Stark raven mad?

Ray Lewis is out to prove Baltimore's doubters wrong

Your first thought is to tell Ray Lewis he is nuts, but you have seen this man imitate the Tazmanian Devil on the field, and you think it probably isn't a good idea to say such an inflammatory thing.

Still, standing in front of his locker while while he adjusts his suit after last Friday night's preseason game in Philadelphia, you are tempted to question the man's sanity when he says: "We're definitely going to the playoffs."

Part of this attitude -- maybe a lot of it -- is due to a player's machismo. Lewis, the all-world linebacker for the roster-ravaged Baltimore Ravens, freely admits he'd never enter a season thinking it's a rebuilding year, or thinking his team could be in for a lousy year because it has a plethora of new faces. Clearly, newness is what the Ravens live with every day. When it opens the season Sept. 8 against Carolina, Baltimore will have as many as 16 different starters from the 22 it fielded on Super Bowl Sunday a year and a half ago.

Lewis got one of the last big paydays from the First National Bank of Modell this summer when he signed a seven-year, $50-million contract extension, which included a record $19-million signing bonus. The five-time All-Pro said he wasn't deterred by the massive rebuilding project the Ravens are undergoing, though in truth he had little choice but to stay in Baltimore; the Ravens would have put every contractual tag in the book on Lewis to prevent him from leaving while in his prime. But watching him cavort on the sidelines late in the meaningless 15-14 win over the Eagles was interesting. To Lewis, the game mattered. Lewis was chiding Donovan McNabb in a fifth-grade manner, in a we-won-you-lost-ha-ha sort of way. And loving it.

Ravens coach Brian Billick noticed. "Ray has embraced the challenge of taking the young guys on his back," Billick said. "He can't look behind him and see an old pro like Rod Woodson anymore. He can't look in front of him for Rob Burnett's leadership on the defensive line. He can't look to the sidelines to Shannon Sharpe for his leadership. He knows so many of these kids are looking to him for leadership, and he's providing it."

Woodson is patrolling safety for the Raiders. Burnett signed as a free agent with Miami, as did Sharpe with Denver. Lewis has adopted guys like Will Demps, who, stunningly, could start at strong safety after a terrific preseason. The 5-foot-11, 210-pound Demps went to San Diego State and played football pretty anonymously there. No team scouted him extensively, and he neither went to the combine nor was drafted. His phone didn't ring with a free-agent offer on draft weekend. But the Ravens eventually called in hopes that he'd fill a gaping need at safety. Five of the six safeties in training camp were rookies. Demps' aggression quickly won Lewis over. "These are the kind of guys we're going to win with," Lewis said. Demps and first-rounder Ed Reed are likely to be Baltimore's starting safeties next week.

"It's a fun role," Lewis said. "I can joke and clown around with these guys, but they know what to do when it's time to strap it on. I think I've done more teaching than I ever have. I've become a better coach. That's what I feel like sometimes."

Add to this the fact that the Ravens have changed from the only pro defense Lewis has known, the 4-3, to the 3-4. He was the key cog and signal-caller in former defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis' unit. With Marvin Lewis taking the same job in Washington this year, Ray Lewis has had to adjust to playing inside linebacker in a 3-4 under new coordinator Mike Nolan. "Me and Mike get along great," said Ray Lewis. "He's giving me a lot more freedom in this defense than I had in the 4-3. I love this defense. I'm going to blitz more. I'm going to take a lot more liberties."

Dangerous thought. Ray Lewis, free-lancer. Ray Lewis, the East Coast Seau.

Now back to the playoff prediction. Lewis doesn't quite know how it will happen, because he doesn't know how the offense will perform yet. And he doesn't know quite which unknown defender -- Demps, fellow inside 'backer Edgerton Hartwell, outside linebacker Adelius Thomas, defensive end Anthony Weaver -- will plug the holes well enough to help him build another great defense. He says he just knows. The problem, however, is this: With consensus Super Bowl favorite Pittsburgh in the AFC Central, and only two wild cards available this year because realignment has increased the number of divisions per conference from three to four, Baltimore seems fated to fight the strong AFC East and unpredictable AFC West for the league's two additional playoff berths.

Doesn't matter to Lewis. Don't tell him how hard the delivery was. Just tell him you got the baby born.

"The league is wide open," Lewis said. "I hear people say, 'Well, the Ravens are so young and unproven.' People don't know us yet. But our defense will give people trouble. We're young and athletic. It's trouble handling a young and athletic defense. I've heard what the experts say. They say we're way down. They say, 'Look out for Cincinnati and Cleveland.' Cincinnati? Cleveland? Are you kidding me?"

We'll see.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Check out his Monday Morning Quarterback column every -- and you should see this coming -- Monday morning.

 

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