national championship. Ray Lewis' time at the U was historic, but the NFL was calling,
02:22and he was listening. He passed up his senior year to enter the 1996 NFL draft. It would be insane to
02:27have the first two draft picks in your franchise's existence be Hall of Famers. Well, that's exactly
02:33what the inaugural Baltimore Ravens did when they selected Jonathan Ogden and Ray Lewis in the first
02:38round. With the fourth overall pick, they took Ogden. With the 26th overall pick, they took Ray.
02:43Many scouts loved Lewis, but hated his lack of size, saying it would limit his potential. Boy,
02:48were they wrong. In his first game with no leaders on the field and a complete lack of talent around
02:53him with the upstart Ravens, Ray Lewis took the reins immediately. He was already the heart and soul
02:58of the Baltimore Ravens in his NFL debut. Against the Oakland Raiders, Lewis and his legendary purple
03:04number 52 were all over the field. He finished with seven tackles and stole a pick right off of a
03:09Raiders' hands. That interception sealed the first win in Ravens history, and it was only right it was
03:14due to the play of Ray Lewis. The remainder of the 96th season was a struggle for the Ravens,
03:19but Ray shined through. The young Ravens finished 4-12, while Lewis finished the season with 100-plus
03:25tackles, 15 for loss, two sacks, and a nomination to the NFL All-Rookie team. In 97, just his second year
03:31in the league, Lewis cemented himself as the premier linebacker in football. He recorded 184 tackles and a
03:38still-standing NFL record of 156 solo tackles. The Ravens improved into a middle-of-the-pack team
03:44where they would stay for the next two years, while Lewis was an absolute force, making three
03:48straight Pro Bowls from 97 to 99 and leading the league in tackles in 97 and 99. Then, the year 2000.
03:56Ray was always the best player on the field, and he made the players around him better. He brought out
04:00their passion and raised their play, Rex Ryan, longtime NFL coach, said of Lewis. And 2000 was the symbol of
04:06everything Ray Lewis stood for. The Ravens were loaded on defense, with Rod Woodson, Chris McAllister,
04:11and Dwayne Starks in the secondary, Sam Adams and Tony Siragusa clogging up the middle, Peter
04:16Boulware and Rob Burnett on the edge, and of course, their leader, Ray Lewis, inspiring this special
04:21group. What they did is considered arguably the greatest defensive season in NFL history. Firstly,
04:26they forced 49 turnovers in 16 games. The Ravens opened the season up, forcing three shutouts in the
04:32first six games, on the way to a 5-1 record. The Lewis-led defense kept the Ravens in every game,
04:37including winning two, when the offense was kept out of the end zone for five straight games.
04:42Five straight! They had no help at all from their offensive counterpart, yet they still held opposing
04:47offenses to the lowest amount of points allowed in 16-game schedule history. They averaged just 10
04:52points allowed per game and finished with four shutouts, just one shy of the Steel Curtain's 1976
04:57record. Running the ball on them? Forget about it. They are the only team ever to hold opponents
05:02under 1,000 rushing yards over an entire season. Ray Lewis, with 137 tackles, two interceptions,
05:09and three fumble recoveries, won NFL Defensive Player of the Year. But the year became even more
05:14special in the playoffs. They suffocated the AFC, allowing just one touchdown in their first three
05:19playoff games, all while being wildcard road warriors. In the rubber match with the Titans in the
05:24divisional round, it was Lewis's clutch 50-yard interception TD that sealed the game. They met
05:29the Giants in Super Bowl XXXV, where Lewis and the Ravens defense put together one of the most
05:34dominant performances we've ever seen. They completely shut down the Giants, and scored
05:38more points on defense than the Giants could on offense. It ended up with a 34-7 victory, in which
05:44Ray Lewis was named Super Bowl MVP. It was the storybook script that Lewis dreamed of,
05:49from a dirt-poor Lakeland kid to Super Bowl MVP. The biggest thing he became known for,
05:55other than his fiery passion, came the next season. In an effort to fire up the 01 Ravens,
05:59Ray Lewis decided to bring a dance created by childhood friend Kirby Lee to life, and the
06:04squirrel dance was born. Hot in Here by Nelly hits the stadium PA, and the NFL's most vicious
06:10gladiator bursts out of the tunnel, screaming and sliding from left to right. The dance was meant
06:15to give a spark, and it turned into a battle cry. It ignited the fans. It pumped up his Ravens
06:20teammates. Even opponents made sure to watch Ray Lewis dance. It meant they were about to lace it
06:25up for 60 minutes with one of the greatest to ever do it. The Ravens finished the 2001 season with a
06:3010-6 record, and Lewis was named to his fifth straight Pro Bowl and third straight first-team
06:35All-Pro. The Ravens beat the Dolphins in the wildcard round before eventually losing to a divisional
06:39round matchup with the Steelers. Lewis' 2002 season was derailed due to injury, and the Ravens
06:44struggled without their leader, going 7-9 on the year. In 03, he won his second Defensive Player
06:49of the Year award, and the Ravens got back on track, making the playoffs again, though they
06:53were bounced in the first round by the Titans. 04 was more of the same for Ray, another first-team
06:58All-Pro season, and we think Lewis inspired Madden to create the hit stick when he graced the cover of
07:04Madden 2005. Unfortunately, Ray was not immune to the Madden curse, as his 05 season was cut short due
07:10to injury. In 06, Lewis banded together another great set of players on the Ravens' stingy defense,
07:15including Terrell Suggs, Bart Scott, and another emerging superstar for the Ravens in safety,
07:20Ed Reed. After leading the league in every defensive category, Lewis and the Ravens met
07:24their ultimate rival in the playoffs, the league's best offense in Peyton Manning and the Colts.
