Culcasi's Thoughts

With an eye towards the future, the Philadelphia Eagles selected three defensive backs in the first two rounds of the 2002 draft: CB Lito Sheppard (#26 overall), S Michael Lewis (58) and CB Sheldon Brown (59). Their defensive backfield was stacked at the time with Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor on the corner, Brian Dawkins and Damon Moore/Blaine Bishop at safety, leading many to question their intentions. The answer to that question will be answered this year with Sheppard and Brown taking over as the starting cornerbacks, Lewis entering his second season as a full-time starter at strong safety and looking like a stud defender in the making.

Michael Lewis has size (6'1 211), speed (4.55) and is a tough, aggressive playmaker. He's shares many attributes with teammate Brian Dawkins, including their effectiveness as blitzers, but one area that they differ is in coverage. Dawkins possesses almost cornerback-like man coverage skills, making him one of the best all-around free safeties in the game. Lewis, on the other hand, covers well in a short area but struggles down the field. He's a strong safety, what do you expect.

Injuries forced Lewis into the starting lineup as a rookie, taking over for Blaine Bishop during the final four games, and he left us all very excited with 25 solo tackles, one sack and one interception in his short audition. Hoping that he'd build on that success many ranked him close to the top 10 DB entering last year, and he did not disappoint with 67 solo tackles, two sacks, three interceptions and 11 passes defended. Pretty good coverage numbers for a guy who supposedly struggles in that area.

Positives

• Lewis possesses a nice combination of size and speed. Along with Brian Dawkins, they form one of the top safety duos in the league, both in their physical skills along with their ability to fill up the boxscore.



• The addition of Jevon Kearse should send ripples through the defense. More pressure on the QB means less pressure on the secondary, which is a good thing with two new starters at cornerback. Lewis should be relied on less to help out the secondary and be allowed to roam, using his nonstop motor and playmaking skills to cause havoc at the line of scrimmage.



• Lewis is a young player, so consistency should be an issue, but that's not the case. He shows up on a weekly basis and has not posted less than three solo tackles in a single game as starter.

Negatives

• There isn't much to dislike about Lewis' game. His coverage ability would be a negative only if he didn't produce decent fantasy numbers. What do we care if he's deficient, as long as he defends and catches enough balls to satisfy his fantasy owners.

Final Thoughts

At this time last year, the Eagles defensive line appeared to be stacked and ready to dominate. Injuries depleted that line before the season even started. With the signing of Jevon Kearse, the development of Jerome McDougle and the health of Derrick Burgess, the line once again looks like a strength. If they can remain injury free, the pressure that is applied from the front four will allow the other defenders to blitz less and make more plays on the ball. Michael Lewis should be a big benefactor and I expect to see a decent increase in his solo tackles. He's flashed some stud-like skills over his first two seasons. This year he'll leave no doubt, joining the leagues elite defensive backs.

Quotes from the IDP Spotlight Message Thread:

To view the entire thread, click here: DB Michael Lewis, Philadelphia Eagles

tkrull:
"What's not to like about Michael Lewis? In my opinion, he's a borderline Top 10 DB. However, barring injury, he's a slamdunk Top 20. He's active in all phases of the game posting numbers for sacks, INTs, fumbles and pass defended. To top it off, he regularly posts good tackle numbers. This is key to providing week to week consistency.

You want to talk dynasty? Great! He's young (only 24), but is entering his third season with already a full season as a starter under his belt. He was a solid contributor his rookie season as well. He should be around for awhile. Plus, if you listen to what the Eagle's coaches were saying, Lewis received plenty of praise for being the glue that held their secondary together last season with all the injury problems.

However, last year's injury situation in the Eagles secondary brings up an important point. Brian Dawkins will be healthy again in '04. Will Lewis be asked to do everything again? Probably not. So in my opinion, the return of Dawkins will tend to mute the natural progression that one would expect in trying to extrapolate this years numbers from last year's stats. I see Dawkins back more in his FS role with the opportunities to record the INTs and PDs. I see Lewis up in the box for run support with the tackle numbers and an occasional sack.

Bottomline, I do see some improvement over last year's numbers, but probably looking at roughly 12-15th DB overall."

Weiner Dog:
"Believe or not...Michael Lewis was considered by many scouts to be the 3rd-best safety behind Roy Williams and Ed Reed in the '02 draft. However, a somewhat sluggish 40 time and an over-inflated health scare pushed Lewis to the Eagles in the 2nd-round.

With the absence of both Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor, Lewis should see an increase in tackles, PDs, and INTs. Why?? First...Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown will NOT be able to blanket WRs in the same fashion as Vincent and Taylor. These additional receptions by the opposition will translate into more tackles for Lewis. Second...Lewis (along with Dawkins) will be asked to help a tadbit more in pass coverage to help mask the inexperience of both Sheppard and Brown."

Projections

IDP Scoring System
1 pt per Solo Tackle
0.5 pt per Assisted Tackle
3 pts per Sack
4 pts per Interception
1 pt per Pass Defensed
2 pts per Forced Fumble
2 pts per Fumble Recovery