A Long Way From Lambeau
Pay Lewis Day
by Mark Lyne-Austen
19/2/2009
 Ray Lewis, one of the most iconic Middle Linebackers of this decade is facing a critical contract negotiation this off-season and it could mean the end of his stay in Baltimore after 12 seasons. The Ravens only need to look back one year at what could happen if they overpay their star Backer and expect for the good years to go on forever. Last year it was Brian Urlacher who was the star contract holdout at the Middle Linebacker position and the Chicago Bears paid him. What the Bears did not get for their money was a good defense in 2008.
Despite their fearsome reputations and intense playing styles, both Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher represent the greatest of dilemmas facing an NFL team in the current salary cap era in that neither will be worth the money their history demands. Urlacher is one of the all-time leading tacklers, having set a franchise record of 151 tackles in a season for Chicago in 2002. Like Urlacher, Ray Lewis is a terrific tackler and when in space against a running back does not come up empty very often.
Also like Urlacher, Lewis is the emotional leader and most recognisable player on his team. That does not make him the best player and it does not mean that his worth can be exaggerated in the salary cap era. If the cap does not return for 2010 as remains a possibility, the economics change but for now the Baltimore Ravens must not over-reach with their wallets on one [iconic] player.
Lewis shares a schematic dependency with Brian Urlacher and it is one that the Ravens have been able to solve by getting great on the defensive line.
The Bears are not in that position and Urlacher's sheer size and tackling ability is not a great fit for the middle of the field when tracking the routes of receivers. Lewis was exposed schematically before his production rose again with the insertion of Haloti Ngata into the defensive tackle position to give Lewis the space free from blocking Guards.
The Baltimore Ravens D is as good as advertised but not particularly because of Ray Lewis. It would not be a stretch to describe Lewis as at most the 4th best player on the starting defense and with that generous grade it would be difficult to argue paying him the top dollar his negotiating stance demands. Lewis has stated that he will not be taking a hometown discount yet it will be the Ravens management that feels the pressure from the hometown fans if contract negotiations are not successful.
With an obvious landing spot with the New York Jets despite their lack of salary cap space after the Eric Mangini free agent splurge last year, Lewis is at least looking to improve his bargaining position to get more money.
His negotiating stance suggests that Lewis is perhaps not the great team player that his persona exaggerates as with the salary cap still in place for 2009 he will know that any money that goes to him cannot be spent on improving the rest of the team.
Ray Lewis is not even the best Linebacker on his team and the Ravens management have failed in their succession planning by having all three starting Backers eligible for free agency simultaneously. No pundits are calling for Lewis to be the top target signed as Terrell Suggs is the one expected to have the franchise tag placed on him. The choice between the 33 year old Ray Lewis and the 28 year old Bart Scott is a close one and could come down to the amounts demanded in negotiation.
 Lewis is the riskier proposition because overpaying aging stars is the single easiest way to slide back down the NFL pecking order. To compete against the best of the NFL in the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Ravens have to keep firing on all fronts and that includes the offense. Looking across at the Bears will show what can happen if they spend their investment unwisely.
The Chicago Bears have posted reasonable seasons in recent years including their trip to Super Bowl XLI but they remain a team without much of an offensive threat and their declining defense mustered merely 21st in yards per game conceded in 2008. Urlacher was the defensive player of the year in
2005 but just three seasons later there could be little argument that he was no longer the best Linebacker on his team with Lance Briggs taking that accolade. The Bears made a financial error in continuing to invest in Urlacher despite his injuries and the rise of other talents, the Ravens have to weigh up that some decision this year.
It is a hard fact of NFL life that times change and players decline. Before the salary cap and perhaps after it, this change did not really matter all that much as a player would tend to stick around until someone better came along. Under the cap though the arch sin is to invest heavily in a player based on reputation yet to the fanbase there seems to be nothing less forgivable than moving a former superstar off the books.
It is a hard decision between doing the economically rational thing and appeasing the fans who ultimately pay the wages and this is one reason why new coaches have found success recently. A new coach has much greater freedom to make change happen because the supporters have more goodwill to the new guy. This is especially true in Baltimore where rookie coach John Harbaugh has just taken his team to within a game of the Super Bowl.
Whatever decision the Ravens eventually go with, they will take criticism from somewhere but for the franchise's sake they can not let sentimentality cloud judgement.
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