Trevor Pryce was once a teammate of Ray Lewis and a pretty good player himself in his prime. Pryce is familiar with Lewis so he has some idea of what a confident Ray Lewis looks like.
Pryce who is a CBS analyst was on the Jim Rome Show recently, and ripped Lewis, questioning his psyche and skills during the Super Bowl per USA Today.
“Half of his playoff check should go to Dannell Ellerbe for making that last play on that last fade route,” said Pryce, who was teammates with Lewis for five seasons. “The other half to Greg Roman, the 49ers offensive coordinator. …
“I think (Lewis) played with a case of the nerves. I think he had the yips. I really do.”
Pryce points out that the diminishing skills were evident in Lewis missing tackles in the open field, and being a liability in the passing game against Vernon Davis. Pryce went as far saying Lewis should give the 49ers part of his check for going away from the mismatch they had against him.
“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,” Pryce said. “But even the guy he was (in the AFC Championship Game), 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.”