All Dolphins

Hall of Famer with Interesting Thoughts on the Dolphins

Longtime Baltimore Ravens star Ray Lewis talked about a need for chemistry
Alain Poupart|
Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis (52) reacts after a tackle against the Miami Dolphins during the second half at M&T Bank Stadium during a 2010 game.
Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis (52) reacts after a tackle against the Miami Dolphins during the second half at M&T Bank Stadium during a 2010 game. | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

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Miami Dolphins

Before he had his Hall of Fame career in the NFL, Ray Lewis was doing his thing at the University of Miami almost as long ago as the last time the Miami Dolphins won a playoff game.

The longtime Baltimore Ravens linebacker had some interesting thoughts when he talked about the Dolphins on the eve of the AFC and NFC title games this weekend and how they could get back to prominence after they missed the playoffs this season and finished with a losing record for the first time in five years.

"Sometimes you gotta go through these rebuilding phases," Lewis told Samantha Rivera of CBS Miami at Pegasus World Cup thoroughbred race in Miami on Saturday. "I think when you have a lot of rock stars, superstars, I will take more chemistry than I would take rock stars. Give me people I can get to work together, and then it all pans itself out. But they got so many personalities, so many people, and then so many directions that they really don't know ... like, when you think of the Dolphins, what's the identity? Speed? OK, great, but that's a tangible thing, that's a talent. I think community. What does it mean to be as a team? When we come in there, who's the leader? There's no defined leader."

Lewis played his entire NFL career with the Ravens, arriving as the second first-round pick of the Ravens' first draft after they moved from Cleveland in 1996 and leaving after the 2012 season. He was a two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and seven-time first-team AP All-Pro, and helped Baltimore win the Super Bowl in the 2000 and 2012 seasons.

He was on the opposing sideline the last two times the Dolphins hosted playoff games, helping Baltimore defeat Miami 20-3 in 2001 and 27-9 in 2008. The Dolphins, of course, last won a playoff game December 30, 2000 when they defeated the Indianapolis Colts in overtime.

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Alain Poupart
ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of Miami Dolphins On SI and host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press and the Dolphins team website. In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books, such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.

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