OWINGS
MILLS, Md. (AP) - In preparation for his 17th NFL season, Ray Lewis
decided the best way to cope with his advancing age was to reduce his
waistline.
The 38-year-old linebacker began training camp with the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday
much lighter than his listed playing weight of 240 pounds. Lewis
wouldn't reveal his exact weight, but said he's never weighed less since
coming to Baltimore in 1996.
A 13-time Pro Bowl star, Lewis
has built a reputation through his punishing hits on quarterbacks and
running backs. Although that's always going to be his calling card,
Lewis figures he can be a better LB by losing some lbs.
"The
game is changing. The game isn't any more (about) 250, 260-pound
fullbacks," he said. "You don't have the offenses running the ball 25,
30, 40-plus times. Passing is just happening more."
Lewis has
maintained a high level of play throughout his career by adapting to
his surroundings and keeping his body in excellent shape. He may be
pushing 40, but he has no intention of coming off the field on a
third-and-9.
"People want to find mismatches here, there. So,
you just change with the game," Lewis said. "If everybody runs, who
can't run? So for me, that's kind of what my thought process was coming
into these next years. The lighter you get, the lighter you play, and
you just feel better. You feel better because you have the wisdom to go
off and do whatever you want to do. I just think playing a little
lighter is a lot smarter for me."
Lewis
has already played 222 NFL games, made 2,586 tackles and notched 40½
sacks. There's no telling how high those numbers will get before he
begins to think about retirement.
"I would be a very selfish
person if I thought about that day, because until passion leaves you for
the game, then that's impossible to think about," he reasoned. "To ever
think about walking away from what I've been born to do in one phase of
my life. I love the game too much, and I have a great connection to
Baltimore, and as long as I am playing and my body feels great, then
I'll keep doing it."
Lewis doesn't just play for the fun of
it. He's all about winning. He already has one Super Bowl ring, and he
spent the past 11 years striving to get another. His bid last season
fell tantalizingly short when the Ravens lost to New England 23-20 in
the AFC title game.
The narrow defeat was a crushing blow to
Lewis, but he used the occasion to put on a display of leadership that
resonates within the core of the team to this day.
"You're a
pro, you always think about what you could have done better, how you
felt, and quite frankly, that was not the best feeling," running back
Ray Rice said. "But we had a great leader pull us back together, and
that was No. 52. Without him in that locker room at that moment, I don't
think the gelling would have come back. Ray Lewis brought us together
as a team, and you'll see a team come out here with pride, ready to come
out here and practice."
The Ravens have plenty of coaches
but only one leader on the field: Lewis, their starting linebacker since
the team arrived from Cleveland. He is the voice of experience, perhaps
the one man on the roster capable of putting the proper perspective on
an agonizing loss.
"There is a lot of pain in this world, real pain.
People look toward us during games to be courageous in the times of
loss in big defeats like that," he said. "It's OK to still be a man.
It's OK to walk up and congratulate somebody else because they won.
Those are the things that I think make you appreciate every moment."
Ravens
linebacker Courtney Upshaw, the team's top draft pick in 2012, was a
6-year-old when Lewis made his Baltimore debut. The Lewis that Upshaw
saw Thursday was a far different version than the rookie who played for Ted Marchibroda so long ago.
"It's
just being blessed, that I've been able to maintain through my injuries
and through the ups and downs of this game," Lewis said. "I think it's a
credit to my work ethic and just everything that I've bought into over
the years. And every year I'm always trying to change, always trying to
come back better for my team."
AP Photo
