Ray Lewis: The Team Player

"As a man, I said it earlier, not one play won or lost this game. Could you have put us in a position to keep playing, absolutely. But one play didn't win or lose the game. There is no one man who has ever lost a game. Don't you ever drop your head. We win as a team, we lose as a team. There is no 'Billy is the fault, Bill missed the kick.' It happens, move on, move on, as a man, because life doesn't stop."

--Ray Lewis, Baltimore Ravens' linebacker, telling the media what he will tell Billy Cundiff, who missed a game-tying field goal that allowed the New England Patriots to win the AFC Championship.

The Ray Lewis Mentality

"For us to be here now, I'm hungry again and I'm thirsty again. Every time you go through something like this, it has to drive you. I truly believe that's the only thing that makes people great. It's not the ones who always winning that people remember. It's the ones who go through tough times."

--Ray Lewis, Baltimore Ravens' linebacker, after losing to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. 

Lewis is a two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, a16-year NFL veteran and 13-time NFL Pro Bowler.

"Is this my last time as a Raven? Absolutely not," Lewis said. "Let me answer that question before somebody asks me. Absolutely not. It's just too much. Life offers too much. Everytime you step on this field, it's a true blessing."
 
"God has never made a mistake. Ever," Lewis said. "Somebody is going to feel like this tomorrow, and somebody is going to feel like this in two weeks in the Super Bowl. And whomever wins it, that's their year. That's a fact, and there ain't nothing nobody else can do about it. That's the irony of sports. There is a winner, there's a loser, and when you lose, you've got to suck it up like a man and say 'You know what Father? If it's your will, so be it. As a man you got to keep moving, and a team keep building, remembering this taste."

Excerpts from http://www.hometownannapolis.com (1.23.2012).

Eli Manning Leads New York Giants to the Super Bowl Again

“Eli is just as calm in the fourth quarter as he is in the first quarter of a preseason game. They expect to score. That’s impressive.”

 --Eli Manning’s brother Peyton said outside the New York Giants’ locker room after their overtime N.F.C. championship game.  

Eli quarterbacked the New York Giants to a win in the N.F.C. championship game against the San Francisco 49ers.  Manning and the Giants advanced to the Super Bowl with a 20-17 victory.   They will face the New England Patriots whom they upset in their previous Super Bowl meeting in 2007.

Excerpts from nytimes.com (January 23, 2012)

"The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital."

--Joe Paterno (1926-2012)

Rest in Peace

Taken from The Handbook of Peak Performance.

Joe Flacco Respected by his Raven Teammates