Kris Jenkins on Ray Lewis: "I just hope this time he doesn't hide behind the other linebacker that's taking all the hits for him." Pow!
ordered mine yesterday. the rex in 80's logo style makes the shirt along with the immortal snack line that we have been saying in our apartment for the last two weeks everytime we want to eat.
Except that's completely false......?? Lewis is head banging on every snap. If you wanted to say that Ngata and Greg keep him clean, fine. But he doesn't "hide" behind any of his LB's. He's the leader of that group and the first to the ball every snap.
Exactly. That's the way their scheme works. The Jets run a similar scheme. Most 3-4 teams have similar approaches, but the Jets and Ravens (for good reason) similar styles of the 3-4 base have a much larger emphasis on using one LB to help free up the other to make plays. The Jets are set-up to have the ILB's be interchangeable due to the players they have at the moment. While Harris is more similar to Lewis (than Bart) and has Ray's role more often than not, Scott takes it sometimes in the Jets defense. This is because Harris is more versatile than Ray Lewis. Lewis is a bit undersized for the 3-4. Between that and his power within the organization, his role is extremely defined in Baltimore as the MIKE LB. He never plays the WILL in that system. In that setup as the MIKE, he basically is protected and is made to run free to make plays. Ray Lewis as much as I dislike him, was and still is to an extent a great football player, and it's not that he doesn't take on blocks sometimes, but the approach is to keep offensive blockers away from him. However, he again, does not fit the 3-4 system size wise, which is why he is set up to be protected. It's not a problem for them as long as the WILL doesn't mind not having the the greatest numbers or being as flashy all while taking the brunt of the up front punishment. Obviously Vilma has hampering and lingering issues and plays through them (quite well, but they still hold him back from what he could be in the 4-3 for the player he is), but if he were still around he'd have to be what Lewis is, due to his size and play style for the 3-4. It's exactly why Belichick stated during Vilma's draft year that he would've taken him and he could play the 3-4. The thing is guys like that just have to be protected more because of their strengths and weaknesses. Teams just prefer the bigger guys for the 3-4 because of the versatility they present. Trust me, the guys in the league know how Ray himself plays and how the Ravens play their defense around Ray ever since they switched back to a base 3-4 a few years ago.
Do you have any idea how quick and agile Jenkins is? He may be huge but he moves incredibly well. It's why he's such a standout physical freak among a sport filled with mostly all physical freaks.
Big Wood 09/12/2010 09:23 PM ET I just heard one of the best pre-game speeches ever! Damn....tomorrow needs to get here already!!! I miss Hard Knocks, and I love Rex Ryan
When the hell would that scenario happen? When Ray Lewis is playing safety and Kris Jenkins is playing WR or RB? Use some common sense.
