Jimmy Johnson passed on Ray Lewis because "He needed to get out of Miami"

Def could of been right.

 

He could be right but it still makes me sick. I loved Ray Ray when he was at the U..."Hit, stick and talk ****"

 

He would already be on the Ring of Honor right next to JT. With no Super Bowl rings.. I think Ray Ray is lucky he wasn't here.

 

Thats just great..

 

I honestly don't think we lost anything between Ray Lewis and Zach Thomas in terms of our team and overall defensive effectiveness. Every other position on the other hand, JJ got some 'splainin' to do.

 

Why didnt they ask him why he didnt draft Randy Moss?

 

Not taking Ray in the first round does sting, but the sting is lessened because they did get Zach Thomas in the 5th round that year. Zach was a monumental steal of a draft pick.

 

Imagine Ray and Zach.

Or could they even co-exist.

 

I liked Zach and he was an awesome player...one of the two or three best MLB's of his generation. But if you think hes an equal to or anything close to Ray Lewis as a player and as a leader Id have to seriously question that. Ray Lewis is one of the 2 best MLB's of all time (maybe the best), possibly the best on-field leader of men of this generation, and a first ballot HOFER. Zach is an all time great Dolphin but hes a fringe HOFER at best. The sting of not getting Ray is lessened because we got Zach for a decade but Ray for 17 years would have been so much better. I truly believe that Ray Lewis could have changed the attitude and culture of the Miami Dolphins over the last decade if we had him. He might be one of a few non-QB's that can truly change a franchise's attitude, culture and outside perception. Imagine him with JT, Madison, Surtain, Seau, Trace Armstrong, Marion, Gardner, Bowens....maybe that team takes the next step. One of many what-if's....

 

He said Larry Shannon was better. We drafted him in the 3rd round the same year as Randy Moss went in the first. I read an article about it a longgg time ago. Did a google search and...

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1998-04-20/sports/9804190198_1_johnson-s-desk-dolphins-randy-moss




Listen, I love Zack Thomas. I don't think I need to list the reasons why, you already know. But let's be reality... Losing out on Ray Lewis was monumental for every team who passed on him. Ray Lewis is a franchise MLB. Those don't actually exist outside of Ray Lewis. He's the greatest defensive player in the history of the NFL. 17 years in the NFL, he may not be the best anymore. He may have a lost a step or two, but pound for pound, the guy can still bring it and rise to the occasion. He's still better than the majority of the LB in this league. Mentally, he has no equal. And he just so happens to be one the greatest leaders in the history of sports.

 

Zach in the 5th, oh I love it ! Man I miss him.

 

Yeah it probably was good for him to get out of Miami. I'm happy Ray ended up in Baltimore. Who knows if he would have been able to change his life if he had his old surroundings around him 24/7.

 

yeah, he could have been involved in multiple homicides instead of just one if would have stayed in Miami

 

There goes MY memory again....I was SURE, I thought, that Ray was picked before our turn.

 

Zach was the ultimate over achiever but how many times did we see Kevin Mawae handle Zach which led to long Curtis Martin runs at crucial times in a game? It's not a knock on Zach. I love what he did for this franchise and he's one of my alltime favorites but Ray Lewis is much better at shedding blocks by big offensive lineman.

 

you mean outside of Zach and JT, correct?
and didn't he draft Patrick Surtain? another stud.

 

we picked 20th and Ray Ray was the 26th pick

 

Of course, Zach Thomas didnt kill 2 people. So there's that.

 

Ray Lewis didn't kill two people. His friends did (in self defense supposedly).

But he was there and threw away the white suit he was wearing!

 

lol @ people who care/moralize about athletes. I'll take Ray Lewis > Tim Tebow please. I watch football for entertainment purposes. I have no vested interest in their outside lives if it doesn't conflict with their performance. brb most athletes are scum bags anyway.

 

Well, that COULD Have affected their on-field performance when they're charged with Murder!

Ask Carolina fans about Rae Carruth.

 

But it didn't. Ray never missed playing time.

