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OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- It's inevitable the comparisons to Ray Lewis will come up every time Baltimore Ravens linebacker C.J. Mosley makes game-changing plays like the ones he delivered last Sunday in Indianapolis. Throughout the week following Mosley's breakout performance, you couldn't come across a piece written about Mosley without seeing the name Ray Lewis.  Such lofty expectations are unfair, and quite honestly, unrealistic. Mosley isn't the next Ray Lewis, just like there's not going to be another Ed Reed or Jonathan Ogden.
If Mosley was playing this way in Green Bay or New England, there would be a different label placed on Mosley: the best rookie linebacker in the NFL. And that's what everyone should be calling him now. Mosley is the only NFL defender to post at least 40 tackles, an interception, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble. His 47 tackles leads all rookies and tops a Ravens defense that has given up the third-fewest points in the league. He's also the third-highest rated inside linebacker by Pro Football Focus. How impressive is that? Mosley trails only Luke Kuechly, the reigning NFL defensive player of the year, and Bobby Wagner, the leading tackler for the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. Still, from the day he was drafted No. 17 overall by the Ravens in May to this past week, Mosley is getting questions about Ray Lewis. "When I first came in, I said I wasn't going to try to be the next Ray Lewis," Mosley said. "I have to be me and play the way I play. But to be mentioned with him is a great honor." What everyone has to remember is Ray Lewis wasn't the best defender in the NFL as a rookie. In fact, Mosley has two more tackles than Lewis did after his first five games in the league. Mosley has the right attitude in order to escape Lewis' shadow. Great players can carve out their own piece of history when following great players. It takes time, though. Just ask Steve Young and Aaron Rodgers. What stands out about Mosley is his intelligence and his maturity. The start of his NFL career has had its share of bumps. He'll lose receivers in coverage and he had trouble containing the likes of Giovani Bernard and Le'Veon Bell. But what excites the Ravens about Mosley is he improves each week. Last Sunday, he single-handedly ended three drives with a tackle on fourth down, a quarterback hit that helped force a turnover and an interception at the goal line. "He makes very few mistakes," coach John Harbaugh said. "He's playing good football, he's a really good tackler, he's done a nice job of coverage. But he'll be the first to tell you he's not going to rest on any past performance." That's why Mosley has a chance of becoming the NFL defensive rookie of the year, and that's something even Ray Lewis didn't achieve.
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