Ray Lewis isn't exactly optimistic about his former team repeating as the Super Bowl champion.
The Baltimore Ravens underwent major changes this offseason with the loss of Lewis, Matt Birk, Anquan Boldin, Ed Reed, Paul Kruger, Dannell Ellerbe and Cary Williams, among others. Things won't be the same for the Ravens.
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"It's going to be very hard, after you lose that much chemistry," Lewis told USA Today's Robert Klemko about the Ravens' Super Bowl chances. "But who knows? It's unpredictable, as always. Hopefully, they try to pull enough together, use their youth and try to make a run. But it's hard to try that formula. That formula usually doesn't work."
The Ravens did restock with Elvis Dumervil, Chris Canty, Michael Huff, Marcus Spears and Rolando McClain. General manager Ozzie Newsome said he didn't want to make the same mistake he did after the franchise's first Super Bowl win last decade and hang onto aging players. So Newsome made moves with an eye on the future while freeing up money for Joe Flacco's contract extension and wide receiver Torrey Smith and tight end Dennis Pitta down the road.
Chemistry is hard to replace, but Newsome repeatedly has proven he's one of the NFL's top executives. No team has won consecutive titles since the New England Patriots in 2003 and 2004, so that's pretty rare company anyway.
Follow Kareem Copeland on Twitter @kareemcopeland.
