Legendary Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis is the latest person to criticize the Philadelphia Eagles‘ defense.
Lewis was a guest on the Manning Cast with Peyton and Eli Manning during the Eagles’ Wild Card Round loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night, and during his appearance, he did not like what he saw from Philadelphia.
“Practicing tackling every day is based off angles. When you see the angles of these guys and the way they approach tackling it’s crazy,” Lewis said.
Lewis certainly knows a thing or two about making proper tackles, so his comments should be taken seriously.
The Hall-of-Famer made the remarks during a Buccaneers drive that resulted in Baker Mayfield throwing a 56-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Trey Palmer, which gave Tampa Bay a 25-9 lead.
“That is why sometimes I get outside and go sit on my water because I can’t deal with this stuff Peyton,” added Lewis.
Lewis also felt that the Eagles were not playing good team football, which he thought was one of the primary results for their shoddy defensive effort.
“Nobody plays together,” he said. “Put them in a cup. If you put them guys in a cup you’re not gonna see big plays like this. But everyone is playing individual football and that’s insane to me man.”
But Lewis’ rant was not finished there, as he continued his verbal assault on Philadelphia’s poor tackling.
“From pop warner football that was what we were taught [angles of tackling],” Lewis said. “Look, look all you’ve got to do is slow the guy down.”
Philly ultimately surrendered 32 points to Tampa Bay in its 23-point loss, giving up a grand total of 426 yards. This was no surprise given how much the Eagles’ defense struggled during the regular season. Philadelphia ranked just 26th in yards allowed and 30th in scoring defense in 2023.
Those players would probably not want Ray Lewis in that locker room.
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