#32 Dion "Dont' Call Me Small" Lewis

steveluck7 · Sep 24, 2015

and then he flattened the safety at the goal line, for good meaure

TheoShmeo · Sep 24, 2015

Lewis' running style reminds me a bit of Curtis Martin. Not that they are identical in all ways or that I am putting a Canton upside on Lewis. I am focusing on the tilt that Lewis seems to run at. It makes him slippery and hard to bring down, and he seems to tilt to both sides within a run. Like Martin, it makes it harder to get a good shot at him, and enables him to pick up extra yards.

Not that I don't see the Faulk comparison and his size is indeed more like Faulk and Woodhead. But the running style alone evokes memories of Martin, at least for me.

Now as long as he doesn't keep bringing comparisons to Ridley, also....

Morgan's Magic Snowplow · Sep 24, 2015

I've been pleasantly surprised by Lewis, especially his ability to run between the tackles. Guys like Woodhead and Vereen really struggled after contact. Lewis isn't much bigger but seems to have the ability to take hits and keep moving forward and to slam through tight spaces.

The fumbles are a real concern. The total package is valuable enough that you want to keep giving him chances. But I bet BB's leash is short at this point.

rodderick · Sep 24, 2015

Dion Lewis was used more like a traditional RB at Pitt, carrying the football 325 times his freshman season and 219 as a sophmore. He had almost the same workload and production Lesean McCoy had in the same offense a couple of years prior. Seems to me like he's more accomplished as a pure runner than Faulk, Woodhead and especially Vereen. If he can be counted on for 10-12 rushing attempts per game and doesn't fade physically down the stretch, that combined with his skills receiving the ball would make him the best "third down back" Brady's had, and a real weapon in this offense. Has to sort out those fumbles, though.

Valek123 · Sep 24, 2015

Extremely fast lateral quickness, tremendous awareness and he seems to make a little twist right at impact to minimize the force of the hits. Tremendously fun to watch, seems like he's covered in Crisco as people just cant wrap him up. There was a run last sunday where he went pretty straight up the gut and made 3-4 people miss then spun 90 degrees to make a defender lose leverage before being tackled from the left side of the field. He's just flat out slippery, I can't remember a RB that could make sure tackles miss this much while maintaining north to south that's played for the Pats. We've had some "dancers" but not players that could do that while committing to north/south running. He may just be the perfect system back for the patriots, with Blount to pound the weak rushing D teams.

ragnarok725 · Sep 24, 2015

Probably getting ahead of ourselves here, but what sorts of rights does the team have to Lewis? He's on a futures contract, which seems like just a vet minimum way to keep people off the PS. Is there more to it? Is he just a full-on FA after the season?

Erik Hanson's Hook · Sep 24, 2015

Agreed on Lewis. I think he could be the best overall back they've had in years.

Two concerns: 1) the fumbling, obviously. And 2) his ability to stay healthy. His running style, and the way he makes people miss, IMO means that he's going to get gang-tackled a lot. Extra hits on the way down, etc. He's gonna get beat up (those extra hits could also be related to fumbling). I could also see one of those jump cuts causing a nice little ACL/MCL blow out, but hey, that's the way he runs, and it's effective. I'll be surprised if he lasts the whole season, but would be thrilled to be wrong.

Turd, punchbowl, etc...I like the kid, though.

Super Nomario · Sep 24, 2015

rodderick said:
Dion Lewis was used more like a traditional RB at Pitt, carrying the football 325 times his freshman season and 219 as a sophmore. He had almost the same workload and production Lesean McCoy had in the same offense a couple of years prior. Seems to me like he's more accomplished as a pure runner than Faulk, Woodhead and especially Vereen. If he can be counted on for 10-12 rushing attempts per game and doesn't fade physically down the stretch, that combined with his skills receiving the ball would make him the best "third down back" Brady's had, and a real weapon in this offense. Has to sort out those fumbles, though.

The pattern you see with Lewis also plays out with the other guys you mention. Vereen had 231 carries and just 22 receptions his last year at Cal (556 / 74 for his career); Faulk had 229 carries and 22 receptions his last year at LSU (856 / 53 for his career); Woodhead had 250 carries and 38 catches his last year at Chadron State, and a whopping 1135 carries to 119 catches for his career. Any receiving RB who is talented enough to be in the NFL is very likely to be the most best runner on his college team and will get that kind of workload at the NCAA level. Lewis may end up being a better runner than any of these guys, but his college production doesn't set him apart.

Devizier · Sep 24, 2015

SeoulSoxFan said:
To me the fumbles are more flukey than not. Here are his Pitt stats: http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/dion-lewis-1.html

Between 2009 and 2010, he carried the ball 544 times and caught 52 passes. That's almost 600 touches. How many fumbles did he have? Exactly ONE. That's quite remarkable in fact.

