Nobody wants Ray-Ray

[Vincent]

Posted this for several reasons...

First, the obvious. Nobody wants Ray-Ray. Let us all share a moment of respect for his body of work. OK, back to reality.

Second, Joe Theismann (y'know, that rhymes with Heisman) made some unusually (for him) lucid observations on Ray-Ray's position in the free agent market. One point he made speaks directly to the Silverback situation.

"Players think the numbers are equal to respect." There it is.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shu...urn=nfl,145486

Tue Mar 03, 2009 4:17 pm EST
Nobody wants Ray Lewis

By MJD

With the free agency news beginning to slow down a bit, there's still one big name out there available to anyone willing to shell out the cash. The problem is, though, that no one seems willing to shell out that cash. And thus, Ray Lewis remains unemployed.

The last thing we heard about Ray was that he was mad at the Ravens and vowing to never play for them again. The mad scramble by other teams to swoop in and steal Ray-Ray away from Baltimore has not happened. I've barely heard his name mentioned at all over the last few days.

Aaron Wilson of the Carroll County Times reports today that other than the Ravens and the three-year, $24 million deal they have on the table, no one's picking up the phone and calling Ray. Tom Curran of NBC Sports says that Ray has found "a decidedly depressed market for his services."

This situation is a perfect case study for how much age matters in free agency. Ray Lewis is an unquestioned first-ballot Hall of Famer, and is coming off a season where he was both a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro. He's in the conversation for the greatest linebacker of all time. And no one's willing to pay him what he wants, because he's 33.

Here was Joe Theismann's advice for Ray, again from the Carroll County Times:

"As a player of Ray's stature, you don't maintain a sense of reality," former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann said Monday in a telephone interview. "There are few places for him to go in the first place, economically. In Ray's situation, you look at some of the numbers that lesser known, less accomplished younger players are getting and you think, 'Why can't I get a piece of that?'

"In Ray's case, the reality is that there aren't a whole lot of options for him. The way you drive up the price is to have a lot of suitors for your talent. That's the only way to get that done is to negotiate with other teams. Truthfully, Ray Lewis has made more money than he can spend in his lifetime." [...]

"It's not just a question of economics," Theismann said. "The numbers get skewed. Players think the numbers are equal to respect. I don't agree with that. I think numbers reflect market value. It's the free enterprise system. Free agency has always leaned toward youth."

Theismann's absolutely right about everything (and as a side note, I wish he'd have been that candid and insightful during his time as a broadcaster on ESPN). Unfortunately for Ray-Ray, there were other good linebackers available in free agency, and they were younger than him. They got paid. Ray hasn't.

It looks like the choice Ray has to make is to either swallow his pride and go back to Baltimore for the most money he can get, or take less money to go somewhere else so he can prove the Ravens wrong, or make whatever other grand point he wants to make.

[T&B fan]

all ready posted http://www.steelersfever.com/forums/...ad.php?t=34349