FOX Sports analyst and former NFL offensive lineman Mark Schlereth says Roquan Smith shares a special similarity with Ravens legend Ray Lewis but stopped short of placing Smith in the same stratosphere as Lewis … and offered firsthand experience as to why.
Schlereth’s last season in the NFL came in 2000 with the Denver Broncos, and his campaign was cut short by a left knee injury after just eight games. The Broncos’ season ended in the wild-card round with a 21-3 loss to the Ravens, who went on to win the Super Bowl.
Schlereth understood the challenge the Ravens would present for his teammates when he watched four Ravens games on film.
“In four games, Ray Lewis was actually blocked by an offensive lineman I think four times where a guy got to him, because you had Sam Adams and you had [Tony] Siragusa,” Schlereth said on Glenn Clark Radio Dec. 15. “We’re the Broncos. We’d run it against everybody, so we had this plan and this design like, ‘We’re going to be the ones to get to them.’ He was just running around having tackling practice. It was the most ridiculous film you’ve ever seen.”
Indeed, the Broncos did run the ball against everybody. Denver was coached by Mike Shanahan, one of the great run-game designers in league history. The Broncos ran for 2,311 yards in 16 games that season, third in the NFL. Mike Anderson led the way with 1,487 yards.
That said, the Ravens had given up 970 rushing yards all season — or 60.6 yards per contest, easily best in the league. At the heart of Baltimore’s defense was Lewis, who posted 137 tackles en route to earning Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Schlereth was confident the Broncos could cause the Ravens problems, but that didn’t last long. Denver had 177 total yards on the day, and Schlereth could only shrug his shoulders on the sideline.
“We get to the third quarter and they are kicking our ass. I mean, we are getting our asses kicked,” Schlereth said. “And I just looked at my O-line coach and we go, ‘Well, they’re better than us.’ There was nothing you could do.”
As such, Lewis holds a special place in Schlereth’s pantheon of linebackers, but that doesn’t mean the FOX Sports analyst can’t draw comparisons between Lewis and Smith. The current leader of the Ravens’ defense has lifted the entire unit’s level of play since coming over in a trade from Chicago last season.
This year, the Ravens have allowed 16.1 points and 287.9 yards per game. Those marks rank first and second in the league, respectively. Smith has racked up 142 tackles through 14 games this year, and Schlereth notices one key similarity in particular to Lewis — the ability to lead by example.
“You see on film the way that guy plays,” Schlereth said. “There are often times you look at yourself and he makes you look silly on film because he is so on point and he’s so fast to the ball and he is so incredibly impactful when he gets to the ball. You almost start looking at the film going, ‘Oh my god, he’s beating me to every play. I’ve got to pick up my game and I’ve got to pick up my reaction time and I’ve got to pick up the way I study so I can be more like him.'”
For more from Schlereth, listen to the full interview here:
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