Ray Lucas
Encyclopedia
For the baseball player of the same name, see Ray Lucas (baseball)
Ray Lucas (born August 6, 1972 in Harrison
, New Jersey
) is a studio
analyst
for the show Jets Nation on New York City
-based sports network
SportsNet New York
. His previous career was as a football
quarterback
in the National Football League
, where he played for four teams, the New England Patriots
, New York Jets
, Miami Dolphins
and Baltimore Ravens
during his seven year career from 1996
to 2002
. Lucas is a graduate of Harrison High School. He played college football
at Rutgers University
.
Lucas spent most of his career in the NFL in a backup role. During the 1999 NFL season
, after quarterback Vinny Testaverde
was injured in the first game of the season, Rick Mirer
took the helm, winning four of ten games. Lucas took over afterward and lost his first two starts but won his next four games to give the Jets an 8–8 record for the season.
Lucas was a favorite player of Bill Parcells
during Parcells' time in New England and with the Jets, and was one of the players Parcells eventually brought over from the Patriots to the Jets. Parcells introduced Lucas in 1997 by putting him in at quarterback with second string QB Neil O'Donnell
lined up at wide receiver
. Lucas set up in a shotgun formation
and ran the ball himself for 15 yards, befuddling the Vikings defense in a play that eventually led to a Jets victory. He attempted his first NFL pass in Week 17 of 1997 against the Detroit Lions
. Lucas went 3 of 3 for 28 yards before throwing an interception. He was also called for a personal foul when making the tackle on the interception return. Lucas started in the Jets' 1999 preseason opener against the Green Bay Packers
, and Parcells had him in the running for the starting and second string quarterback role during that season. After starting QB Vinny Testaverde
was injured later that season, Lucas started several games.
Following his success with the Jets, Ray Lucas spent the 2001 and 2002 seasons with the Miami Dolphins
. As the team's backup quarterback, he didn't see much playing time during the 2001 season (only having three pass attempts), but during the 2002 season Lucas got an opportunity to start six games. Due to his large size, he was also the quarterback of choice during goal-line and some red zone
situations. The Dolphins began the 2002 season 5-1, but after then starting quarterback Jay Fiedler
broke his thumb during a Monday night game against Denver, Lucas was trusted to quarterback the Dolphins for the next six games. During those games, Lucas amassed 4 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, and a 69.9 QB rating.
Ray Lucas holds the unenviable distinction of worst single game quarterback performance by any Dolphin. On October 20, 2002, in one game against the Buffalo Bills
, Lucas was responsible for 6 turnovers: 4 interceptions and 2 fumbles. He completed only 13 passes to Dolphin receivers. The player that caught the most passes from Lucas was Buffalo Cornerback Nate Clements
.
On March 28, 2008, Lucas was named to the Hudson County Sports Hall of Fame.
Ray Lucas (baseball)
Ray Wesley Lucas, was a major league baseball pitcher, and a minor league baseball manager and scout....
Ray Lucas (born August 6, 1972 in Harrison
Harrison, New Jersey
Harrison is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 13,620. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark, New Jersey.-Geography:Harrison is located at ....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
) is a studio
Television studio
A television studio is an installation in which a video productions take place, either for the recording of live television to video tape, or for the acquisition of raw footage for post-production. The design of a studio is similar to, and derived from, movie studios, with a few amendments for the...
analyst
Color commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...
for the show Jets Nation on New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
-based sports network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
SportsNet New York
SportsNet New York
SportsNet New York is a New York City-based regional sports cable network which airs in the New York metro area and all of New York state, and nationwide via satellite. It is owned jointly by the New York Mets, Time Warner Cable, and NBCUniversal...
. His previous career was as a football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, where he played for four teams, the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
, New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
during his seven year career from 1996
1996 NFL season
The 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end...
to 2002
2002 NFL season
The 2002 NFL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Football League.The league went back to an even number of teams, expanding to 32 teams with the addition of the Houston Texans. The clubs were then realigned into eight divisions, four teams in each...