07:29Lewis shut down the game's most prolific passer, keeping the Colts out of the endzone,
07:33but it didn't matter as they fell short to the eventual Super Bowl champions, 15-6.
07:37While Ray Lewis continued his great form in 07, being selected for another Pro Bowl,
07:42the Ravens struggled. However, in 2008, they returned to dominance under a new head coach,
07:47John Harbaugh. Ray Lewis made the first All-Pro team again for the first time since 04,
07:51and the Ravens made a deep playoff run, falling moments short of the Super Bowl with a loss to
07:56the Steelers in the conference championship. This led to another moment that would help cement
08:00Lewis' legacy. That offseason, Ray Lewis would be a free agent for the first time in his career.
08:04Courted by the Cowboys and the Chargers, it took all of 10 days for Lewis to realize,
08:09I couldn't be anywhere else. This is me. It's not about the money, it's more about the legacy.
08:14I think it was a true recipe for leadership to go down with the ship. Through all our down years,
08:18making sure my city knows, I'll be here forever.
08:21Ray Lewis was a Raven, more than anybody else was. He exemplified their franchise and refused to play
08:26anywhere else as he signed a 7-year, $44.5 million contract, very much a hometown discount. Though,
08:32he didn't know it at the time, that his loyalty would be rewarded. To be expected,
08:37Lewis outplayed that contract, averaging over 100 tackles and making the Pro Bowl for each of the
08:42next three seasons, including his final All-Pro nod in 2009. But the Ravens just could not get over
08:47the hump in the playoffs, losing twice in the divisional round and once in the conference
08:51championship in 2011. Now a 17-year vet, Lewis missed 10 games in 2012 with two torn triceps. He didn't
08:58have much left in the tank. He came back for the playoffs when no one expected he would,
09:02then made an announcement that no one expected. This would be his last ride.
09:06In what would be Ray's final home game, the Ravens beat the Colts 24-9 in the wildcard round. On the
09:12last play, Lewis lined up in victory and led the crowd in one last squirrel dance routine. The crowd
09:18went wild. You could feel the goosebumps through the TV. Then, the Ravens did what no one expected.
09:23They went on a run. It would take a miracle. A mile-high miracle. Down by seven, Joe Flacco
09:28threw up a prayer. It was answered by Jacoby Jones streaking down the field for a game-tying
09:3370-yard touchdown. Lewis then captained two shutdown overtime periods over his arch-rival
09:38Peyton Manning to beat the Broncos in double overtime. The next week, the Ravens throttled Tom
09:43Brady's Patriots in the AFC Championship game, avenging their last two postseason losses. In the same
09:48game, Lewis re-aggravated his torn triceps. But if you thought that was keeping Ray Lewis out of
09:52Super Bowl XLVII, you haven't been listening. It was his last ride, and he was going out
09:57on his shield. In the Super Bowl, the Ravens dominated to start the game, jumping out to
10:01a 28-6 lead. Then, after a strange power outage, the Niners came surging back to make it a one-score
10:07game. It all came down to one last play. It would take one last heroic goal-line stand.
10:13The Ravens sent the house as Colin Kaepernick lofted a ball into the end zone. After being in
10:17the air for what felt like an eternity, that ball fell harmlessly to the ground. Ray Lewis would
10:22go out a Super Bowl champion. After 17 years, Lewis retired, the only 2,000-tackle player
10:28in NFL history, and the NFL record holder with over 1,500 solo tackles. He went to the Pro
10:33Bowl in three different decades, 13 times in total, and made seven first All-Pro teams.
10:38His 31 interceptions is top five all-time among linebackers. He won two NFL Defensive Player
10:44of the Year awards, becoming just one of eight players to ever accomplish the feat. Just four
10:48years after his playing days ended, he got the call. He was a unanimous first ballot Hall
10:53of Famer. How good was Ray Lewis actually? He's the greatest Raven to ever live, the greatest
10:58middle linebacker to ever live, and more importantly, the greatest leader to ever play the game.
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