Ray Lewis arrived in Baltimore shortly after the transplanted

Cleveland Browns Ben Powers 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 http://www.ravensfootballauthentics.com/iman-marshall-jersey-authentic , 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 Trace McSorley 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 (AP) — The Los Angeles Chargers kept Lamar Jackson grounded, and by the time the rookie got the passing game going it was too late for the Baltimore Ravens.Michael Badgley kicked five field goals, and Los Angeles harassed and hounded Jackson during a 23-17 victory Sunday in the opening round of the NFL playoffs.The Chargers (13-4) will next face the second-seeded New England Patriots (11-5) on the road Sunday. The Chargers last won two games during a single postseason in 2007, when the franchise was in San Diego.Article continues below ...Of course Kyler Murray Jersey , going deep in the playoffs are old hat for the Patriots.“Yeah, I mean, gosh, we know the run they’ve had,” Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers said. “It seems like forever. They’re always in these games and games beyond.”Rivers went 22 for 32 for 160 yards for Los Angeles, providing just enough offense to help the Chargers get even for a 22-10 loss to Baltimore (10-7) just two weeks ago.Badgley set a franchise record for field goals in a playoff game. He connected from 21, 53, 40, 34 and 47 yards.The Chargers built a 23-3 lead in the fourth quarter before Jackson threw two touchdown passes to make it close. Given one final chance to complete the comeback, the 21-year-old looked every bit like the youngest quarterback to start an NFL playoff game when he lost the ball on his third fumble of the game.Jackson finished 14 for 29 for 194 yards with an interception. He was sacked seven times.“I wasn’t playing my game today. I’m ticked off about that, definitely,” Jackson said.The AFC North champion Ravens were making their first playoff appearance since 2014 after Jackson led the team on a 6-1 season-ending run following an injury to long-time starter Joe Flacco.In the days leading up to the game, Jackson — the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner — was lauded for the job he did to get Baltimore into the postseason. With the former Louisville star leading the way, the Ravens went on a tear by combining a time-consuming ground game with the league’s top-ranked defense.Jackson finished with 54 yards rushing, but he was booed by many in the crowd of 70, 432 after the Ravens fell behind by 20 points.“They were looking for better in us,” Jackson said. “We didn’t perform well. It happens sometimes.”Jackson threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree to make it 23-10 with 6:33 remaining and tossed a 7-yarder to Crabtree with 1:59 left, but Baltimore’s last chance ended when Jackson fumbled after being hit by Uchenna Nwosu.Baltimore finished with 90 yards rushing after averaging 229.6 with Jackson at the helm.“We did a good job of staying in the rush lanes and containing him http://www.cardinalsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-byron-murphy-jersey ,” Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said. “The more times you see that offense, the better you’re going to do against it.”The game was not without controversy.Los Angeles used a 1-yard touchdown run by Melvin Gordon to take a 20-3 lead with 14:44 left. The score came one play after Gordon lost control of the ball at the goal line and the Ravens took it the other way for a touchdown, but he was called down by contact and a replay confirmed the call.“He had control of the football as he hit the ground,” said NFL Senior Vice President of Officiating Al Riveron.That pretty much ended any hope the Ravens had of winning their first home playoff game since the 2012 season. Baltimore had won five straight in the wild-card round under coach John Harbaugh.At halftime, Jackson was 2 for 8 for 17 yards and an interception for a 0.0 quarterback rating. Los Angeles led 12-0 at the break, marking the first time in franchise history the Ravens were blanked in the first half of a playoff game.The Ravens fumbled three times during their first eight offensive plays, losing the last one by Kenneth Dixon on a tackle by Melvin Ingram at the Baltimore 15 to set up Los Angeles’ first field goal.The Chargers then used a 33-yard punt return by Desmond King to set up a 53-yard field goal for a 6-0 lead late in the first quarter.An interception by Adrian Phillips led to another field goal, and Badgley made it 12-0 with another 3-pointer on the final play of the first half.Ingram finished with seven tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.SUGGS TO RETURNAfter the game, Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs said he intends to return for a 17th season.“Absolutely,” he said. “I would love it to be here. I would like to be a Raven life-timer.”LOOSE BALLJackson fumbled on Baltimore’s opening possession, but picked it up himself. The same thing happened in the second series before Dixon lost the ball. Jackson has fumbled in nine straight games.SAN WHO?A lot of people have had trouble adjusting to the phrase “Los Angeles Chargers” because the team spent so much time in San Diego.But referee Clete Blakeman put a new twist on it, calling them “San Francisco” on the loudspeaker.INJURIESChargers: CB Brandon Facyson missed the second half with a concussion.Ravens: DT Michael Pierce hurt his elbow in the third quarter. … CB Tavon Young was on the inactive list with a groin injury.UP NEXTChargers: The Chargers are 0-7 against Tom Brady and the Patriots, including playoffs, since Rivers became the starter in 2006.Ravens: Head into the offseason with Harbaugh being assured he will return in 2019 and with Flacco likely headed elsewhere.