Watchtower Review: Lions at Bears

Last season, I did the review of each Watchtower as the opening portion of the next one.  This made some sense, as I was still fine-tuning the process, and I was reviewing how I was writing them as much as what the results were.  However, looking back through the archives, putting half the analysis of one game into the article for the next make finding stuff really, really hard.  To that end, I’m breaking out the Watchtower review into its own little piece.

In the Watchtower for Sunday’s Lions road game against the Bears, I recited my findings from previous seasons:

“Given greater, equal, or lesser talent, Lovie Smith's relatively aggressive Tampa 2 will surrender a disproportionate amount of yards to Linehan's balanced offense, but also generate high numbers of sacks and turnovers, disproportionately disrupting scoring.”

I went on to analyze the 2009 data, and found that that all held true—except for the “scoring” bit.  In their two games last season, the Bears allowed the Lions to score 24 and 23 points, compared to the Bears’ 2009 average of . . . 23.5 points.  That’s right, the bottom-feeding Lions offense performed about as well as everyone else did against the Bears last season.  This was well above the Lions’ average scoring rate of 15.9 ppg.  The only difference in the Bears’ defense last season was an unprecedented lack of talent and execution for a Lovie Smith defense—so I added an “unless they’re bad” clause:

"Given greater or equal talent, Lovie Smith's relatively aggressive Tampa 2 will surrender a disproportionate amount of yards to Linehan's balanced offense, but also generate high numbers of sacks and turnovers, disproportionately disrupting scoring. Given mediocre or poor talent, Lovie Smith’s Tampa 2 surrenders disproportionately high yardage and points, respective to the Linehan offense’s talent level."

Given the above, and the lack of 2010 scoring averages for the Lions (for) and the Bears (against), and the presumable-but-unknown improvement by both the Lions’s offense and Bears’ defense, I projected the following:

The Lions should score between 20 and 24 points.  I have low confidence in this prediction.

I note, ruefully, that Calvin Johnson's game-winning touchdown being wiped off the board reduced a confidence-boosting 20 (or 22) to a depressing 14.  On defense, there was only one data point, and it precisely bore out expectations—leading me to conclude:

"So, we only have one data point, and it points toward neither side having a systemic advantage or disadvantage. The two teams should play to their (relatively unknown) talent and execution levels."

Taking a wild stab in the dark, "I projected":

"Let’s just call it thirty points. This is a guess and not a prediction, and I have extremely low confidence in it."

It was appropriate that I had extremely low confidence in it, because it was totally wrong.  In the conclusion, I summarized:

"I’ll say that based on extremely weak data, the most likely outcome of the game is a close Lions loss, with lots of sacks and turnovers for both sides, and a final score of 24-30."

Of course, the official final score of the game was 14-19, depressed as predicted by many sacks and turnovers for both sides.  The Lions had a harder time moving the ball than the Bears—Chicago racked up a whopping 463 yards of total offense, compared to the Lions’ meager 168.

If the Lions were the beneficiary of a systemic advantage that allowed them to move the ball better than usual, either the Lions have an epically bad offense this season, or the Bears are much, much better than commonly thought.  One factor skewing these numbers: the swapout of Matthew Stafford for Shaun Hill.  In last seasons’ games, we saw that the Lions had no chance at victory without Stafford behind center—and it showed in the statistics.

Probably the most alarming thing we saw yesterday—besides the miscarriage of justice that stole the win, and the injuries to the franchise quarterback and best young pass rusher—was the total lack of effectiveness from the rushing game.  Jahvid Best ran for only 1.4 yards per carry on Sunday, which dramatically limited the effectiveness of the passing game—and in turn, the offense.  It’s possible that this Bears defense, with a healthy Brian Urlacher, has returned to its prior-to-2009 fearsomeness—and it’s also possible that the running game we saw in the preseason was only a mirage.

On defense, Cutler and the Bears moved the ball with incredible ease; 10.62 YpA show that yards were coming in chunks through the air.  Despite averaging only 3.25 YpC, the Bears continued to feed the ground game, too: 31 carries at that rate is good for 101 yards.  Fortunately, the Lions managed to snare an interception, recover three fumbles, and sack Jay Cutler four times—and the timeliness of said turnovers kept points off the board.  Even better was the tremendous four-down goal line stand.  It was a signature performance by the defensive line, and it kept the game in the Lions’ control—for a little while, at least.

