WHEN A professional athlete gets a shiny, new contract with set-for-life guaranteed money and then goes out and plays like a basset hound on Xanax, the natural reaction is to think cause and effect.
The natural reaction is to think that once he got the new contract, the player - consciously or unconsciously - changed. He lost the hunger and the drive that helped him excel. He became fat and happy.
Which brings us to Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks.
Last August, Kendricks signed a four-year, $29 million contract extension with the team. The new deal was well-deserved.