While fans and media debate his individual play, Ray Lewis is focused on winning.
The play of Ray Lewis has been a topic of discussion amongst fans and media this week after the Ravens uncharacteristically allowed 214 rushing yards to the Kansas City Chiefs.
And while pundits can debate whether Lewis' offseason weight loss has limited his ability to shed blockers and be effective in the run game, the legendary linebacker has other things on his mind.
"For us to be where we are right now as a team is probably more important than anything individually," Lewis said, referencing the Ravens' 4-1 start.
Lewis said his focus is on being a leader and preparing his teammates each week. He's already earned all the honors and stats that individual players can earn.
"The blessing is that there's not an accolade or a record or whatever, that I don't have. None of that impresses me," he said. "What impresses me is having my team ready to play every week, to come out and get a W."
From a statistical standpoint, Lewis is putting up similar numbers to what he's done in past seasons. He leads the team with 43 total tackles, including 36 solo. He also has one sack, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
The numbers are still there, but Lewis isn't interested in dwelling on his stats at this point.
"I don't know the last time I've actually talked about me individually," Lewis said. "For us to be where we are right now, I'm really excited. We're just fine-tuning where we're going."
Lewis was also asked on Wednesday about his retirement plans, and whether he could clarify recent comments he made about wanting to watch his oldest son play football at the University of Miami.
Lewis said that his body feels "awesome" in his 17th season, but did not go into any detail about how much longer he wants to continue playing.
"I'm not going to keep speaking about it," Lewis said. "There's no need. I'm playing the game. Let's let everything else take care of itself."
