Ray Lewis says Ravens should dedicate offseason to Derrick Henry

During his playing career and even in the years since his retirement whenever Hall of Fame linebacker and Baltimore Ravens legend Ray Lewis spoke, his words would be filled with both wisdom and inspiration. His fiery and charismatic personality made him an icon and his intense work ethic and passion for greatness made him a legendary player and more importantly, a leader.

Lewis spent nearly two decades in the league—17 to be exact and all with the Ravens—and during his time with the team, he experienced pretty much every high and every low imaginable. He led the Ravens to a pair of Superbowl championships—2000 and 2012—won defensive player of the year twice, made 13 Pro Bowls, and recorded over 2,000 career tackles. So, when the legend speaks, the fans, the team, and the organization as a whole listen and hang on every word.

He recently made an appearance on “The Lounge” podcast and shared with team reporters that the 2020 Ravens should be approaching the 2020 offseason like the 2012 squad that won it all with the focal point being on the team or specific player that ended their playoff run the year prior.

For that team it was Tom Brady and the New England Patriots who had narrowly escaped the 2011 AFC Championship with a 23-20 victory thanks to a missed chip shot field goal by Billy Cundiff that would’ve sent the game into overtime with the Ravens riding high off some late-game momentum. Many believe that the team that fell short the year before was the more talented roster than the one that went all the way the following season.

Lewis gave one of his most famous postgame locker room speeches following the gut-wrenching defeat that the following year’s team used as a rallying cry. They returned to Gillette Stadium a year later to face the same opponent with the same stakes but this time around, they got the job done and advanced to Superbowl 47 with a commanding 28-13 victory.

“We have to get better all the way across the board to finish it next time,” Lewis said via the official team website. “And it’s the same things we went through. Whether it was ’99 and didn’t make the playoffs, or whether it was 2011 and a kick way, a catch away, a tackle away.

The 2019 Ravens were the hottest team in the league led by MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson and a revolutionary rushing attack. They were riding a 12-game winning streak heading into the postseason with the No.1 overall seed and home-field advantage. Pundits believed that the Ravens were the favorites to represent the AFC in the Superbowl and that they were on a collision course to face the Kansas City Chiefs in the conference title game.

However, after a well-deserved bye week, the Ravens welcomed a hot Tennessee Titans team that fought tooth and nail to punch their playoff ticket and were coming off a huge upset of the reigning champion New England Patriots on wildcard weekend. It was a bitter irony that the most dominant rushing team in the league got steamrolled in their own building by Titans’ running back Derrick Henry to the tune of 195 rushing yards and a passing touchdown pass in a 28-12 divisional-round loss.

“If I’m anybody that’s playing linebacker right now, I’m saying, ‘Listen here man, Derrick Henry got to deal with me,'” Lewis said on “The Lounge Podcast”. “That’s a personal thing for me. I don’t like the way it went down and I got to see him. I’m going to dedicate this whole offseason to the person that ended my dreams. That’s what we did with (Tom) Brady. Prepare ourselves enough to get me back to that one position and lock that door and throw away the key. You ain’t getting out of here this time. It’s the process of never getting comfortable with losing.”

General Manager Eric DeCosta and the rest of the Ravens’ front office seemed like they have been extremely motivated to make sure that nothing like that happens again with some of the moves that they made to bolster their front seven. In the draft, they picked up a pair of athletic linebackers in Patrick Queen and Malik Harrison who are expected to contribute right away. The acquisition of Pro Bowl defensive end Calais Campbell via trade, Derek Wolfe in free agency, and Justin Madubuike through the draft to go along with holdover Brandon Williams gives them one of the scariest and deepest defensive lines in the game.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the entire league is dealing with having to conduct a virtual offseason program and will likely have a condensed training camp as well as a shortened preseason, but for the Ravens, the mission remains the same heading into the 2020 season. That mission is to improve upon their strong season from a year ago and not finish what they started because that time and opportunity has passed but to embark on a new journey and see it through to the end.

The Ravens don’t have to wait until the postseason to get another crack at Henry and the Titans since the two teams face off in the regular season. I’m sure every player on the roster, not just the returners on defense, will have November 22nd circled on their calendars and saved in their phones because that’s when rematch is set to take place in Week 11 back at M&T Bank Stadium. However, the ultimate goal isn’t to just get revenge one player or one team, it is to be the last team standing and holding the Vince Lombardi trophy as purple confetti falls from the sky.

“What you do next defines who you are. I lost to Pittsburgh, I lost to New England, I lost to a lot of people. The key is, you’ve got to be okay with knowing that you’re in a business that you won’t win every game. That’s factual. Kick yourself and let’s go back to work. There’s going to be one champ. There’s going to be one person crowned at the end of this year. When it’s your year, it’s your year.”

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