Shutdown Corner

By Frank Schwab January 14, 2015 12:06 PM Shutdown Corner

If you've seen his work on ESPN, you know Ray Lewis can get fired up about certain topics. He'll go on somewhat rambling rants.

So it's tough to really know what was on the former Baltimore Ravens linebacker's mind when he went off about the Tuck Rule Game involving the New England Patriots at the end of the 2001 playoffs (hey, it has only been 13 years) but the quote that stands out will be in bold:

“Honest to God, the first time we created something called a tuck rule is the only reason we know — I’m just being honest — the only reason we know who Tom Brady is, because of a tuck rule,” Lewis said on Stephen A. Smith's radio show, via WEEI. “There’s no such thing as a tuck rule. If the ball is in your hand and I knock it out your hand, whether it’s going backwards, forwards, lateral, sideways — however it’s coming out, that’s a freakin’ fumble. But guess what we created? We created a freakin’ tuck rule. … Man, there are certain rules that should not be allowed to be in this game of football.”

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Lewis went on about the tuck rule for a bit more after that, seemingly insinuating the NFL made up the rule on the spot, saying, "And they named it a tuck rule — something we never heard in today’s game. So now you’ve got to ask yourself: When did the legacy really start?"

We're not beyond this yet? Even if we think that the Patriots benefited in that game (and really, the rule was called correctly whether or not we agree with the rule as it was at the time), New England has validated its worth since then, you'd have to say. It's not like Brady, one of the top five quarterbacks ever on almost any sane list, falls off the planet if Charles Woodson's forced fumble is upheld as a fumble in the Tuck Rule Game. It's not like the Patriots were a one-game wonder. They have double-digit wins in 12 straight seasons, have won 11 of 12 AFC Eat titles and will be playing in their ninth AFC championship game of the Brady-Bill Belichick era on Sunday. They wouldn't have turned to dust if the tuck rule ruling didn't go their way.

Whatever Lewis was trying to say – it's hard to believe he was really downgrading Brady's accomplishments because of one controversial play more than a decade ago – it's another reminder why that Tuck Rule Game remains one of the most famous and controversial in NFL history.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab