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Originally Posted by Rajmahal33
ST would've been up there with Reed for sure...
Just to point out one thing, Ray Ray (by his own admission) didn't do shit until they drafted Ngata to replace Siragusa and Sam Adams. He credits the solid DT's with allowing him to play and dominate in his style. I think Lewis was blessed with a system that Marvin Lewis installed, that he mastered and was able to adapt to suit his strengths. Remember he isn't exactly a superstar in coverage. This meant that he had a GM, various coaching staffs, and an ownership structure that were willing to build around him and to allow him to be a field general of the defense. That type of freedom and support is rare for other LB's around the league. Urlacher has/had some elements of that but even his word doesn't hold the clout that Ray's does in B'more. Ozzie went out and drafted the guys to address positions that Ray Lewis personally (and publicly) lobbied for. Those guys turned out to be studs too (one after the other). I don't think LT had that level of support on and off the field throughout his career.
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So you're saying that Lewis, while great, owes a lot of his success to several other factors that fell into place for him? OK, but my question is, how does that make him different than nearly every other great player in the history of football? No man is an island in the ultimate team sport.
And I think it's tough to argue that LT didn't have a solid situation himself. He played on historically great teams.