Ray Lewis arrived in Baltimore shortly after the transplanted Cleveland Browns Kenneth Dixon Jersey , who were attempting to start anew in a city that had gone 12 years without an NFL team.

Selected 26th overall in the 1996 draft after establishing himself as a star at the University of Miami, Lewis had no idea what he was getting into.

”We had no team. We had no logo. We had nothing,” Lewis recalled. ”There was nothing to really respect.”

Over the next 17 years, the Baltimore Ravens reached the postseason nine times, won two Super Bowls and built a hard-hitting and relentless defense in the image of Lewis, their unquestioned leader.

A 13-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Lewis helped make the Ravens far better than respectable while establishing himself as one of the best linebackers to play the game.

His unparalleled play and unmatched leadership made him an obvious first-ballot entrant into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Lewis received the news last February, and still gets chills thinking about it.

”That knock on the door was like the first time I got my first jersey,” Lewis said. ”It was like when you ran home and you wanted to put on your pads. You weren’t playing no game, you just wanted to put on your pads because you were part of an elite team. You made it. So, it’s almost like the same feeling.”

He will be enshrined Saturday, joining offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden as the second Ravens star to have a bust in Canton, Ohio.

”It’s pretty clear Ray was the heart and soul of the Ravens for 17 years. If anyone is deserving of this honor, it’s Ray Lewis,” Ogden said. ”He is a guy we all looked to – both on offense and defense – to lead our team.”

There are many great linebackers in the Hall of Fame. Few of them combined skill and authority the way Lewis did.

After delivering an emotional speech before the game , Lewis would continue to push his teammates in the huddle before taking ownership of the middle of the field, looking to punish anyone in a different jersey.

”One of a kind. I think he’s the best that ever played,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. ”It’s not just the on-field play; it’s the whole package.”

Harbaugh acknowledged he carries the bias that comes with coaching Lewis for the final five years of his NFL career. Others P. J. Williams Jersey , however, back the assertion.

”He’s the best I’ve seen,” said Mike Singletary, a Hall of Fame linebacker and former assistant coach in Baltimore. ”If people thought I was good, I know that Ray was better.”

It’s hard to determine Lewis’ most notable quality. His ferocity on the field? His teaching and leadership skills? Or was it his relentless drive to win?

Hall of Fame defensive back Rod Woodson, a teammate of Lewis’ on the 2000 Super Bowl team, chooses all of the above.

”What needs to be said about a guy who was, by far, the best leader I witnessed in my 17 years of play? His singular focus to be the best player and teammate he could be what separates him from other Hall of Famers,” Woodson said.

”His play was off the charts. He was a virtual tackling machine – and a playmaker. He caused fumbles, recovered fumbles, interceptions, tipped passes. He did it all for longer than anyone who played his spot in the middle.”

The 6-foot-1, 245-pound Lewis spent countless hours in the weight room and took an equal amount of pride in mastering the mental aspect of the game. He derived great pleasure from matching wits with great quarterbacks, most notably Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.

”Those two guys were chess players,” Lewis said. ”The game was one thing, but it was the preparation before the game that was a totally different thought process. And then, every time we walked off the field Jaron Brown Jersey , we gave each other mad respect.”

Lewis wasn’t perfect. He was arrested and charged with two counts of murder in Atlanta in 2000. Those charges were dropped, and he pleaded to obstruction of justice, a misdemeanor.

But questions about his role in the crime were an underlying theme before Baltimore faced the New York Giants one year later in the Super Bowl, a game which the Ravens won 34-7 and Lewis was voted MVP.

”Ray Lewis is going to be Ray Lewis. He’s not going to apologize for who he is,” Harbaugh said. ”But whenever he made a mistake, he was the first one to acknowledge it.”

In his first season in Baltimore, the Ravens finished 4-12. In his final season, which he dubbed ”my last ride” entering the playoffs, Baltimore beat San Francisco 34-31 in the Super Bowl.

It was a whirlwind career filled with ups and downs, and Lewis promises that kind of speech at his enshrinement.

”This moment for me is one you dream about your entire life,” he said. ”Savor that moment. You don’t have to run a 40, you don’t have to do bench presses, you ain’t got to do none of that. All you have to do is deliver something I think a lot of people want to hear.

”And so, whether it becomes my greatest (speech) or not, I’ll tell you this: it will have people and myself on a roller coaster that we will never forget.”

