" What do Kevin Hardy, John Mobley and Reggie Brown have in common?

Don't even bother.

Who would guess that those were the three linebackers drafted ahead of Ray Lewis in 1996? If you want to add Simeon Rice, Hardy's college teammate who became a defensive end in the NFL but was a linebacker at Illinois, make it four. Add them together and what do you get?

Not Ray Lewis, that's for sure.

When Lewis walks onto the turf at Gillette Stadium today, he not only will be the best linebacker on the field, he will make clear at some point why he is the best inside/middle linebacker of his time and perhaps of all time.

It is difficult to compare eras because games change, size and speed change, strategy and rules change. Even so, a few athletes are transcendent players for all eras. Ray Lewis is such a linebacker.

"I was involved in selecting the Playboy All-America team for almost 50 years and I remember when we brought Ray out his last year at (Miami)," longtime Dallas Cowboys super scout Gil Brandt recalled. "We had all kinds of games to keep the guys occupied. Ping-pong, hoops, pitching baseballs, water volleyball, water basketball. That guy was so athletic it was unbelievable. He was at the head of the class.

"There's always one dominant guy in those kind of groups. That year it was Ray Lewis. He had unbelievable leadership and athletic ability. He has an amazing feel for the game of football, too, which is something you can't coach. He finds the ball.

"Is he the greatest middle linebacker? I don't know if he's the single greatest, but he's one of the best ever. What would (Dick) Butkus do if he had to play today? It was a running league when he played. Now it's a passing league. So you don't know, but you know they're both great. I'll tell you this: Lewis is the best of his time."

In 14-plus seasons, Lewis has made the Pro Bowl an inside linebacker-record 11 times, breaking the mark set by one of the creators of the middle linebacker position, the Detroit Lions' Joe Schmidt. He was named to the 2000s All-Decade team and twice has been NFL Defensive Player of the Year, only the sixth player to win it multiple times."