Going forward, the defense will probably be less spectacularly vulnerable; the Martz offense specifically attacks the Lions' defense's greatest weaknesses.  Then again, the defense may well be less spectacular; the Martz offense’s greatest weaknesses played to the Lions’ defense’s strength.  Even given the way the back seven was—for the most part—traumatized by the Bears, the Lions’ D played with enough heart, and enough pass rush, to make me think there’s hope for this team despite the painful loss.

Technorati Tags: nfl,detroit lions,chicago bears

Read more...

three cups deep: a heaping helping

The worst thing about being an "optimist", besides having my fandom labelled and pigeonholed by others, is that when the Lions--or an aspect of the Lions, or a Lion--fails, I am not only sad for the fact that they failed, I'm also frustrated for having been proven wrong.  Eating that breed of crow is a rotten meal indeed.
Two of the favorite targets for "pessimist" Lions fans over the past few years have been left tackle Jeff Backus, and special teams coordinator Stan Kwan. In both cases, I've defended them. Certainly, Backus doesn't earn the "Elite LT" paycheck he draws, and Kwan's coverage and return units have been lackluster.  But, you see, there are extenuating circumstances!
Backus being asked to protect Jon Kitna in Martz's seven-step-drop-heavy offense put him--and Kitna--in a position to fail. The Lions have auditioned dozens for the left guard role during Backus' time here, and still haven't cast his best supporting actor.  Further, Backus has never missed a start, despite some pretty bad owies over the years.  He's also a much better option than Ephraim Salaam or Jon Jansen, both of whom were released by their previous teams due to their complete inability to protect quarterbacks.
Stan Kwan, the hand-picked successor to the King of All ST Coordinators, Chuck Priefer, oversees the best kicker-punter-snapper combo in the NFL: Hanson, Harris, and Mulbach.  Kwan’s return and coverage units were okay in 2007—though yes, quite bad in 2008. I'd defended him throughout last season, noting that Rod Marinelli's dismissal of special teams in general had stripped him of most of his talent.  When your head coach keeps eleven defensive linemen on the 53-man roster, there's not much room left for gunners and upblockers . . .
Yesterday, a heaping helping of crow, braised in whine, was set at my table.
Jeff Backus was completely overwhelmed by the Bears' defensive linemen. Despite coming into the game blitzing at ludcrous rate for a Tampa 2 defense, the Bears were able to dominate with just 4 defensive linemen.  DEs Adewale Ogunleye and Alex Brown combined for three sacks, and DT Isreal Idonji contributed a sack-fumble that O-Gun recovered.  Backus was smoked by speed rushes, bowled over by bullrushes, and generally defeated by whoever lined up across from him.  I’ve never labored under the illusion that he’s a great left tackle, but for the first time I’m seeing his play as a governor on the output of the offense: until we can acquire someone better, there is only so good this unit can be.
As for Kwan . . . well, there is absolutely no excuse for what Stan Kwan’s coverage and return teams did to the Lions’ chances for victory on Sunday.  According to the official game book, the Lions’ average starting field position was their own 18-yard-line.  The Bears’ average starting field position was the Lions’48.  As pointed out by Killer, the defense allowed the Bears only 276 yards of total offense—but 277 yards of punt and kick returns.
Let me simultaneously highlight and dismiss the fallacy in the implied conclusion there: each yard allowed on a return is one less yard the defense has to go; the possible yardage output by the Bears’ offense is depressed in lockstep with the increase in return yardage.  Don’t take the bait dangled by those two statistics!  The low total yardage doesn’t prove that the Lions defense completely bottled up the Bears’ offense, nor that rotten special teams completely sold the Lions up the river.
Fortunately, we have other statistics.  Cutler completed 18-of-28 passes for 141 yards. That's a meager 5.04 yards per attempt.  Cliff Avril, in just his second quarter back from injury, teamed up with Louis Delmas for back-to-back sacks in the second quarter.  The Bears converted only 33% of third downs in the first half.  Up until halftime, Matt Forte, besides his 61-yard romp, carried just 4 times for only 10 yards.
It's true: despite the Bears' average starting position already at MIDFIELD by the end of the half, the Lions were winning the offense-defense battle enough to keep the score tied. Then, on the opening kickoff of the second half, Johnny Knox burned the coverage for a 102-yard touchdown, and that was that.
Much has been made of the Lions' "second half collapses", and how Jim Schwartz needs to "learn that there are four quarters in a game".  Let me tell you something right now: this is a 3-13 team, talent-wise.  In four games against four teams considered strong playoff contenders coming into the season, Jim Schwartz has coached and gameplanned and guided this mix of has-beens and aren’t-yets to one win, two halftime leads, and one halftime tie.  Schwartz, Linehan, and Cunningham can't play the game for their team; eventually the fact that they’ve got no D-line, no secondary, and an offense full of guys who can barely buy beer will catch up with them.
Need proof?  Just Google "Titans Defense".  From the first page alone:

