Quote:While it's true that Marcedes turned into a pumpkin after his new contract, I think some of us have been a bit too critical of his performance and why he has been a disappointment.

 

If my foggy scotch filled brain remembers correctly, Lewis signed his extension the in the offseason in which Gabbert was drafted.  He then had to deal with the QB that was not ready to play.  Yes, he stunk up the joint.  There's no doubt about it.  But Lewis has always been a role player.  

 

I define a role player as one that needs strong leadership both on and off the field that can help elevate his game.  Lewis found himself, along with the rest of the team, dealing with alot of drama and ineptitude.  As an armchair sports psychotherapist, I would hypothesize that his hideous performance was correlated to the fact that he had absolutely no confidence in Gabbert and had begun to question the decisions of the coaching staffs--both JDR and Mularkey.

 

It would be fair to say that other players, Poz comes to mind, stepped up and continued to perform...  However, I don't think Lewis is cut from the same mental cloth.

 

To substantiate my theory--- Marcedes was a beast during the 2nd half of the season.  I know, it goes against the popular thought of this board to bring up positives regarding Lewis.  But if we look at the arc of his career his slide has alot to do with the lack of true leadership with the franchise until recently.  The moment the Gus Juice began to take hold (which I believe was right after the bye), Marcedes really stepped up.  There were moments in the second half of the season where Marcedes looked like he was ready to eat snails.  At least once a game (again in the 2nd half of the season) I recall him making a monster catch and run where he looked to be finishing plays and hurting secondary defenders.

 

I'm sure some will not read my entire post and just come up with some non-sense about his stone hands and dropping TD's wide open in the end zone.  I've been critical of him too.  But to deny how hard-core he looked last year after he came back from his "injury" along with the coaching staff finally getting a hold of the psyche of the team should not be ignored.  

 

Clay Harbour also made some amazing plays during the last stretch of the season, but it's clear he doesn't have the athletic ability Marcedes has.  There are some physical gifts that Lewis has that if they are harnessed can make him a true all-pro.  I have confidence that Gus can get the best out of this guy.  He's a diamond that needs the constant polish of a strong leader.  Gus is a strong leader. 

 

Don't be surprised if Marcedes proves why he deserves to be on this roster and a contributor this season.