Feb 3, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; Baltimore Ravens inside linebacker Ray Lewis (52) in the first quarter against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
This play off run for the Baltimore Ravens was all one long drawn out ride into the sunset for Ray Lewis. He climbed the mountain won the trophy and got a proper NFL send off. But if you watched the game you might have noticed Lewis wasn’t the dominant force he was in Super Bowl XXXV when he won MVP honors.
Former teammate Trevor Pryce says that Lewis played so badly that he shouldn’t even get to cash the pay check from the game. I’m sure Ray Lewis would let the Ravens keep the check cause he only wanted the hardware.
“Half of his playoff check should go to Dannell Ellerbe for making that last play on that last fade route,” said Pryce, via Jim Rome. “The other half to Greg Roman the 49ers offensive coordinator.”
Dannell Ellerbe led the Ravens in tackles in the Super Bowl with 9, Lewis had 7 tackles in the game, second highest on the team. That could be misleading though because Ray Lewis was overmatched against San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis. Colin Kaepernick threw 8 passes to Davis, and he hauled in 6 for 104 yards. Lewis was chasing Davis all over trying to keep up.
And in for your curious how the man who can motivate and captivate men to play above their natural levels with simply his words could under perform, Pryce has a answer for you. And no it’s not old age.
“I think he played with a case of the nerves. I think he had the yips. I really do,” said Pryce. “He had it bad; he didn’t look like himself, even his new self. Forget his old self, that guy’s gone, that guy’s named Patrick Willis. But even the guy he was last week, he wasn’t that guy. He had a case of it bad, badly. It was almost like he was just hoping let’s get this over with.”