Ray Ray The 2nd Smartest Defensive Player?

[minford]

.. and Zach Thomas beat out Ray by two votes. I don't know enough about Zach Thomas so I don't feel qualified to judge Ray smarter than him, but if he is, he must be one smart cookie at reading an offense.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/stor...&id=3463857

Regardless of what you think, being called the 2nd smartest defender in all the NFL is one big compliment.

Lastly, Ed made honorable mention.

[Bazard]

i can believe it Zack never was very athletic compared to the likes of Ray Lewis or Derrick Brooks. He was never the biggest guy either but he always found the football. Ray had amazing ability but Zack had to always be the smarter player to dominate his position and be named in the class of the elite of his time.

[b-morebrotha]

.. and Zach Thomas beat out Ray by two votes. I don't know enough about Zach Thomas so I don't feel qualified to judge Ray smarter than him, but if he is, he must be one smart cookie at reading an offense.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/stor...&id=3463857

Regardless of what you think, being called the 2nd smartest defender in all the NFL is one big compliment.

Lastly, Ed made honorable mention.

I cant speak on zach either but i havent exactly heard of networks hyping up A Big Zach Thomas/Peyton Manning cerebral Match-up like they have with Ray.

[Ravens_Pwn12]

zack isnt even smart what the heck

[rayvenfan_52]

If Zach Thomas was so smart then why does Ray Lewis have more Solo tackles and Interceptions? Ray Lewis is the only person to ever go up and up with Peyton Manning keeping them to only field goals. I say Lewis beats Thomas in smartest defensive player.

[march4superbowl]

Who cares about Zack Thomas? Ray Lewis is the best linebacker ive ever seen for his time and the franchise needs to honor him by letting him finish out his career here in B-More, when he feels it's time...

[theFRANCHISE]

It's interesting to note that the Ravens are the only team with THREE active players that earned nominations from the thirty head coaches that participated in the survey.

Nick Griesen received one nomination, which a lot of people probably missed.

In all, the Ravens' three players received a combined 8 nominations, meaning that 8 of the 30 participating head coaches think that the Ravens have the smartest defensive player in the league.

And remember: coaches weren't allowed to vote for their own player, in the interest of fairness.

[rayvenfan_52]

The organizations not going to let Ray Lewis go. Its true hes approaching the end of his contract but Ozzie said if they dont come to an agreement by the time its up hes going to outbid all the other offers to keep Ray. Ray spanks Thomas hands down. Thomas may have more tackles altogether but Ray has more tackles he has made by himself.

[ck335]

who the first smartest defensive player

[ragnorok99]

Zach's slower than Ray and doesn't have the same sideline-to-sideline ability, so he's gotta know a few things to get in position for all those tackles.

They're both brilliant players, very smart and very close to each other in terms of intelligence. That Zach Thomas is listed one spot ahead of Ray is nowhere near being an insult to Ray, even though I would put them on par with each other as far as smarts go.

[Ravens_Pwn12]

how does zack have more career tackles than lewis?

[b-morebrotha]

Most of you guys are talking about ability not smarts. Majority of us know that ray is a student of the game cuz we see him all the time Z.T. we hardly ever see. So we cant really speak on his study habits. For all we know he study like a law student but just cant perform to the high caliber that ray does

[MDmid14]

Zack Thomas is a certified beast at LB, just as Ray is. Both study the game day and night and excel at their position like no other. WOuld I give Ray the edge? Of course. But I can see how Thomas might take it. He has never had a complete superstar defense around him and yet he still amasses a huge amount of tackles. So even though Ray can read a running back just as well, Zack has to fight through more blocks to get there. All-in-all I think the article did justice to Ray (its the only one that spends time talking about the guy in second place) and I'm not at all dissappointed.

[raven43]

If Zach Thomas was so smart then why does Ray Lewis have more Solo tackles and Interceptions? Ray Lewis is the only person to ever go up and up with Peyton Manning keeping them to only field goals. I say Lewis beats Thomas in smartest defensive player.

in 2004 the patriots held the colts to 3 pionts in the playoffs.

Also: there should be no dispute at all, Ray lewis is in the discusion of best backers ever. He beats out Thomas in every catogory, hands down.

[geo]

Zack Thomas is a certified beast at LB, just as Ray is. Both study the game day and night and excel at their position like no other. WOuld I give Ray the edge? Of course. But I can see how Thomas might take it. He has never had a complete superstar defense around him and yet he still amasses a huge amount of tackles. So even though Ray can read a running back just as well, Zack has to fight through more blocks to get there. All-in-all I think the article did justice to Ray (its the only one that spends time talking about the guy in second place) and I'm not at all dissappointed.

Rigth that is amazing

[rayvenfan_52]

I still think Zach is not better then Ray. Thomas has had more people help him or him help them tackle backs. Most of the time its him helpin whoever got to the person trying to take him down. Ray was doing most of that kinda work by himself.

[neepo13]

If Zach Thomas was so smart then why does Ray Lewis have more Solo tackles and Interceptions? Ray Lewis is the only person to ever go up and up with Peyton Manning keeping them to only field goals. I say Lewis beats Thomas in smartest defensive player.

Ray is much more atheletic and he's faster. Zach Thomas is all brains.

[rayvenfan_52]

Ray is much more atheletic and he's faster. Zach Thomas is all brains.

