Ray Lewis is drawing inspiration from watching the New York Jets on HBO’s “Hard Knocks.”
So much so that the star middle linebacker of the Baltimore Ravens can’t wait to deliver a few knocks of his own when his team clashes with the Jets on Monday night at the New Meadowlands Stadium.
The Jets and bombastic coach Rex Ryan have talked openly about their expectations to reach the Super Bowl this season – not-so-idle chatter that isn’t sitting well with Lewis.
“They're doing all this talking. They're in the Super Bowl. OK, do what you do. Come Monday night, the whistle has got to blow and somebody has to get hit," Lewis said.
"The game ain't played through tongues. ... So, all this pressure (Ryan) wants to put on his team, I hope they can cash the check that he writes."
With Ryan having been the defensive coordinator with the Ravens for years prior to taking the reins of the Jets in 2009, it just adds a delicious subplot to what already was an intriguing matchup.
New York was within one win of advancing to the Super Bowl last season, and it has quickly added pieces to its roster in hopes of taking that next step.
Among the players brought in by Ryan are future Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson, cornerback Antonio Cromartie and sack specialist Jason Taylor.
Still, the key for the Jets will be a pair of second-year players in quarterback Mark Sanchez and running back Shonn Greene.
Sanchez threw for only 2,444 yards as a rookie and was intercepted 20 times while tossing just 12 touchdowns passes. He’ll need to elevate his game to alleviate some of the pressure on Greene, who had a nondescript rookie season until erupting for a pair of 100-yard games in the playoffs.
New York also will be banking heavily on its defense, which allowed a league-low 236 points last season. The unit got a big boost when brilliant cornerback Darrelle Revis came to terms on a four-year contract extension Monday morning.
But for all their high hopes, one must remember the Jets finished just 9-7 in the regular season and likely would have been on the outside of the playoffs looking in if the Indianapolis Colts had played their starters the entire game against New York in Week 16.
The Ravens also have lofty aspirations after crushing the New England Patriots in last season’s playoffs before losing to the Colts in the divisional round.
Much like the Jets, they will rely on a young quarterback and running back. Strong-armed Joe Flacco boosted his numbers across the board in his second season, throwing for 3,613 yards and 21 touchdowns against 12 interceptions.
Baltimore acquired Anquan Boldin in the offseason, giving Flacco a serious upgrade at the wide receiver position. The Ravens then added T.J. Houshmandzadeh to a receiving corps that already features a solid veteran in Derrick Mason.
Last, but hardly least, is running back Ray Rice, who took the league by storm in his second season, rushing for 1,339 yards and seven touchdowns while pulling in 78 receptions for 702 yards.
The defense, led by the aforementioned Lewis, will be stout as usual, although it will be without Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed, who is on the physically unable to perform list and cannot return until Week 7.