Middle Linebacker

There is really only one more appropriate ending for the Ravens' Ray Lewis, and that won't come for another five years when he takes his place in the NFL Hall of Fame as the greatest middle linebacker ever. Lewis, 37, made the announcement Wednesday he will retire at the end of the season, and even though it was a sad day for Baltimore sports fans, it was a great one also. Unlike John Unitas, Baltimore's other immortal football player, Lewis gets to end his career in a Ravens uniform.

Eighteen years ago during their inaugural draft, the Ravens landed future Hall of Fame middle linebacker Ray Lewis late in the first round. It was a masterful selection, especially since there were questions surrounding Lewis at that time due to a lack of ideal size. Lewis wound up winning a pair of NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards, providing leadership for two Super Bowl championship teams. Now that Lewis has retired, the Ravens are tasked with replacing him to bolster an inside linebacker spot weakened by Dannell Ellerbe signing with the Miami Dolphins and Jameel McClain still not medically cleared from a spinal cord contusion.

ASHBURN, Va. - In what many would consider the twilight of his career, this middle linebacker has strung together multiple consecutive Pro Bowl appearances while recording more than 100 tackles and serving as the inspiration for his team's defense. Unlike the Ravens' Ray Lewis, however, the Washington Redskins' London Fletcher has largely avoided the injury bug. In fact, as the Ravens and Redskins prepare to meet at FedEx Field in Landover on Sunday, Fletcher is poised to play in his 237th straight game and make his 196th consecutive start.

Ray Lewis was born to play football, so much so that you wonder if he'll ever find the joy and satisfaction in the rest of his life that he found on the field. You go ahead and pick your iconic image of the man. Here's mine: No. 52 with shoulders hunched, glowering across the line of scrimmage, face paint streaked with sweat, eyes boring in on the quarterback in the seconds before the ball is snapped. Whether we ever got to know the real Ray Lewis in his 17 years in Baltimore is debatable, and we'll get to that in a moment.

With the Cleveland Browns assured of their fourth consecutive sub-.500 campaign and their eighth in the past nine years, it might be surmised that the Browns have nothing left to play for with just two regular-season games remaining against the Ravens on Christmas Eve and the Pittsburgh Steelers on New Year's Day. That's not the approach that Cleveland middle linebacker D'Qwell Jackson is taking as the Browns prepare to visit M&T Bank Stadium on...

COLLEGE PARK - Just a week into fall practices, one thing is apparent about Maryland's linebacking corps: sophomore D'Qwell Jackson is no E.J. Henderson. At least, not yet. Suggesting that Jackson might someday reach that level, however, is not as far-fetched as it might sound. Just ask Terps coach Ralph Friedgen. "I think his instincts are just as good as E.J.'s," Friedgen said yesterday after Maryland completed the first of two practices. "He's looked very good so far. He's a real sure tackler.

It might be the most difficult question that an NFL general manager has to answer, and though the day might not be here yet, the day is fast approaching when Ozzie Newsome and the Ravens will have to answer it, consequences be damned. When do decide to draft Ray Lewis' successor? Making the transition away from away from an aging Hall of Famer who has also been the face of your franchise for more than a decade is a prickly endeavor, and history has shown it can divide the fanbase as well as the locker room.

It might be the most difficult question that an NFL general manager has to answer, and though the day might not be here yet, the day is fast approaching when Ozzie Newsome and the Ravens will have to answer it, consequences be damned. When do decide to draft Ray Lewis' successor? Making the transition away from away from an aging Hall of Famer who has also been the face of your franchise for more than a decade is a prickly endeavor, and history has shown it can divide the fanbase as well as the locker room.

Ray Lewis was causing trouble in the middle again. Lewis, who had one tackle last week in limited action, recorded a team-best five stops, including three for losses, during his one half of work last night. The Ravens middle linebacker led a first-unit that held the New York Jets to 104 yards of offense and no points in the first half of their 10-0 victory. "Every time he steps on the field, he wants to set the tone," coach Brian Billiek said. The game didn't start off perfect for Lewis, who was called for pass interference in the first quarter.

ASHBURN, Va. - Washington Redskins middle linebacker Antonio Pierce is realistic about his chances of being invited to the Pro Bowl. "I don't really see it happening," Pierce said. "When you've got a guy like [the Chicago Bears' Brian] Urlacher - I think he's missed, what, six games - he'll still go to the Pro Bowl. The Pro Bowl is a lot about names. Sometimes the coaches and players might vote fairly, but you've got the fans and other people involved and they vote for who they know." Pierce, 26, may be an unknown commodity to a lot of people and even some NFL teams, but to the Redskins, the fourth-year pro from Arizona has been invaluable.

