Ray Lewis won two Super Bowls during his storied 17-year career manning the middle of the Baltimore Ravens' defense. The 2018 Hall-of-Fame inductee went out on top, too, helping the Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII, the final game he ever played before finally hanging it up. One would assume, then, that Lewis might be immune to the sour grapes often ingested by former players when discussing the success of the game's current players.
Not so.
In an interview with CBS Boston on Tuesday, Lewis said that Tom Brady's ability to defy Father Time through the age of 40 is due mostly to new rules meant to protect the quarterback and the New England Patriots' subpar competition in the AFC East.
“Brady is playing golf right now. The game is so catered to him, not getting hit, the rules,” Lewis said. “It’s great to watch somebody’s greatness, but it’s terrible when every rule benefits you. So can he keep playing? Absolutely. Why wouldn’t he be playing with something that easy?
“His division is the worst division in football over the last 20 years. So he definitely has six automatic wins. It’s crazy when you get into the facts, the dynamics of where he’s positioned, how hard it is to go win. [If] you’re talking about playing in the AFC North, [then] retire now. That’s a whole different mentality. NFC West…retire now.”
Indeed, Brady isn't quite the player he once was. Anyone doubting that he remains a top-tier quarterback, though, should watch the fourth quarter and overtime of New England's dramatic 37-31 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game. Brady might not be on the level of Patrick Mahomes, but he's still fully capable of dialing up high-level throws when his team needs it most.
And unfortunately for Lewis and other detractors, it doesn't seem like Brady will be done doing any time soon.
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