Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis pulled his chin strap off his chin, placed it over his mouth as if he was daring air to penetrate the rubber, then sprinted to hunt down a young running back during a practice at Ravens camp. As if training camp was hard enough, Lewis, for some reason, was clearly trying to make it harder on this 95-degree day.
What the heck was that about, big boy?
"At this age I'm constantly looking to challenge myself, constantly looking to take my body and push it to the limits," Lewis said in a half-hour sitdown with FOXSports.com. "These young cats ask me all the time, 'How are you still going at this level for 12 years?' I prepared my body for this for years. It's like a car, if you keep putting the wrong gas in a car that car will eventually break down. These kids do it wrong. I'm always looking to challenge myself. I want five more years at least and to do that I've got to push myself to places my body's never been. These kids today ... they're not about that."
The moment Lewis mentioned the term "these kids" the conversation immediately shifted gears toward what is obviously a sore subject in Lewis' world these days.
"There's no old-school left in this game," Lewis declared, getting noticeably animated about the subject. "Nobody gut checks anymore. It's lost. The art of old school football is lost. It's catered to what I call 'cute boys' now. I'm not trying to be cute!"
Lewis has been called a lot of things during a dazzling yet sometimes controversial career, but it's doubtful he's ever been called cute.
But he can add the title of preacher — as in Preaching the NFL Gospel of Ray.
"Of course it frustrates me," said Lewis. "I'm a historian, a fan of how this game was built. The game ain't the game anymore. The game used to be the game when running backs would run into that line and tell you point blank to your face, 'You got to bring it to me!' Now you have guys falling to the ground on every play. I've never seen so many players just falling to the ground like they are now. That's the way these players are being protected nowadays. It's ingrained.
"You can be the most athletic person in the world, you can be good or you can be great. Great are the ones who go beyond. That's the thing these kids don't care about these days. Why would they care about it? The business of football isn't set up like that. Why would they go and say let me go push myself. When we got ready to go play Reggie Bush last year I was like, 'Cute kid. Love him but he isn't ready for this because he isn't built for this yet.'
"It's not supposed to be pretty but everyone today wants to be the fastest, the quickest, the prettiest. It should be, there's one football and I'll find that football by any means necessary."
The two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and eight-time Pro Bowler has hit a crossroads of such in his career, not so much in his play but rather the way he's seen a change in the game, period.
While he's led by example for years, he now feels even more responsibility for getting his teammates to resist the temptations of becoming one of those so called "cute boys."
"Look at these linemen nowadays, everyone is nice. Come on. It's one way, either I'm going to feed mine or you're going to feed yours. Period! Guys say to me, 'Ray, you're just too mean. Ray, why do you play like that? It's not supposed to be that serious.'
"What? Are you kidding me? I'm really trying to knock you out! I don't know if you know that or not but I'm trying to knock ... you ... out! I don't want to be your friend. When we're on the field, I don't like anything about you. But there's no more of that attitude. Man, it's frustrating."
Frustrating enough to stop watching the NFL after he lays down his final vicious tackle?
"It's going to be hard (to watch). It's going to be all talent. No grunts left. No grinds. No more 'by any means necessary' guys. It's all going to be cute boys. I told (Ravens WR) Mark Clayton today, be careful because as much as I love you, if you touch that I'm going to try to rip your neck off. It doesn't start in the game, it starts out here. The grind starts here. It's not a pretty game."
After letting him have pretty much an open forum for nearly 30 minutes to get things off his chest, the commissioner of the Ravens' top-rated defense knows what it will take to turn things toward the path he loves. He has one simple piece of advice for this latest slew of youngsters lining the NFL's locker room of today hoping, some way, some how, things change back to how they used to be.
"You have no one who dedicates their lives to the game anymore, that's why we have the frustrations in the league right now with all the disciplinary actions. For old schoolers like me, you're out here busting your butt working harder than anybody. These young kids, go back to old school. Dedicate your life to it 365 — by any means necessary."
