Many employees who feel underpaid and underappreciated sulk.
Manny Lawson isn’t pouting. Instead, to borrow the word used by linebacker Takeo Spikes and defensive coordinator Greg Manusky, he’s “pissed.”
Neither Spikes nor Manusky delved into what’s making Manny mad, but it doesn’t take a sleuth to determine what’s driving the outside linebacker.
In the fifth and final year of a $7.75-million rookie contract, Lawson,
26, is making $630,000 in base salary this season, far less than fellow
outside linebackers Travis LaBoy ($1.6 million), Ahmad Brooks (in the
first year of a two-year, $4.2 million deal) and Parys Haralson, who was
given a four-year, $15 million extension last year. Haralson, in the
same draft class as Lawson, has been one of several Niners who have been
locked up to lucrative, long-term deals in the past 19 months, a group
that also includes Joe Staley, Patrick Willis and Vernon Davis.
Lawson had a team- and career-high 6.5 sacks last year, a figure that
ranked fourth among NFC linebackers, and his four forced fumbles tied
Brooks for the most by a linebacker in franchise history. Still, perhaps
needing to see more after Lawson’s first three seasons netted a torn
ACL and 5.5 sacks, no substantive contract talks were broached in the
offseason.
Lawson skipped the voluntary OTAs in the spring in a form of mild
protest, but did report to the mandatory minicamp and training camp.
He didn’t do much to market himself in the season’s first four games,
failing to record a sack, interception or forced fumble. In the past
four games, however, he’s had two sacks, two forced fumbles and added a
highlight-reel interception against Oakland.
What’s up with Manny?
“To get the true answer, you really have to go talk to him,” Spikes
said. “I do know. But it’s not my place to tell you. He’s pissed.”
Said Manusky, “I think you just want him to go. That’s what I tell him
most of the time, get pissed off and go, roll off and let’s go. When
it’s your time to rush, go. He’s been playing that way.”
Indeed, Lawson has recently been flashing the type of consistent
playmaking ability the Niners envisioned when they made the 6-foot-5,
240-pounder the 22nd overall pick in the 2006 Draft. Denver quarterback
Kyle Orton got a firsthand look at an angry Lawson in London. First,
Lawson planted Orton to the Wembley Stadium turf — a hit that dazed
Orton and drew a questionable $12,500 fine — and later stripped Orton
from behind, a sack and fumble that helped highlight the Niners’
21-point, fourth-quarter barrage.
Lawson didn’t mention a new contract Thursday when discussing his recent
string of impressive performances, but it’s clear it’s occupying some
of his thoughts.
“If you want something, you have to go out and get it,” Lawson said. “I
think that’s where it’s at. I’m looking for something and I’m going to
go out and get it.”
Lawson has eight games left to prove his worth.
And Spikes sees his, um, ticked-off teammate seizing his opportunity by the throat.
“Opportunity is missed most because it’s dressed in overall and it looks
like hard work,” Spikes said, channeling Thomas Edison. “… (Manny) sees
his opportunity. From a mental standpoint, I see he’s taking his game
to another level.”
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