Horse Tracks: Ray Lewis has a good point on what makes a 'football player' in the NFL

The story I should write about is the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series, but I don’t care, so I’m not going to.

Football, football and football is what you're getting here. The story that caught my eye and I'll post the video below, is about Cam Newton

Ray Lewis, love or hate him, IS A FOOTBALL PLAYER, don't care if he's retired. It's who is he. Ask John Elway.

What did he say that has me all fi yerd up? Ray laying the wood to Cam being skeeeered. Yeah, Cam. What kind of leader, what kind of QB says he's scared to play?

"You can't show fear on the battlefield."

"Don't ever let anyone see your weakness."

How can a team win together, if the quarterback is weak or self centered?

I'm not going to comment on his remarks about character, since it is Ray Lewis, after all, but his insight on being a leader, is bang on.

How do you inspire your team to take a hit, play kicking and screaming, if you won't? If you're scared?

In my AFC West preview, I laid into Blake Borltes for playing heartless, now Ray is blasting Cam and I have to wonder if anyone heard our own QB say he'd rather our OL take flags, then him getting hit?

What is going on in QBLand?

Maybe the reason we're seeing some boring football, starts and ends with HEART. Maybe a ratings dip has nothing to do with Kaep and the kneel, or the election, but rather why are some of these guys willing to battle the public, but not battle each other on the field?

Why are you out there? What part of hit or be hit did you miss during Pop Warner, HS and college football?

Whenever Navy wives complain about their husbands deploying, I ask, what part of ships going bye-bye did you miss?

Come on, people. Whatever choices you make in life, follow them through. Give it what you got. If that means playing a violent sport, then play it and shut up. Don't leave the pocket if you don't want to be a sitting duck.

I'll tell you what, if I were to keep getting hit, I'd start dishing some back. And I'd call the other guys out by questioning their man parts. What king of, _ _ _fill in the blank, kind of....hits a QB after he's released the ball? I'll tell you what kind, a ...and then I'd say, next time soandso nails me illegal, I'm going to lay him out flat, he'll be sucking his thumb and crying for his mama. And refs, here's my checkbook, how many zeros?

Cam, your team lost to a 40yr old who couldn't throw a TD because YOU fell apart. Our guy kept calm, even after getting decked five times. You didn't see him pouting or kicking the ground. He didn't even play with his knee brace. May the rest of the QB's in the league, take a lesson from that.

Horse Tracks

Visual Preview: at Raiders
A by-the-numbers look at this week's matchup vs. the Oakland Raiders.

Five Broncos things you should know: Who made Bradley Roby what he is, run defense and more
Bradley Roby's influences are on both sides of Sunday night's game ... and what must the Broncos do to upgrade their performance against the run?

The Broncos Pass Defense Is Somehow Even Better This Season | FiveThirtyEight
Last season, the Broncos were defined by having one of best defenses in NFL history: After a dominant regular season, Denver’s defense carried the team to a Sup…

Greg Cosell's Film Review: Denver's pass rush, and Oakland's challenge against it
This week will be a different game for Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr. Last week Carr faced a Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense that ran mostly zone, rarely blitzed and had a poor pass rush. On Sunday night Carr will face a Denver Broncos defense that likes to play man, blitzes a lot and has perhaps

How trust keeps NFL offensive lines from falling apart - SBNation.com
It may sound cliche, but trust and communication keep offensive lines together in a tangible way. NFL offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz demonstrates how.

Survey: NFL players think marijuana would lead to less painkillers
When it comes to NFL players dealing with the pain, it’s really a pick your poison scenario: painkillers or marijuana.

Richard Sherman: NFL ratings down because league is not 'fun anymore' - Business Insider
Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman laid into the NFL for not letting players have fun, and said it explained this year's ratings freefall.

This from Richard Sherman, who is right. No Fun League. It's more than no fun, it's indicative of what Lewis addresses. Hypocrisy. Plus, where are football players manhood going? If you can't take a guy dancing in front of you after you allowed a TD, why are you playing? I despise, with a flaming passion, all these winey, poor baby rules. Players worked hard to do something well, let them celebrate or taunt. Don't play and don't watch if you don't like seeing guys dance or laugh at you.

Steelers' Darrius Heyward-Bey credits his mom for saving much of his $35M earnings | Fox News
His mom has set him up with a monthly allowance.

Why I Play Football | The Players' Tribune
When we got back to Stanford after last year’s season-opening loss to Northwestern, I took a moment by myself outside the locker room. We had huge expectations heading into that game, and I had huge expectations for myself.

Well, that IS all #BroncosCountry...BEAT THE RAIDERS AND READ LAURIE