Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

With the announcement of his retirement, Ray Lewis and his career have come into spotlight, as the sports media considers his place in NFL history. While I am certainly not a fan of Ray Lewis, I cannot deny his impact on the NFL, and I am more than willing to admit that he’s one of the best defensive players in the history of the sport. Lewis led a Ravens defense that is certainly in the top five defenses of all time, and his motivational techniques cannot be denied, as much as I’d like to discredit them. So after admitting my bias against Lewis, allow me to compare Lewis against his main “rival” as we consider how these two players will go down in NFL history.

Who was better, Derrick Brooks or Ray Lewis?

Buccaneers fans certainly look upon Mr. Brooks as one of the best players, if not the best player, in team history. Brooks won 2002 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and has the most First Team All Pro and Pro Bowl appearances in team history. He started 221 games for the Buccaneers, and despite not being the most outgoing personality on the team, Brooks is widely considered modern Bucs’ fans favorite player. The FSU product played 14 years in the NFL, all with the Buccaneers, and despite playing a different position from Lewis (Brooks played outside, Lewis played inside), the overlap in the two players’ careers provides plenty of opportunities to compare two of the best linebackers to ever take to the Sunday gridiron.

The first thing to consider is that Lewis played 3 more seasons than Brooks, but only appeared in 4 more games. Brooks certainly proved to be the more durable player over the course of his NFL career, playing 16 games per season from 1995 to 2008. Lewis missed multiple games in a handful of his NFL season. While this seems a bit unfair, this is certainly an advantage for Brooks. It also provides a solid base upon which to evaluate the two backers, as they played a similar amount of games, so counting statistics will be reasonably close, thanks to a similar sample size.

Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Just looking at the basics, Ray Lewis finished his NFL regular season career with 1573 tackles, 500 assisted tackles, and one safety to his name. Brooks ended his NFL career with 1301 tackles, 414 assisted tackles, and no safeties. Obviously the advantage goes to Lewis here, but it is to be expected, as the middle linebacker position will often produce a higher number of tackles. See Luke Kuechly this season for a perfect example. Lewis was able to deliver more highlight reel hits, as well, so it is safe to say that Lewis has the edge in the tackling department.

Taking a look at turnovers, the pair of linebackers is very similar. Lewis ended with more interceptions than Brooks, registering 31 to Brooks’ 25. However, Brooks was able to turn 6 of his interceptions into touchdowns, as opposed to only 3 for Lewis. Brooks also forced 24 fumbles, more than Lewis’ 19. Brooks added yet another touchdown via fumble recovery, bringing his career score total to 7. This means Brooks directly accounted for 42 career points, more than Lewis’ 20.  While this category is certainly close, Brooks ability to turn turnovers into points gives him the edge.

The final traditional linebacker statistic to take a look at is sacks, and this one is a blowout in favor of Ray Lewis. Brooks finished with only 13.5 sacks, which is nothing compared to Lewis and his 41.5 sacks. Again, this is due to a vast difference in roles, as Lewis was used in pass rushing situations far more often than Brooks, who assumed a zone role in the Tampa 2 defense rather than a pass-rushing role. Obviously, advantage Lewis here.

Both of these players originally out of the state of Florida has similarly dominant NFL careers. Both of them were leaders and icons for their respective franchises. Both were key figures in their franchises only Super Bowl victories. But it is with gritted teeth and a sickened stomach that I must admit that Lewis has had the better career. While the off-the-field history of the Raven legend is certainly more questionable than the Buccaneer great, on the field, there is no doubt that Ray Lewis is one of the best defensive players of all time, and he might just be the greatest linebacker of all time.

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Before he was hired by the Buccaneers, Schiano was a relative unknown to Bucs fans. When he was hired, many asked, “Who is this guy?” and wanted a bigger name. The ones who were familiar with Schiano knew about how he turned around Rutgers football and revamped the Scarlet Knights recruiting power. You see, that’s one of the marks of a great coach in college football; the great ones drive recruits. Don’t believe me? Look at all the quarterbacks who want to play for the Kansas Jayhawks ever since Charlie Weis became the head man in Lawrence; people want to play for good coaches.

May 4, 2012; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano during rookie mini camp at One Buc. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

Therefore, the more informed fans who were well-versed in Schiano’s motivational power, solid player evaluation, and sound schematic knowledge were excited by a hire. Greg Schiano represents the best of both worlds. He’s a young, energetic coach with plenty of fresh ideas, but he’s also wise in his decision making and doesn’t tolerate head cases. But he sure knows how to deal with them. After all, it is far easier to find enigmatic players on a college team than it is to find them in the NFL.

But for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, past success in the college world doesn’t mean much. It isn’t just that “talk is cheap”, but it also has to do with the disparity between the NFL and college football. The NFL is for the big coaches, and only the best college football coaches succeed in the NFL. Despite not coaching a major program, it was apparent that Schiano was one of the best coaches in college football. At the very least, it was apparent that he was one of the best to the Bucs.

At first, Tampa tried to hire Oregon Ducks coach Chip Kelly, who is one of the brightest offensive minds in the game. He’s built a powerhouse out west, and the Ducks are a perennial title contender under Chip. He stayed to focus on the Ducks, and one great, young coaching mind yielded way for another.

It’s easy to say that Chip Kelly is the better coach than Greg Schiano based on how their college teams produced, but there were concerns associated with Chip. Although he knows how to motivate a team and knows the offensive side of the ball extremely well, many were skeptical about his ability to manage a defense. It is a reasonable concern, but it was also a little bit overblown.

Even though Kelly is the better-known coach, Schiano fits the Bucs better. The team needed a coach who knows how to turn a team around and has a great working knowledge of defensive schemes. Schiano fits that description, and the “loud” coach has invigorated new life into this Bucs team. He’s also been classy in his first 100 days on the team, and this culminated in the signing of paralyzed former Rutger Eric LeGrand.

More importantly, Schiano has been getting results. He helped orchestrate a grade A draft that yielded three quality, starting-caliber players. The Buccaneers now have a new safety in the cerebral Mark Barron, who will be a solid player at the position for quite some time. Former Cornhuskers standout linebacker Lavonte David has been praised by Derrick Brooks and was a steal in the late second round. Former Boise State running back Doug Martin is an underrated, great all-around back who has a chance to start.

The Bucs also made some great pick-ups in the latter rounds, including versatile defensive back Keith Tandy who starred for the West Virginia Mountaineers in college. Another late-rounder to watch for is running back Michael Smith, who adds a new dimension of speed to this team and was an absolute steal for the Bucs.

The future looks bright in Tampa Bay with a new coaching staff in place, a great draft class, and Greg Schiano leading this ship into the future. He’s a better coach than Raheem Morris could have ever been, and it’s showing in the new aura surrounding this team. He’s the right man to turn around this football squad, and he is showing it. The signings of Vincent Jackson and Carl Nicks are huge, as the two elite players have massively upgraded this offer.

As for Schiano’s grade, it’s difficult for me not to get ahead of myself and give him a resounding “A+” for his work so far this offseason. It may be premature and the regular season results are more important, but Schiano has exceeded expectations in Tampa. He’s done an excellent job and deserves all the high praise that he has received.

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Derrick Brooks - During the decade, he made Pro Bowls in every year except 2007 and 2009.  He was a first team All-Pro 4 times, in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2005.  He led the NFL in non-offensive TD’s in 2002 with 4, the same year he won the Defensive Player of the Year and the Bucs won the Super Bowl.  That same year, he was 10th in the league in INT’s at 5, the only non-defensive back in the top 15.   A good judge of players in all sports is a similarity score that is used in baseball mainly to determine “like” players.  For DB his similar players are Mike Singletary, Lawrence Taylor, Jack Ham, Ray Lewis and Junior Seau.  A Hall of Fame lock.

Ronde Barber – The only defensive back in NFL history with over 25 sacks and 25 INT’s, Ronde Barber has been one of the leagues premier defensive backs for over 10 years.  He finished every season with at least two INT’s and 1 sack in the decade except for in 2006 and in 2009.  In 2001 he led the league with 10 INT’s.  He had over 50 tackles every year in the decade.  He was named to Pro Bowl teams in 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008. He was a First Team All-Pro in 2001, 2004 and 2005.  He is first in the league in active NFL players in non-offensive TD’s with 13.  He is number in NFL history in non-offensive TD’s with 13.  He is 3rd in NFL history in Fumble Return TD’s with 4.  He is 8th in NFL history with 7 INT’s for TD.  His similarity scores compare him to Herb Adderley, Lem barney, Willie WOod, Night Train Lane, Aeneas Williams, Mel Blount, Champ Bailey and Deion Sanders.   All of those guys are Hall of Famers, or soon to be Hall of Famers.  A Hall of Fame lock.

“Obviously, this is quite an honor,” said Barber. “To be singled out among the thousands of players who have played during the 2000s is pretty special. What it means to me is that the hard work I’ve put in all these years has paid off, and I’ve been fortunate to have a pretty successful career. I think the fact that it started, really, at top of this decade with a big year and has continued since then shows my resiliency. I think I’ve had a pretty good career and it’s rewarding to be recognized for it.”

Warren Sapp – One of the most disruptive interior pass rushers in NFL History, in my opinion, the real cog in our great defenses and the reason that we won a SB.  He made Pro Bowls in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003.  He was a First Team All Pro in 2000, 2001 and 2002.  He’s 28th in NFL History in Career Sacks.  He is second in NFL history in sacks for interior lineman.   Not only was he a great pass rusher, he was equally great at stopping the run.  While he probably peaked near the start of the 2000′s he was still a dominant enough force to be named to the team.  His similarity scores compare him to players like Deacon Jones, Henry Jordan, Dan Hampton, Willie Davis, Jack Youngblood, Randy White and Joe Greene, all of whom are Hall of Famers.  In my mind, Sapp is a Hall of Fame lock.   The fact that he was a prick might leave him off the first ballot, but he will eventually get in.