—

Baltimore Ravens rookie Lamar Jackson gave his friends and family plenty to cheer about Saturday, even if he didn't give them tickets.

The South Florida native led touchdown possessions of 84, 62 and 73 yards against mostly deep reserves as Baltimore rallied past the Miami Dolphins 27-10.

"This isn't college where I get free tickets," Jackson said Mark Ingram Jersey , "so everyone who came here tonight paid for their own tickets. My mom watched from home on TV."

Jackson entered the game at the start of the second half and had his best performance yet for the Ravens. He went 7 for 10 for 98 yards and a touchdown, and ran for 39 yards on three carries, including a 19-yard scoring run.

"My decision-making is getting better," Jackson said. "I'm working my way up. I feel like I'm doing pretty good, but there's still room for improvement."

Coach John Harbaugh was encouraged to see signs of progress from Jackson.

"Today was kind of his breaking-out in the game," Harbaugh said. "We've seen it in practice where he's done some really good things. We hadn't really seen it in the game yet. He handled himself well."

Kenyan Drake sparked one scoring drive with a 30-yard run and another with a 36-yard reception for the Dolphins, whose starters reached the end zone for the first time this preseason.

Ryan Tannehill fumbled twice early, and the Dolphins drew boos from the small crowd when they went three-and-out on the first series. But the offense began to click in the second quarter against a mix of Ravens starters and reserves, and Tannehill finished 11 of 16 for 115 yards.

Danny Amendola made a nifty cutback to juke past two defensive backs and score on a 16-yard pass from Tannehill. It was the first touchdown by Miami's starters during the preseason in 10 possessions.

On the next series, Tannehill hit Drake deep for a big gain to set up a field goal, and the Dolphins led 10-3 at halftime before both teams emptied their benches.

Tannehill said the offense is on track for the start of the season.

"It was good to finally get the ball in the end zone," he said. "We're heading in the right direction."

While starters for Miami saw their most extensive action this month, among those not playing for the Ravens were quarterback Joe Flacco, their top three wide receivers, three offensive linemen, safety Eric Weddle, and linebackers Terrell Suggs and C.J. Mosley.

Robert Griffin III, battling to make the Ravens' roster Steve Largent Jersey , played the first half. He went 9 for 15 for 66 yards and carried five times for 41 yards while playing with a mix of starters and reserves.

BACKUP BATTLE

Brock Osweiler and David Fales, battling for the Dolphins' backup QB job, both struggled and threw an interception.

"There's room for improvement for sure," coach Adam Gase said. "But it's hard to put it all on them when you get the ball and you're not expecting it, or we're not blocking guys. That's why it's hard to evaluate quarterbacks at times in preseason games."

OUT OF POSITION

Miami linebacker Kiko Alonso made a third-down tackle, flipped over, became disoriented and went to the wrong bench. When Harbaugh gestured him to the other sideline , Alonso trotted across the field and reached the Dolphins bench wearing a sheepish grin. He said he was unhurt.

KICKING

The Ravens' Justin Tucker was wide left on a 51-yard field goal try and had another 51-yarder blocked. The most accurate kicker in NFL history is 0 for 4 beyond 50 yards during the exhibition season.

DEDICATION

The Ravens dedicated the win to the family of receivers coach Bobby Engram following the death Saturday of his 20-year-old daughter, Bobbi.

NATIONAL ANTHEM

Robert Quinn and Dolphins WRs Kenny Stills and Albert Wilson again protested social injustice during the anthem. Quinn raised his right fist, and Stills and Wilson kneeled in front of their bench.

INJURIES

Ravens: TE Hayden Hurst, the team's top draft pick, will undergo surgery for a stress fracture in his foot, and he's expected to be sidelined three to four weeks. He missed the game. ... Starting DT Willie Henry had hernia surgery and will be sidelined several weeks. ... Rookie S DeShon Elliott broke his left forearm, and the injury could be season-ending. ... Rookie OL Greg Senat left the game with a foot injury.

Dolphins: WR Jakeem Grant suffered a concussion on a helmet-to-helmet hit from Chuck Clark, who drew a penalty.

UP NEXT

Ravens: Baltimore plays its final exhibition game Thursday at home against Washington.

Dolphins: Miami plays its exhibition finale Thursday at Atlanta.
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