Athleticism can only take as far as what you can do mentally. But then again I guess being more athletic can have its advantages. Still I think Ray is the better LB.

[smashmouth]

Ray is better, The Ravens have had a very good Defense because of Him, that only makes tackles come alot harder. Thomas on the other hand has been the main guy, He's making alot of tackles because no other guy for them was that good.Not taking nothing away from Thomas because He has been a very solid LB, but you wont hear ANYONE say that Thomas is a better LB then Ray, maybe he is a little smarter? But He's not and never will be considered on the same Level as R.Lewis.

[Lets_Go_Joe]

they are saying that hes better because of what? raybeats him in ints and sacks and solo tackles, they went on overall tackles it seems, ray created a dominant defense with a swagger, thomas has not done that, everyone runs on the fins so of course he will get tons of tackles. Teams hardly ever run for more then 100 yrds a game on us so it forces ray to play coverage more times probably, im no zach thomas major but it seems like this is a biased report to me. I guess it could be biased reading by me also, depending on how you look at it, oh well

[b-morebrotha]

Ray is much more atheletic and he's faster. Zach Thomas is all brains.

I believe that to be true

[rayvenfan_52]

I dont believe it to be all true. Teams pass more then they run on us. They probably run after every 2-4 passes. Whereas most teams will constantly run on the Dolphins because their front 4 isnt as solid as ours.

[Ravens_Pwn12]

plan and simple ray lewis is the best.

[FerrariFan87]

.. and Zach Thomas beat out Ray by two votes. I don't know enough about Zach Thomas so I don't feel qualified to judge Ray smarter than him, but if he is, he must be one smart cookie at reading an offense.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/stor...&id=3463857

Regardless of what you think, being called the 2nd smartest defender in all the NFL is one big compliment.

Lastly, Ed made honorable mention.

Ed probably would have been higher up the list, but he takes A LOT of chances back there in the secondary, which I love but it also gets us beat on occasion

[b-morebrotha]

Ed probably would have been higher up the list, but he takes A LOT of chances back there in the secondary, which I love but it also gets us beat on occasion

He gets beat mainly by the qb's in this division (ben-heinz/Carson-chad&tj) cuz they know he takes the risk All the time (along w/ peyton manning). Eds gotta catch on to that, which is likely why he slipped on the list. Like how ray used to over persue but adjusted

[rastaman831226]

Zack Thomas smarter than Ray Lewis? Whatta crock of S___!!!!! Zack Thomas calls signals for a pretty standard 4-3 defence; nothing new and not too many surprises coming out of this formation. Ray Lewis, on the other hand, calls the signals in for the most complicated defensive formations in the history of professional football. Lewis must read the offensive formation and call the defensive line formations (either 3/4 or 4/3), the linebacker sets and often the secondary formations. He is the player/coach of the defence. If Zack Thomas had the same responsibilities, his head would explode.

[Kwolf52]

Zack Thomas smarter than Ray Lewis? Whatta crock of S___!!!!! Zack Thomas calls signals for a pretty standard 4-3 defence; nothing new and not too many surprises coming out of this formation. Ray Lewis, on the other hand, calls the signals in for the most complicated defensive formations in the history of professional football. Lewis must read the offensive formation and call the defensive line formations (either 3/4 or 4/3), the linebacker sets and often the secondary formations. He is the player/coach of the defence. If Zack Thomas had the same responsibilities, his head would explode.

Thats a little strong of a statement, but i agree with you in general. Rex Ryan has a very complicated system compared to other defensive schemes around the league.

Zach Thomas is a very smart defensive player. He has had to be, even from his days playing college ball in Texas. He is undersized and slower than your prototype LB, so he had to be smart and instinctive to make a name for himself. Ray Lewis is stronger, faster, and more passionate than Zach Thomas by a long shot. The main reason that I have to give Ray Lewis the edge on smarts is because of the sound bytes that you here from both players. Ray Lewis is constantly correctly calling the opposing offenses plays, while Zach Thomas is less vocal and is usually seen in pursuit. That does not mean that he didn't know the play, but I think that he just has really good instincts.

Again I restate someone else's point, how many times have you seen them hyping up a cerebral battle between Zach Thomas and anyone?

[rastaman831226]

Thank you for the general agreement, however, it's an insult to Ray Lewis' stature as the NFL's premier MLB to compare his knowlege of the game to Zack Thomas. Calling signals for an infrequently blitzing Chicago Bears defence and calling signals for a Baltimore Ravens defence is akin to comparing fractions to calculus. And that's no exaggeration.

[RoflDogs]

Ed probably would have been higher up the list, but he takes A LOT of chances back there in the secondary, which I love but it also gets us beat on occasion

like the miami game..... last year....... which wasn't all of his fault though...

[geo]

It's interesting to note that the Ravens are the only team with THREE active players that earned nominations from the thirty head coaches that participated in the survey.

Nick Griesen received one nomination, which a lot of people probably missed.

In all, the Ravens' three players received a combined 8 nominations, meaning that 8 of the 30 participating head coaches think that the Ravens have the smartest defensive player in the league.

And remember: coaches weren't allowed to vote for their own player, in the interest of fairness.

Who picked him? Del Rio or Coughlin.... Not Harbs??!!