 

But you are laughing at those of us who worry about players' off field concerns. According to you, if Ray Lewis or anyone else in the NFL gets arrested for Murder every off season, it wouldn't worry you until they actually miss time, and until then you're laughing at the rest of us.

 

That is simply absurd.
Yeah, who cares if our players go around robbing, raping and murdering people as long as they do it during the offseason.

 

Neither did Ray Lewis. He wasnt convicted of a damn thing except obstruction of justice and as bad as murder is I wouldnt give up my best friends either so I dont really fault him for that.

 

Strawman.

I care as it pertains to law and society. You commit a crime, get caught, I hope justice is served. I don't care as it pertains to them as an athlete. See how that works? Ray Lewis is still GOAT and better than Zack Thomas as a player, regardless of whatever his involvement in that murder case was. I would still rather him than Zack, despite Zack being awesome.

 

Say that to the families of the two dead guys.

 

Relax.
It was a joke.
But he was convicted of (or at least plead down to) obstruction of justice.

 

Here a pretty good article on the Ray Lewis Murder Story.

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2013/01/24/5-common-misconceptions-about-ray-lewis-murder-trial/

Who knows what really happened, but this story paints Lewis as completely innocent. Of course, it's a story from Baltimore so.....

 

To what? Stir an emotional reaction out them? It's the truth. If someone I loved were involved in a crime, I wouldn't give them up. It's called love and loyalty. People are selfish by genetic design. It's how we're created. It's how we continue to survive. So yeah, I could say that to their face, but it wouldn't be productive and just be a waste of time.

And you don't even know WTF happened that night away... See this is what I'm talking about. People care/invest themselves into something they don't even actually know about. The two men involved were acquitted. I don't know if they were murderers or not, but they were acquitted. Ray Lewis wasn't charged with murder, yet gets called a murderer. Expert maneuver.

 

No problem. Im not a snitch and no one likes a snitch, not even the families of two dead guys.

Sorry, I missed that one

 

I guess I shoulda used one of those icon thingies.

 

A couple of things.

#1 I never said Zach was a great leader.
#2 I think you're seriously overstating the impact on the defense and team in the difference between a borderline hall of famer and and a guaranteed hall of famer at...MLB especially.

To borrow Madden scoring to better communicate my point: Ray Lewis is a 100, and Zach Thomas is a 94. I don't think that's a big difference to lament over. There were plenty of things to knock JJ for, Zach Thomas over Ray Lewis isn't a significant one.

 

And I think youre understating just how great Ray Lewis is as a football player.

 

He's not miles away from Zach Thomas. Again, even if Ray Lewis is the #1, Zach is in the discussion for Top 10. That's not that big of a difference.

 

As I recall, they were both gang members.

I'm certain their families grieved for them. And murder is murder. But they weren't alter boys. They were into bad things. I recall the mother of one of the victims saying she believed Lewis was innocent after speaking to him on the phone and held no ill will against him. He actually called her to express his regrets and offer his condolences.

I'm not one who subscribes to the 'no snitching' way of thinking. But I think he was in a tough spot at that time, all things considered.

Ray Lewis himself talked about how, sitting in that jail cell, he knew he had to make changes in his life. Change the way he was living and the people he surrounded himself with. And that's when he gave it all to god.

So as to the topic, I think Jimmy was probably right. It was but 7 days prior to the draft he lost Marlin Barnes, his roommate, close friend, teammate and mentor in a brutal double murder in their apartment. It devastated him. Lewis was actually at the funeral on draft day. That alone is reason enough to move away from a city.

I don't know how wild Ray was at Miami, but he got pretty wild in the pros. Maybe the murder was a jumping off point. Maybe it wasn't. But just four years later his posse ended up killing two people.

 

To use your analogy to communicate my point: Ray Lewis would be rated 100 only because there's a level cap. Zack would still be a 94 regardless. Ray Lewis is a franchise LB. The only one of his kind. Ray Lewis could take over and dominate game after game. I remember quite a few times Zack being taken out of plays when it mattered the most.