Oh well 4-12 it is.
Mayhew, Schwartz, Linehan, Cunningham and
Crossman (!!!) survive. The position coaches for receivers, running backs and
o-linemen are out. On to next year!
The
Draft
Despite the pathetic season, I choose to
remain positive because this draft could see the Lions come out with at least
three starters on defence. Add to that Mayhew’s own statements that his defense
needs playmakers and we have at least some hope that the Lions Leadership does
realize where things went wrong.
Based on what I have read and seen this year
Detroit will
have a chance at a stud DE in round 1 and a very good safety or CB in round
two. I hope it falls that way. Round three could go in any directions but one
guy that impressed me during his Bowl Game and I think would be an excellent
replacement for any of our linebackers is Khaseem Greene from Rutgers .
He was fast and covered extremely well. The announcers mentioned that he was
originally a strong safety but because of his size and speed (6-01 230) coaches
converted him to OLB. He has a round three grade and many draft sites have him
going between the 60th and 90th picks. From what I can
tell, the Lions pick 5th, 37th and 69th in the first three rounds.
Imagine a defense that could feature a high
motor DE like Bjeorn Werner (Florida State), a hard hitting cover man like Xavier
Rhodes (Florida State) and the athletic Kaseen Greene. I’ll take that over
Durant, KVB and Bill Bentley!
But the defensive harvest might be cut short
because of Detroit ’s
issues at running back.
As Mayhew readily admitted, waiting for Jahvid Best to return and not having any plan B in case he did not was a huge blunder on his part. I expect they will try to get a speedster late – someone that can return punts and be the third down threat that Matthew Stafford sorely missed this year.
As Mayhew readily admitted, waiting for Jahvid Best to return and not having any plan B in case he did not was a huge blunder on his part. I expect they will try to get a speedster late – someone that can return punts and be the third down threat that Matthew Stafford sorely missed this year.
Again based on a bit of research (countless
minutes of surfing the web) and a really outstanding Bowl Game here is my early
vote for mid or late round RB: Kerwynn
Williams , Utah State.
Check out the highlights from his game against Toledo here:
The Lions also need a punter. Nick Harris was awful in big
moments. They need someone durable – no more 38 year olds like Ben Graham.
Free
Agency
Of course before you get to the draft you
have to get through free agency. The Lions have some 30 free agents of one kind
or another. They have already resigned one, Ashlee Palmer so at least we know
Mayhew is aware of the situation.
There are really three big names on that
list: Cliff Avril, Chris Houston and Louis Delmas. Avril will likely be too
costly to resign as the Lions may have to throw a lot of money at Houston . Delmas is also a
must sign, regardless of health. Even 10 games from him are better than 16 from
whoever else lined up in his place this season. They just have to be smarter
about his health. For example, if he has a sore knee that needs a scope, don’t
wait until August to get that done …
The Lions will also need to create cap space
and based on what I saw last Sunday and over the last 8 weeks, here are 4 guys
that should be concerned about their contracts:
1. Stephen Peterman is simply awful, run or pass. Not sure how this guy never got benched but he is at best average and whenever another team needs a big play, he is the guy they pick on. Bill Nagy or Rodney Austin from the PS should be given a chance here and maybe the Lions could even draft an OG this year. Peterman is due 3.3 million.
1. Stephen Peterman is simply awful, run or pass. Not sure how this guy never got benched but he is at best average and whenever another team needs a big play, he is the guy they pick on. Bill Nagy or Rodney Austin from the PS should be given a chance here and maybe the Lions could even draft an OG this year. Peterman is due 3.3 million.
2. Dominic Raiola. OK he knows how to call signals, but he cannot run block and for a vet, he whiffs an awful lot on pass blocks. His mental mistakes always happen at the worst possible time (see OT vs
3. KVB ... honestly, he can no longer play. The effort is there but the ability is gone. Would he even have value as a backup? Doubt it because I cannot see him playing special teams. Cut.
4. Stephen Tulloch. Yup. Look at game film of this guy and you'll see that for every play he makes he botches three. He was horrible in our playoff loss last year in
I still can’t believe he was outrun twice by
that chubbo Jay Cutler. Wow.
Knowing what the Lions might do with their new found cap dollars (we can dream right) is hard to predict but somewhere out there they need to find at least one safety, one wide receiver, a punter, an offensive guard and maybe a running back and defensive end and tackle depth. Ouch.
Knowing what the Lions might do with their new found cap dollars (we can dream right) is hard to predict but somewhere out there they need to find at least one safety, one wide receiver, a punter, an offensive guard and maybe a running back and defensive end and tackle depth. Ouch.
I like the UFA Safety Ryan Mundy from Pittsburgh – a big hitter, a ST ace and still
pretty young at 26. They need guys like that – solid players that won’t break
the bank.
Another intriguing player is an RFA. The Saints have to decide
what to do with their army of running backs and Chris Ivory might be the odd
man out. Ivory is a much faster version of Mikell Leshoure and has better hands
than Joique Bell. Mayhew should see what it might take to get him out of New Orleans . Maybe with
all the fuss around bounty gate the Saints never heard about Titus Young’s
mental breakdowns … could we be that lucky?
Nah.
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