- NFL Hall of Famer Ray Lewis was a guest on The Rich Eisen Show where he discussed his legendary battles against Peyton Manning and Tom Brady
- Ray Lewis shared the real reason he believes Tom Brady came back from retirement and also discussed his ‘chess match’ with Tom on the field
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Two-time Super Bowl champion Ray Lewis had one of the greatest NFL careers of any defensive player in the league’s history. For years he was the most feared man on the defensive side of the field and he was part of some legendary battles against Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.
Ray Lewis also holds the distinction of going out on his own terms. He didn’t retire after an injury sidelined him 2 games into the season. He retired after winning the 2012 Super Bowl and holding the Vince Lombardi Trophy one last time.
As a guest on The Rich Eisen Show, Ray discussed how Peyton Manning’s wife forever altered his career. A slip of the tongue from Ashley Manning at the Pro Bowl helped Ray go from a feared NFL player to possibly the greatest ever at his position.
Ray and Rich also discussed why Ray Lewis believes Tom Brady made the decision to come back from retirement. The discussion is obviously shaped by Ray’s own experience but Lewis has known Tom Brady for Tom’s entire career. Here’s what he had to say…
Ray Lewis Shares The Reason He Thinks Tom Brady Came Back From Retirement
Here are those RL quotes if you’d rather read instead of watch…
Ray Lewis: “I think the competitive side of Tom is the easy noticeable thing, right? He’s one of the greatest competitors ever. And the one thing I said when I got ready to retire is ‘if you’ve got more in the tank, finish it. Empty the tank.’
I don’t think he’s finished. I don’t think the tank is empty for his passion. Now I think if they (Buccaneers) would’ve won it (Super Bowl), then he walks out. But tasting glory and then losing the way they did last year and living with that the rest of your life, I don’t know if that’s his pedigree.
So I think if you listen to his entire world of ‘retiring but it’s kind of open’, I think his passion for the game still burns. And I say to anybody ‘if you got it ride it’. For me, it was kind of an easy decision because I said ‘this is my last ride’, I didn’t go (say it) after the season was over.”
The whole segment and actually the full 30+ minute interview are pretty enlightening. If you didn’t catch that Peyton Manning discussion I linked to above, check that out. It’s about how Peyton’s obsession with studying his opponents helped Ray Lewis become the most feared defender in the NFL.