Tony Dungy: Why Canton Should Take A Long, Hard Look At Albert Lewis

(EDITOR’S NOTE: To listen to Tony Dungy, click on the following link: Ep 125: Tony Dungy Returns To Discuss Former Chief Albert Lewis (spreaker.com)

Cornerback Albert Lewis is one of 129 preliminary candidates for the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame’s Class of 2023, and let’s be honest: He’s a longshot. 

And that’s being generous.

He’s never been a finalist, and he was a semifinalist just once … in 2013. That was when the Seahawks won the Super Bowl, there was no such thing as Deflategate and the Chargers were in San Diego, the Raiders in Oakland and the Rams in St. Louis.

But listen to Hall-of-Fame coach Tony Dungy, one of 49 selectors for the Hall, rave about Albert Lewis and you might want to rethink Lewis’ chances of moving forward next year. Because Dungy, who coached him for three years (1989-91) when Dungy was an assistant in Kansas City, doesn’t just admire Lewis; he calls him “one of the top five” cornerbacks of all time.

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You heard me. All time.

“If I was starting a secondary,: Dungy said on the latest “Eye Test for Two” podcast, “and I don’t have anybody on my team, and I can pick anybody, I’m picking him as my left corner first. There are some great ones; Darrelle Revis and Deion (Sanders), guys who can do some things. But I know what I’m getting with Albert Lewis, and I’m going to build around that.”

Surprising? No. More like stunning. Revis is a first-year candidate for the Class of 2023 and a favorite to join former tackle Joe Thomas as a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Sanders was a first-ballot choice in 2011 and is widely considered among the greatest cornerbacks ever.

And Lewis? His name rarely comes up when the discussion turns to elite corners. But it did when Dungy was asked to explain what made Lewis extraordinary.

“Albert Lewis played his position and graded out higher than any player I’ve ever coached on a consistent basis,” Dungy said. “Ninety-eight percent. Ninety-six percent. Week in, week out. It didn’t matter who we played or who he covered. He was phenomenal.

“He was a highly motivated guy. He practiced hard. He tackled. He did everything that you could ask for, as well as cover his man. Deion Sanders covered his guy man-to-man. He didn’t do much else, OK? Albert Lewis covered his guy just as well, wasn’t as flashy but got it done and would tackle, would block kicks, would do whatever it took to win games. He was just a great player.”

Wait a minute. Rewind that audiotape. Did he say that Lewis “graded out higher than any player that I ever coached?” He did. But Dungy coached Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, one of the greatest quarterbacks ever.  So did he mean every player he coached or every defensive back?

“Every single player that I ever coached,” Dungy answered. “Obviously, quarterback is a more difficult position to play. But the way we grade, if you do your job and it doesn’t make any difference (what happens with) the play, you get a zero.

 “If you did your job exceptionally well, you get a plus. If you didn’t do your job, you got a minus. Now, you got 100 plays … how many pluses, how many minuses, how many zeroes? Albert Lewis was 90 percent every week.”

Then, of course, there’s Lewis’ work on special teams. One of the finest punt blockers in NFL history, he blocked  12 kicks during his career (11 punts and one field goal), including four punts in 1986 when Kansas City went to the playoffs for the first time since in 15 years and again in 1990. If there were a Hall of Fame for special teamers, Lewis would have been in a long time ago.

“He blocked 12,” said Dungy, “but probably created 50 bad kicks at the wrong time …He really had two moves: Beat you with speed; then get you started, dip down under and then the real long arms, the hand/eye coordination and put his hands right on the punter’s foot.

“But more than anything else, (it was) desire. If we needed a blocked punt … if I need to affect this … if I need the punter to shank it … if that’s how we were going to win the game … I’m doing it. And that means as much to me as an interception or one of those ESPN highlight plays. “

The mystery, of course, is why Lewis doesn’t resonate with Hall-of-Fame voters. He was chosen to two All-Pro teams, four Pro Bowls and the Chiefs’ Hall of Fame, but he has little to no traction with Canton’s board of selectors. Maybe it’s because he didn’t play on a Super Bowl team. Maybe it’s because he didn’t produce an abundance of interceptions (he had 42).Or maybe it’s that he simply got lost in a superb secondary that included Kevin Ross, Deron Cherry and Lloyd Burress.

It doesn’t matter. What does is that Jerry Rice once called Lewis the best he ever faced, and Dungy has him listed above Revis and Sanders on his wish list. Maybe it’s time Canton starts talking about Albert Lewis.

“Any receiver from that era,” said Dungy, “you ask Steve Largent … you ask Tim Brown … I saw the quote from Jerry Rice. I didn’t know that, but it wouldn’t surprise me. Albert Lewis was just tough to play against. I promise you, he had the admiration of every receiver that lined up against him.”