. Lucas is a graduate of Harrison High School. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
.
Lucas spent most of his career in the NFL in a backup role. During the 1999 NFL season
1999 NFL season
The 1999 NFL season was the 80th regular season of the National Football League. The Cleveland Browns returned to the field for the first time since the 1995 season...
, after quarterback Vinny Testaverde
Vinny Testaverde
Vincent Frank Testaverde is a former NFL quarterback. Testaverde last played for the Carolina Panthers and had previously played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots. Testaverde holds the NFL record for having...
was injured in the first game of the season, Rick Mirer
Rick Mirer
Richard Franklin Mirer is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League. After a successful collegiate career at the University of Notre Dame, Mirer was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks with the second pick in the 1993 NFL Draft. Mirer was traded to the Chicago Bears during...
took the helm, winning four of ten games. Lucas took over afterward and lost his first two starts but won his next four games to give the Jets an 8–8 record for the season.
Lucas was a favorite player of Bill Parcells
Bill Parcells
Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells is a former American football head coach, most recently with the Dallas Cowboys from 2003 to 2006...
during Parcells' time in New England and with the Jets, and was one of the players Parcells eventually brought over from the Patriots to the Jets. Parcells introduced Lucas in 1997 by putting him in at quarterback with second string QB Neil O'Donnell
Neil O'Donnell
Neil Kennedy O'Donnell is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League for 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, Cincinnati Bengals, and Tennessee Titans...
lined up at wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
. Lucas set up in a shotgun formation
Shotgun formation
The shotgun formation is a formation used by the offensive team in American and Canadian football. This formation is used mainly for passing plays, although some teams use it as their base formation. In the shotgun, instead of the quarterback receiving the snap from center at the line of scrimmage,...
and ran the ball himself for 15 yards, befuddling the Vikings defense in a play that eventually led to a Jets victory. He attempted his first NFL pass in Week 17 of 1997 against the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
. Lucas went 3 of 3 for 28 yards before throwing an interception. He was also called for a personal foul when making the tackle on the interception return. Lucas started in the Jets' 1999 preseason opener against the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
, and Parcells had him in the running for the starting and second string quarterback role during that season. After starting QB Vinny Testaverde
Vinny Testaverde
Vincent Frank Testaverde is a former NFL quarterback. Testaverde last played for the Carolina Panthers and had previously played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots. Testaverde holds the NFL record for having...
was injured later that season, Lucas started several games.
Following his success with the Jets, Ray Lucas spent the 2001 and 2002 seasons with the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. As the team's backup quarterback, he didn't see much playing time during the 2001 season (only having three pass attempts), but during the 2002 season Lucas got an opportunity to start six games. Due to his large size, he was also the quarterback of choice during goal-line and some red zone
Red Zone
Red Zone may refer to:*Red Zone , a region of France decimated during World War I*Red Zone , a term designating unsafe areas in Iraq after the 2003 invasion by the United States, Britain, and other allies...
situations. The Dolphins began the 2002 season 5-1, but after then starting quarterback Jay Fiedler
Jay Fiedler
Jay Brian Fiedler is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League.-Early life and high school years:Fiedler was born to a Jewish family on Long Island in Oceanside, New York...
broke his thumb during a Monday night game against Denver, Lucas was trusted to quarterback the Dolphins for the next six games. During those games, Lucas amassed 4 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, and a 69.9 QB rating.
Ray Lucas holds the unenviable distinction of worst single game quarterback performance by any Dolphin. On October 20, 2002, in one game against the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Lucas was responsible for 6 turnovers: 4 interceptions and 2 fumbles. He completed only 13 passes to Dolphin receivers. The player that caught the most passes from Lucas was Buffalo Cornerback Nate Clements
Nate Clements
Nathan D. Clements is an American football cornerback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills 21st overall in the 2001 NFL Draft...
.
On March 28, 2008, Lucas was named to the Hudson County Sports Hall of Fame.