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March 7, 2007

A Canticle For Michael Lewis

Looks like I'll need to find a Niners fan to take my midnight-green #32 Birds shirt

It wasn't supposed to end like this for Michael Lewis.

Or, more succinctly, when I bought my Michael Lewis #32 jersey a year and a half ago, I didn't expect that it would end like this: with Lewis removed from the starting lineup for most of the 2006 season and then signing a gigantic contract ($10 million guaranteed) with another team. Two years ago, he was coming off a Pro Bowl season for a Super Bowl team, and was one of the three defensive backs that the Eagles selected in the 2002 draft -- all of who seemed pretty set for stardom and/ or long careers in the Illadelph. The future looked bright for all three, even if Lewis was the only one who had yet to sign an extension.

So what happened?

Here's my theory (and note that I have no sources or data to validate more than 4 percent of this): I'm sure that the Eagles offered Lewis an extension during the 2004 season, when they were locking down Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown. I'm also sure that the Eagles had watched the tape on Michael Lewis, and had a pretty good sense for what his strengths and weaknesses were. I'm even more sure that they offered him a deal that he probably considered to be below maket value for a 25-year-old Pro Bowler. A crappy year for the team in 2005 -- in which Lewis was less than extraordinary -- followed by a disastrous first month to the 2006 season -- where it seemed like Lewis found himself costing the team a touchdown pretty much every week -- landed him on the bench by late October, replaced by undersized Sean Considine and consigned to playing as a small linebacker on passing downs. At that point, not even his mad Madden video game skillz (he was the 2005 Madden Bowl champ among NFL players) could save him -- this was going to be Michael Lewis's last season with the Birds. I even benched him myself -- refusing to wear my Michael Lewis shirt for the second half of the 2006 season. It just felt like the shirt had bad karma.

(Yes, I assign different levels of value and/ or value to my various Eagles garments. I am 30 years old. Yup.)

The funny thing about Michael Lewis is that he had essentially the same profile/ deficiencies as the other two high-profile strong safeties in the NFC East, Dallas' Roy Williams and Washington's Sean Taylor. Specifically, Michael Lewis was a big hitter who was great against the run and on the blitz, but could be a bit suspect in pass coverage. It was actually uncanny to have these three players in the same division.

It's also worth noting that the move to bench Lewis this season was probably not disconnected from his contract situation with the team. That is, when the Eagles aren't cool with someone's responses to their contract overtures, it will impact their role on the squad. Sure, they would never admit that, and Lewis's gaffes against Houston and Dallas (to name only a couple) this year were reason enough to question his starting role, but if he had signed his name to the line which is dotted, I bet things would have broken another way.

Theories in re: Evil Front Office motives aside, both Michael Lewis and the Eagles were pretty classy about an obviously awkward situation all year. Lewis never whinged to the press, and Andy Reid had nothing but good things to say about him, both as a player and as a locker room guy. So cheers to everyone on that one.

And, truth be told, this all really worked out for Michael Lewis. Sure, he didn't get an extension with the Birds, but he got to be a free agent during the first year that the new labor agreement kicked in and the contracts suddenly all got a little goofy. $10 million guaranteed for a guy who got benched last year is not so bad. So good for him.

As a fan, I'll miss having him on the Birds. For whatever reason, I've always been a fan of Michael Lewis, and, more generally, big-hitting Eagles strong safeties (see also my fascination in re: Andre Waters). There's just something about the guys who lay the big hits that appeals to me (go figure); even if they aren't the best or most effective player on the defense. It's a bummer to see him go, but I wish him well in San Francisco.

Go Birds (and I'm crossing my fingers for a Donte Stallworth signing by Friday of this week).

Posted by thatkid at March 7, 2007 9:26 PM under Philly , Sports

Comments

Posted by: k O at March 8, 2007 10:37 AM

Posted by: thatkid at March 8, 2007 11:48 AM

Posted by: micah at March 26, 2007 9:53 PM

Posted by: thatkid at March 28, 2007 9:35 PM

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