Speaking of Martin, who also went to Pitt of course, had this to say about Lewis: http://www.pittsburghpanthers.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/lewis_dion00.html

Is Pitt the best bad team in college football? Seems like tons of NFL hall of famers and all stars went there, yet they have been historically terrible.

rodderick · Sep 24, 2015

Super Nomario said:
The pattern you see with Lewis also plays out with the other guys you mention. Vereen had 231 carries and just 22 receptions his last year at Cal (556 / 74 for his career); Faulk had 229 carries and 22 receptions his last year at LSU (856 / 53 for his career); Woodhead had 250 carries and 38 catches his last year at Chadron State, and a whopping 1135 carries to 119 catches for his career. Any receiving RB who is talented enough to be in the NFL is very likely to be the most best runner on his college team and will get that kind of workload at the NCAA level. Lewis may end up being a better runner than any of these guys, but his college production doesn't set him apart.

It kind of does, though. None of those guys approached 300 carries at any point in college, Lewis had 325 as a freshman and averaged 5.5 YPC. That's a big boy workload for a guy that small, and the fact that he was able to handle it gives me more hope that he'll withstand the punishment than if he was your average 200 carries, 25 receptions back in college. The NFL is a different beast altogether, but watching him play I thought he was surprisingly powerful and strong for his size, and apparently his college coaches thought the same, which is encouraging especially in comparison to Vereen, who seemed to go to the ground if someone breathed on him.

Morgan's Magic Snowplow · Sep 24, 2015

rodderick said:
It kind of does, though. None of those guys approached 300 carries at any point in college, Lewis had 325 as a freshman and averaged 5.5 YPC. That's a big boy workload for a guy that small, and the fact that he was able to handle it gives me more hope that he'll withstand the punishment than if he was your average 200 carries, 25 receptions back in college. The NFL is a different beast altogether, but watching him play I thought he was surprisingly powerful and strong for his size, and apparently his college coaches thought the same, which is encouraging especially in comparison to Vereen, who seemed to go to the ground if someone breathed on him.

Woodhead had 344 carries one year.

Tony C · Sep 24, 2015

All of the above -- love this guy and watching BB's breakdown the exact same thing hit me as did SSF. The only thing I'll add to the love-in is his vision, which seems to be tremendous. It isn't just that he can make that lateral jump while maintaining momentum, but that he saw that hole just as it opened. Still just two games, but that doesn't seem an anomaly but rather a (mini-)pattern.

I do worry about health, but obviously RBs are particularly fungible. I thought the way the Cowboys used/exploitedMurray last year was smart albeit cynical: squeeze every inch of use out of a guy and then let him go. I suspect that, rather than attempting to re-sign Lewis during the year, that's what'll happen here. And if he makes it through the season healthy, then the Pats will see about re-signing him in competition with other teams. Of course, I also thought that BB would pull him after his fumble, so...who knows?

Jed Zeppelin · Sep 24, 2015

I swear sometimes it looks like he's ice skating the way he can change direction without losing momentum. I keep thinking of Ryan Spooner who does some really funky things with his skates.

ifmanis5 · Sep 24, 2015

I think it says a lot that after his two fumbles BB didn't banish him to the bench like he's done with other guys in the past; he knows how effective he can be. Plus, I hope he stays healthy so Bolden never plays again.

mt8thsw9th · Sep 29, 2015

Wait, so you're telling us the organization actually preaches ball security? I thought the deflated balls were the key to the low fumble totals?

Jnai · Sep 29, 2015

The craziest thing about this guy is that anyone else could have had him.

Which makes me a little less scared about him getting hurt or signing somewhere else next year. Isnt this guy just the latest guy in a line of random guys who get put next to Tom Brady in the pass catching rb role and look like unmissable stars?

Caspir · Sep 29, 2015

So you're saying he's a system guy

It is uncanny though. It doesn't seem to matter who's back there in a pass catching role. They thrive in the quick hit offense. One thing I admittedly haven't paid attention to is his ability to pick up the blitz and react to the pass rush. Anyone more knowledgeable have insight there? I'm pretty much clueless about the intricacies, and only know if someone missed an assignment if Brady gets drilled.

ipol · Sep 29, 2015

I'm not going to claim any more knowledge but I did look for it on a couple of plays and saw that he picked up blitzers accurately and well.

JerBear · Sep 29, 2015

This article looks at his blitz pickup against the Steelers.

http://insidethepylon.com/nfl/teams-nfl/afc-east/new-england-patriots/2015/09/17/picking-it-up-dion-lewis-in-pass-protection/

Caspir · Sep 29, 2015

Should've known it would be covered there. Thanks!

bakahump · Sep 30, 2015

Yea its Wikipedia....but i found this amusing...

"He rushed for 180 yards and two touchdowns in an October 2009 victory over Big East rival Rutgers for which he was named Big East Conference Offensive Player of the Week and featured in Sports Illustrated."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dion_Lewis

it always comes back to Rutgers....

Any doubt that BB could tell you about that game?

#32 Dion "Dont' Call Me Small" Lewis

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