Speaking about Ray Lewis, I wonder if I'm the only one who thinks he is a bit overrated in terms of his recognized position as the best LB of the late 90s/early 2000s? Personally I don't think that Derrick Brooks' impact was not that much lower than that of Lewis yet he is seldomly mentioned in the same breath as Ray Lewis. Just take a look at their individual stats between 1996 (the year Lewis was drafted) and 2008 (the year Brooks retired), note that certain stats like passes defensed and TFL are only available from 1999 onwards:
Lewis / Brooks
Games played: 178 / 208
Interceptions: 28 / 25
Passes Defensed: 76 / 84
Fumbles forced: 12 / 22
Sacks: 33.5 / 12.5
Solo Tackles: 1249 / 1237
Assisted Tackles: 381 / 394
TFL: 81 / 68
The only area where Ray Lewis clearly comes up on top even after factoring in that Brooks during that span played 30 games more than him (Derrick Brooks played 16 games in all 14 of his seasons which is insane for a LB) is in terms of sacks (which also influence the TFL numbers since a sack is counted as TFL as far as I know). And even if we factor in the defensive performance of their teams there was not much of a difference between the Baltimore and Tampa Bay Ds during that time frame.
Lewis / Brooks
Games played: 178 / 208
Interceptions: 28 / 25
Passes Defensed: 76 / 84
Fumbles forced: 12 / 22
Sacks: 33.5 / 12.5
Solo Tackles: 1249 / 1237
Assisted Tackles: 381 / 394
TFL: 81 / 68
The only area where Ray Lewis clearly comes up on top even after factoring in that Brooks during that span played 30 games more than him (Derrick Brooks played 16 games in all 14 of his seasons which is insane for a LB) is in terms of sacks (which also influence the TFL numbers since a sack is counted as TFL as far as I know). And even if we factor in the defensive performance of their teams there was not much of a difference between the Baltimore and Tampa Bay Ds during that time frame.