Ray Lewis to retire

Douglas Lee Jan 2, 2013 1:35 PM

Ray Lewis to retire after season
espn.go.com

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said Wednesday he plans to retire as the end of this season.

He told the team Wednesday that, “this is my last ride.’‘

Amazing player. May have covered up a murder.

Doug is IAOFM’s resident newsman and spelling czar. Follow him on Twitter @IAOFM

I was begging the Broncos to move up a couple spots and take Urlacher in 2000. We had the 10th pick and Urlacher wound up going 9th to the Bears. Instead, a week or two before the draft, we traded down to 15 with Baltimore for an extra second round pick. We would up taking Deltha O'Neal @ 15, candyass Ian Gold @ 40 and Kennoy Kennedy, who had the instincts of a tree stump, with the Ravens' pick @ 45. We had drafted Al Wilson the previous year, but Al had played both inside and outside LB @ Tennessee and he would have been equally outstanding as an OLB in the pros.

Posted by Yahmule on 2013-01-03 04:39:21

Mobley seemed to be on his way to an outstanding career. In 1997, his second year in the league, he earned first team All Pro honors. We used to stack him behind the DE on the weakside and his burst, quickness and natural leverage made him extremely difficult to block. Unfortunately, he tore up his knee early in the Broncos cursed 1999 season and he lost much of his explosiveness after that injury. Mobley was moved to the left side in 2002 so we could add Ian Gold's light-in-the-ass, no-impact, finesse game to the lineup. A couple years later, Mobley was out of the league @ 30. I think alcohol probably shortened his career by a few years. He was a big part of the championship teams, but bad luck probably kept him from being one of the best defensive players in team history.

Posted by Yahmule on 2013-01-03 04:27:06

I think he's grown emotionally almost as much as I have since then, so I'm sure we'd be able to talk it out like gentlemen.

TJ, they kicked us out after about 9 solid hours and we were somewhere in the 20's. I ended up catching pneumonia that weekend; woke up from a dead sleep (in the car) and thought I was having a heart attack. Drank it off and ignored it until we got home, but I'd probably die if I attempted the same thing now.

Posted by Nate Winkler on 2013-01-02 20:31:10

I agree with both of you, Blake and TJ. I liked Mobley a lot and this wasn't meant to knock his contribution to the Broncos. Just a fun "What if" exercise.

Posted by Justin Weber on 2013-01-02 17:33:14

Urlacher bugs me even more than Lewis. Of course I've spent time in New Mexico...

Posted by Truman Jensen on 2013-01-02 17:31:18

Damn, Nate. I can only imagine what you would have said to him after beer 42!

Posted by TJ Johnson on 2013-01-02 15:59:05

talk to the people that live in baltimore in the area where ray lewis committed his crime. there is no doubt with those people that he is guilty. i know one of them and have talked to him at length about it. that said he seems to have gotten his off the field life straightened out and i wish him the best in his after football life.

Posted by Troy Fairclough on 2013-01-02 14:58:41

And now that you put your name on the comment on a public website? :)

Posted by tunesmith on 2013-01-02 14:50:44

I took an ill-advised drunken road trip to Baltimore in 2002 when I was a barely-drinking age Marine stationed in NC. It was in the springtime and our intention became to attend an Orioles game, but they were out of town. There happened to be a parade going on later that morning in front of the patio bar we settled at (at 10am) however, and Ray Lewis was the Grand Marshall. While my two friends and I attempted (and failed)to drink all 41 beers they had on tap, I proceeded to shout "Murderer" at Ray as he went by in one of those moments where the crowd dulled at the exact wrong time. He made eye contact with me and I've been dreading this day ever since in fear that he'll hunt me down and make me pay now that he has some free time on his hands.

Posted by Nate Winkler on 2013-01-02 14:29:05

Justin,

Interesting point, although Mobley gave the Broncos some pretty above average play, I'd say, don't you agree?

Posted by TJ Johnson on 2013-01-02 14:25:50

Ray Lewis: white suit optional

Posted by TJ Johnson on 2013-01-02 14:24:08

Holy crap, I just looked at Ray's career stats on NFL.com and had no idea he was actually older than me and had been playing since 1996. He actually played for Baltimore in one game in 1996 against Elway and TD, though I'm having trouble finding any stats for him from the game. I don't like the guy, but that's how you do longevity at one of the most brutal positions on the field.

Posted by Jason Chestnut on 2013-01-02 14:19:48

Derrick Thomas.

Now we've got our own #58 putting skidmarks in opposing QBs' uniforms.

I can't say I'll miss Lewis. He has been a very visible icon of the NFL for quite a while now, but I'm ready to move on.

Posted by Jason Chestnut on 2013-01-02 14:10:18

Never liked Ray Lewis. Always seemed like an ass to me. Lots of great LBs out there (non-Broncos) that I admired greatly. Butkus, Singletary, Urlacher, Zach Thomas, Junior Seau, Willie Lanier - to name just a few. Wouldn't want Lewis on my team. Nice that he's only got a game or two left.

Posted by bradley on 2013-01-02 14:03:47

Mobley

Posted by Blake Kush on 2013-01-02 14:03:28

Broncos took Mobley ahead of Ray Lewis in the 1996 draft (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1.... I didn't realize that. Granted, we had Romanowski and hindsight is 20/20, but it's fun to imagine what could have been if we had Ray.

Posted by Justin Weber on 2013-01-02 13:44:55

Some say Ray's play was murderous.

Posted by RSH, Esq. on 2013-01-02 13:39:08

Ray sure killed it in this league...

Posted by John Tomasik on 2013-01-02 13:37:33

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