NFL playoff thread

From what I know about him -- from people who played with him and against him -- I think you might have him wrong.

Guys love him, from what I understand. As a teammate and as a player. He's also pretty quiet from what I understand. The dance you see might be the TV camera act. ... I don't know. But I really wouldn't be surprised if Ray Lewis is a quiet presence all week during game prep. I know other players respect him.

If he was an attention whore who didn't do much on the field and was just a distraction to his teammates, sure. But I am pretty positive he's not viewed that way by his teammates. And I am pretty certain he's not this rah rah guy all week long. He goes about it professionally when the TV cameras aren't there.

Also, DD made a comment last night about how he wouldn't be surprised if Lewis was a lonely guy off the field. I wouldn't either. The way he plays football -- and at linebacker, which takes a serious toll on your body when you play with that much recklessness -- takes a serious emotional sadness.

You just don't put yourself through what he has for as long as he has unless you have a messed up quality to you.

I won't play junior psychoanalyst beyond that, but people look at Ray Lewis and they conflate the football player with the thug they perceive him to be off the field. I wouldn't be surprised if he has the same lonely, messed up quality that Junior Seau might have had as a person. Yet, a lot of people who go by personas, would never have equated the two of them as people.