Was out running errands today, and caught some different discussions locally about Ray Lewis.
Particularly interesting to me were the comments from Host Mr. Mark Zinno on 105.7 The Fan.
This was the first time I remember hearing Mr. Zinno, and he sounded like a decent, fairly knowledgeable guy.
That said, he articulated two arguments which I can not agree with.
First, he said that of the 3 Free Agent Linebackers (Lewis, Scott, Suggs) that his first priority would be Lewis.
Second, he said that you can not consider Franchising Lewis, because that would definitively mean he would depart after the 2009 season.
When Zinno was making his initial argument, his central point was that there was little reason to believe Lewis’ play would fall off for the 2009 season.
In that sense, I totally agree with Zinno. Lewis is still going to be in the upper-echelon of Middle Linebackers in this league next year, and I do not think anyone disputes that.
Zinno also correctly pointed out that Lewis is not worried about the annual salary he will receive; he is worried about the guaranteed up-front bonus dollars.
The question, is not will Lewis be productive in 2009 – the question is do you give Lewis a large bonus, essentially for past-performance.
Lewis is still going to be a player this coming year… and I think you can assume reasonable productive for 2-3 years going-forward, but you can not discount his age (34) and the 13 years of tread on his tires.
To me, the biggest difference in Lewis today, and Lewis in his absolute prime, is his tackling.
While he broke Mendenhall’s shoulder this year, and showed multiple times he can still hit… he misses tackles as a 34 year-old, that he did not as a younger man.
I think you can chase this back to his 2002 shoulder injuries, which changed his work-out regiment and how much he was able to lift.
Lewis is aware of this; he came to camp this past July carrying more weight than he had previously played at. His belief was that with an additional 5-10 lbs, he would be stronger, and tackle better. I think he was right, and he responded with his best overall season in several years.
However, there was a counter to that… while he still has legs… and he still moves side-line to side-line well, it is my belief that extra weight caused him to be a bit slower in getting to the edge.
All in all, Lewis is still one of the best… and is likely to be productive going forward, but to act like age has had no effect on him is just not accurate.
If you get past all of the things that Lewis has done for this franchise, and what he means to the City of Baltimore – I can not imagine him being of greater importance to the Ravens going forward vs Suggs.
If you get Suggs extended… you have a cornerstone piece on the D-line (Ngata), LB (Suggs), and Secondary (Reed)…
If you believe that Lewis has productive years ahead of him at age 34, then you have to believe Suggs has productive years ahead of him as he turns 27.
This leads me back to Zinno’s second-argument, the idea that you can not Franchise Lewis.
I believe Ravens Owner Steve Biscotti has said they will not Franchise Lewis, but I would not completely take it off the table.
If you can not come together with a deal that makes sense for both parties, I would consider using the Franchise tag.
You just reached the AFC Championship Game; you could use the Franchise tag as an attempt to keep the core together for another title run in 2009.
Zinno might be right that that would ensure Lewis would depart after 2009, but that is not definitively known, nor might it matter.
Where I really did agree with Zinno today, is that Zinno continued to make the point that this is a business decision for Lewis.
Nobody can blame Lewis, if the fairy-tale ending of Lewis finishing his career in a Ravens uniform does not happen.
That is business.
The flip-side to that argument though is that nobody should blame the Ravens if they decide to invest in players such as Suggs, and Jason Brown who can help this team in the longer-term.
My belief continues to be that the Ravens will present a solid-offer to Lewis, and that Lewis, with Suggs and Brown – will return.
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.