Ray-Ray is Pissed Off

Monday Night Football this week has a great game in the first of its double header with the Ravens visiting the Jets. Both teams have Super Bowl aspirations and are predicted to be powerhouses in the AFC this year. This will be the most important game of Week 1 and there are plenty of reasons to watch.

The Jets have been in headlines for weeks being the featured team for this year’s HBO’s Hard Knocks. The country has gotten a chance to get an inside look of the outspoken man that is Rex Ryan. He’s a passionate coach who all his players love, but he definitely has edginess with his trash talk. Ryan believes he has the best team in the league, a statement that has made many critics including myself. I will agree that the Jets have one of the best defenses in the league, especially after re-signing Darrelle Revis. My concern is the offense. The unit has not looked good throughout the preseason and Mark Sanchez still has a lot to prove if he wants to lead a Super Bowl team. I understand that the Jets made it to the championship game last year, but at the end of the day, they got lucky to make it into the playoffs. Acquisitions like LT, Jason Taylor, Antonio Cromartie, and Santonio Holmes make the Jets a better team without a doubt, but a team can’t win without a good QB at the helm.

The Ravens have consistently been a defensive force in the league, and I look for more of that to continue. A lot of people have argued that the Ravens are too old. Also, Ed Reed is on the PUP list to start the season, therefore they will not be good. Ray Lewis and Ed Reed are both older now, but Ray Lewis still has the passion he always has. Lewis still has the skills to get the job done. Ray Lewis may be the face of the defense, but other players on the Baltimore defense should not be overlooked. Guys like Terrell Suggs, Domonique Foxworth, Dawan Landry, and Ken Hamlin are studs. This defense will be hungry like always. Ravens also added offensive weapons Anquan Boldin and TJ Houshmandzadeh to their roster this offseason which gives Joe Flacco more weapons to throw to. Flacco has shown great growth in his two years in the league and I look for him to have career numbers this year. The Ravens are certainly dangerous and should not be overlooked.  I’m buying the Ravens all the way, and I think will be the AFC representative in the Super Bowl.

Ray Lewis is tired of Rex Ryan talking. Photo courtesy of http://dumpsterfire.wordpress.com

One man who is tired of the Jets is Ray Lewis. Lewis expressed his dismay to all the Jets hype earlier this week. “We’re talking about the Jets like we’re talking about the Saints,” said Lewis. “Those are the only people that can be dethroned: Drew Brees and the Saints, not Mark Sanchez and the Jets.”

“The only danger is writing a check you can’t cash,” Lewis said. “That’s pressure on his players. Rex can talk all he wants to, but Rex ain’t putting on the pads. … At some point, you put that bull’s-eye on your head. They’re doing all this talking, like they’re in the Super Bowl. OK, do what you do, but come Monday night, the whistle is going to blow and somebody is going to get hit.”

Ray-Ray wasn’t a big fan of all the offseason signings by the Jets either. “If y’all are the Miami Heat, we’ve got to be the Lakers, because we’re looking for multiple rings.”  He didn’t care they brought back Revis either. “I’m glad he signed, so there are no excuses,” he said. “Don’t come and say, ‘Oh, we didn’t have Revis.’ Have everybody y’all need to have. Whoever y’all need to sign, bring them out of retirement, whatever you need to do. … Stack your deck and let’s play football…Revis puts his pants on one leg at a time,” he said. “He’s not a machine. He’s a simple man, and he has to deal with everything we’re willing to bring to the table as well. Hopefully, he’s ready to play. Hopefully, his 35-day layoff didn’t hurt him.”

This is what football is all about. The passion from both Rex Ryan and Ray Lewis is unquestioned. These guys are serious. This will be a game to remember. Monday night, 4pm PST, New Meadowlands Stadium, you better be watching, I know I will be.

This is just an opinion, so please…Pardon My Bias.