To me Ray Lewis has lost a little bit of what he use to be, which was the best middle linebacker in recent memory, but he is still very good.
Thanks for putting all of this in context.
I agree. Obviously, if he were to be on the block, the main issues would be: What's he want? What do we think he's worth? What are other teams willing to pay? And does it make sense for us to pay the tab?
I'm old school when it comes to MLB's - i.e. I give more weight to toughness and run-stuffing than I do to sideline-to-sideline range (not that it wouldn't be nice). As such, a guy like Lewis (who's tough and hits like a ton) who might have lost a step figures to still be able to play the position at a high level.
One thing that makes me a tad nervous though - Lewis had his best years as an ILB with additional help in a 3-4. Since he's been in a 4-3 (without Hartwell to help him), his productivity has fallen off a little.
Still - all things being equal - having Ray in the middle couldn't hurt.