When the Ravens made Ray Lewis their second-ever draft pick, they knew they were getting a highly productive player from the talent-rich University of Miami. What they could not have known was that Lewis would become perhaps the greatest middle linebacker in history and one of the faces of his NFL generation. Through 17 seasons of controversy and excellence, Lewis' Baltimore ride has never been boring: 1996 On April 20, the Ravens select Lewis with their second pick in the first round of the NFL draft, 26th overall.

NEW ORLEANS -- The old lion is about to stalk into the football jungle one last time Sunday night before retracting his claws for good. And the young lion is eager to pounce on the throne that retiring Ravens inside linebacker Ray Lewis has owned for 17 years. San Francisco 49ers star inside linebacker Patrick Willis has a deep respect for Lewis, his longtime friend and mentor, but he can't wait to become the new Lion King. Ever since Willis forged a relationship with Lewis, built through their mutual friendship with former 49ers coach and Ravens linebackers coach Mike Singletary, the 28-year-old six-time Pro Bowl selection has referred to Lewis as Mufasa, as in the Lion King.

Every morning, Monday through Friday, blogger Matt Vensel will hook you up with reading material -- mostly on the Ravens but with some other Baltimore sports stuff, too -- to skim through as you slug down coffee and slack off at the start of your workday. That way he'll have an excuse to do the same to start his workday, too. RUNNING IT BACK Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said Wednesday that he would retire at season's end . ... Mike Preston says that Lewis will retire as the greatest middle linebacker that ever played . ... His Ravens teammates were mostly shocked by the announcement . ... The Ravens have had mixed results recently without Lewis . ... Fullback Vonta Leach and offensive guard Marshal Yanda say they are feeling better . ... Linebacker Jameel McClain, out for the season with a neck injury, does not plan to have surgery in the offseason.

Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis announced Wednesday that he would retire at season's end. He is one of the greatest linebackers to lace them up . Here is what other media outlets are saying about Lewis this morning. --- Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports says that Lewis doesn't just symbolize the Ravens , but the NFL as well. “The story of Lewis, who announced Wednesday that he plans to retire when the Baltimore Ravens' season ends, is a complicated tale of accusation and absolution.

Don't misunderstand. Barry Krauss loved Baltimore - from the crabcakes to the Inner Harbor to the rich provenance of the NFL team that picked him sixth overall in the 1979 draft. But five years later, the Colts' move to Indianapolis proved a godsend for the players, said Krauss, a tough linebacker who played 10 seasons with a horseshoe on his helmet. "It wasn't fair to Baltimore fans, to lose the franchise, with all that great history," he said. "But the relationship between the team and the community was so broken, so sad. It was tough, playing before 35,000" at Memorial Stadium.

Ray Lewis did the right thing Wednesday. It was a tough thing to do. It was a painful thing to do. You could see it in his face, hear it in the catch in his voice, sense it in the shocked reactions of his teammates and coaches. But ultimately, No. 52's announcement that he'll retire at the end of the season was the right thing to do for the Ravens. For starters, the Ray Lewis we saw this season was a far cry from the fearsome, dominating inside linebacker we saw for 17 mostly glorious seasons in Baltimore.

It was an extremely costly victory for the Ravens, with team officials concerned Sunday night that middle linebacker Ray Lewis and cornerback Lardarius Webb had suffered potentially season-ending injuries against the Dallas Cowboys. Although magnetic resonance imaging exams will be conducted Monday, there was immediate fear that Lewis tore his right triceps and that Webb tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, according to multiple sources. Sources cautioned, though, that nothing is concrete on Lewis or Webb until more extensive examinations are performed.

Already feeling the effects of outside linebacker Peter Boulware's shoulder injury, the Ravens waived two players yesterday, including third-year middle linebacker Tyrus McCloud.The Ravens were involved in serious trade talks about McCloud with three teams until the 4 p.m. deadline imposed by the NFL to reduce the roster to the mandatory limit of 53 players. The Ravens were also involved in some inquiries about possibly trading reserve quarterback Tony Banks, who might lose his No. 2 job to Stoney Case.

What our reporters and columnists are saying about Ray Lewis announcing his retirement today: Jeff Zrebiec, reporter: The timing on Ray Lewis' announcement, to me, is overblown. After 17 mostly dominant seasons, he has earned the right to go out however he wants to go out. And if there is anybody that deserves the ovation and the adulation that Lewis will get the rest of the week and especially on Sunday, it is Lewis. Was Lewis' career is Baltimore spotless? No. Any summation of his career has to include his legal issues in Atlanta.

The news of Ravens legendary middle linebacker Ray Lewis' upcoming retirement triggered plenty of strong reactions around the league. Respect, homage and sadness were all expressed upon learning that the defensive icon will walk away from the game after 17 years, two NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards and one Super Bowl victory where he was honored as the Most Valuable Player for his hard-hitting contributions. "It will definitely be a blow to the league to lose another guy like Ray Lewis," Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson said.