For the first time since tearing his ACL in November, Patriots running back Dion Lewis returned to practice Monday. And he actually returned, like for real -- he wasn't running alone on the side or stretching. He was cutting, catching passes, and looked spry.
And that has Patriots running backs coach Ivan Fears happy again. His NSFW reaction when he saw Lewis running through drills really said it all.
"Holy s---, who is this?" Fears remarked, via video footage captured by Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal.
Thanks to the NFL's new rule, which prohibits the Patriots from using numberless jerseys during practice, we also know that Lewis was catching passes from Jimmy Garoppolo, who might be forced into action due to Tom Brady's suspension. Take a look:
When Lewis lost his season, he was second on the team in rushing and third in receiving. Even more impressively, as John Breech wrote at the time of the injury, Lewis broke 43 tackles through the first eight weeks of the season (he played in only seven games, too).
In all, he totaled 622 yards and four touchdowns from scrimmage due to his elusiveness.
Created the Elusive Rating as a rough 0-100 scale. Previous best mark over a season was 106.9. Dion Lewis finished at 165.2.
— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) November 9, 2015
The Patriots ended up missing him dearly in the postseason. At multiple points in their AFC title game loss to the Broncos, Brady and James White failed to connect on potential big plays, like this pass in the end zone, which White couldn't adjust on:
And this deep pass down the right sideline, which White failed to track:
Those are both tough plays, but they ended up being the kind of plays that prevented the Patriots, who lost by two points, from appearing in a second consecutive Super Bowl. Luckily, Lewis appears to be back and on track for the regular season.
And that should have every other team around the league reacting like Fears.
