Lardarius Webb On Returning As Legend Of The Game, 2019 Ravens

Nov. 17 wasn’t just a dominating 41-7 win for the Baltimore Ravens against the Houston Texans — it was also a homecoming for former Ravens cornerback and Super Bowl XLVII champion Lardarius Webb.

Webb, who officially retired as a Raven in August, was honored Nov. 17 as the Ravens’ Legend of the Game. Webb played in Baltimore from 2009-2017, intercepting 15 passes along the way.

“It’s an amazing feeling, just to come back and the love I get from the city, I’m honored,” Webb said on Glenn Clark Radio Nov. 19. “That’s why when I see everyone, I’m trying to take pictures, they want autographs. I’m just trying to enjoy every moment that I could. It was awesome. They showed me so much love in the stadium, and I didn’t want to leave.”

Baltimore was a perfect landing spot for him, as his favorite player would line up alongside him for the next few years: Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed, just one of the great defensive players Webb played with while in Baltimore.

“When I got drafted to the team, I was so hype that I get to play with Ed Reed that I forgot that Ray Lewis was on the team also,” Webb said. “… It was an honor to play with those guys. It was a pleasure being on that defense.”

As for this year’s team, Webb witnessed a show on both sides of the ball Nov. 17, but the defense was the story of the game. That unit allowed just 232 total yards to a Texans team that came into the game No. 7 in the NFL, averaging 380.2 total yards per game.

“I was a strong believer from the beginning of the year,” Webb said. “Once you have a guy like Earl Thomas to keep everything together in the back, making sure everybody’s on point and when you have three lockdown corners like they have now, I think the sky’s the limit for the defense.”

The defense has been bolstered by the return of Jimmy Smith from a knee injury and the recent acquisition of Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Peters, who has already recorded two defensive touchdowns since coming over from the Los Angeles Rams.

Peters, whose 26 interceptions since 2015 lead the league, was a target of the Ravens during the 2015 NFL Draft. He even got a call from head coach John Harbaugh several picks before the Kansas City Chiefs took him No. 18 overall. Now, the two have finally joined, and it’s worked well so far.

“We were supposed to have him years ago. He’s been a Raven his whole life,” Webb said. “… We embrace that. Harbaugh always talked about letting your personality shine. [Peters] lets his personality shine and it shows on the field.”

For what was pegged as a matchup of the future of NFL quarterbacks, Lamar Jackson had the last laugh against Deshaun Watson Nov. 17. The Ravens put up 491 yards of total offense and 263 rushing yards.

Jackson threw for 222 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 89, becoming the first Ravens quarterback to throw for four or more touchdowns in multiple regular-season games in the same year.

The MVP candidate has been tough for teams to scheme against him because he’s a playmaker the league hasn’t seen before, according to Webb.

“It’s very hard stopping a guy like that. He can make throws now and that makes him more dangerous,” Webb said. “He has Mark Andrews that he can make a throw [to], and when Ozzie [Newsome] brought in Hollywood [Brown] to open the deep end up, now he can make a deep throw.

“Now, his running, you can’t really play too much man because if your eyes are on a man, somebody’s eyes need to be on Lamar Jackson. That’s what’s making him dangerous.”

The Ravens now travel to Los Angeles for a “Monday Night Football” showdown with the Rams. Though the Ravens are changing from a typical Sunday to a Monday prime-time game on the West Coast, Webb doesn’t see that stopping them.

“I’m excited to see it. The guys are really locked in right now, so I know this travel is not going to affect them because they have bigger things on their mind,” Webb said. “The way that the defense is playing, you can tell they are in their zone.”

For more from Webb, listen to the full interview here:

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