• Preseason gives Titans time to fix struggling D
• Titans' Defense M.I.A. in Texas Shootout
• Chris Johnson's career day wasted by Titans defense
• Rams Smash through Titans Defense
• Jaguars shred Titans defense
• Titans Defense: Titans DC Cecil on the hot seat?‎

UPDATE: appropriately, commenter "The Badge" caught me. That "Rams smash through . . ." link refers to a high school football game. Mea Culpa.
Last year, Jim Schwartz coached the same unit that generated those headlines into the second-best scoring defense in football.  Let's give him more than a few games with our wretched franchise before deciding he’s forgotten how many quarters makes a whole.
I suppose I should end this Three Cups Deep (and given it's lateness, more like Five) with an “optimistic” note, given the tenor of the opening paragraph.  Okay, here we go: Matt Stafford, before taking a seat with a knee injury, completed 24/36 passes for 296 yards.  Any “pessimists”/”realists” care to show me the game where Joey Harrington completed 67% of his passes for near-as-makes-no-difference 300 yards?  On the road?  Anyone?  No?
Okay cool. This sixth cup's for you, Matthew.

Read more...

chapter IV: a new hope

Obviously, everyone's long since heard: Cutler was on his way here to become a Lion, but the plane ran out of gas and had to land in Chicago.  Jerry D'Angelo hopped the fence at O'Hare and commandeered one of those luggage-hauling golf carts.  He swooped past the airplane stairs, snatched Cutler off his feet, and together they drove for seven hours to the airport bar.  D'Angelo called up the Broncos leadership (by the way, are there any employees other than the owner and coach?  Where was the GM in this whole mess?) and offered them the moon and the stars, and the deal was done.

I'm kind of confused about where this puts the Lions.  They've successfully convinced everyone that they're taking Matt Stafford #1 overall.  It might be a brilliant ploy to hoodwink everyone, but let's face it folks: they might well be taking Matt Stafford #1 overall.  It's in their interest to create a trade market for the #1 pick, sure, but putting out the word that you're going to take the guy nobody else wants doesn't really accomplish that.  It's been suggested that the Broncos could package their #12 pick and new #18 pick and get the #1 overall from the Lions, but if that's what they wanted to do they could have just done that with Cutler to begin with, and they'd have kept their #12 to boot.  It doesn't look like a setup or a smokescreen or anything like that; it looks like the simplest explanation is most likely the correct one: the Lions really need a QB, and they have the #1 overall pick, and there's a half-decent QB prospect available, and that's that.

 The Lions' situation at quarterback hasn't changed.  They still have Duante Culpepper, who is wretched but can be propped up to the media and fans as a quasi-legitimate starter, and Drew Stanton, who's a very talented quarterback, outstanding young man, and local favorite, but is also in the doghouse for reasons no one understands.  They still have the #1 pick, and there's still Matt Stafford right there.  The question is, do the Lions believe in Matt Stafford?  Can a private workout answer all ot the many questions surrounding Stafford and his game?  Unfortunately the only people who know the answer to that aren't telling.

This brings me to an important point: we are now in the "BS Zone" for the draft: anything we hear from this point out is almost certainly leaked misinformation.  With yesterday's USC Pro Day concluding the circus of private workouts, teams are now going back to their bunkers to hash out and finalize their draft boards.  Once the scouts and coaches and GMs and player personnel folks have all had their say, and every team has their final grades done, and the draft board is set, nothing else can happen between then and the draft, except gamesmanship .  Most of the time, the "late risers" and "late fallers" and "trade rumors" we hear about in the media are mularkey.  Sometimes, yes, real info slips out, like the Vikings having Troy Williamson about a full round higher up on their draft board than most other teams.  In a lot of cases, the dramatic rise and fall of certain players's stock is just that real info correcting the speculation of the fans and media.  However, with the amount of disinformation, speculation, and fan hysteria going on, trying to pick out what is "real" and what is noise is so difficult that it's almost not worth trying.

Almost.

It's disappointing to lose out on Cutler, of course, but the reality is that the Lions are better off with our 1.20, 3.1, 2010 1st, and whatever other value we would have had to part with to get that deal done.  This team has so many holes, so many needs, and so many chances to fill them; it would be foolhardy to deal off all that value and all of that potential for just one player--one who may or may not be any more talented than the guy the Lions will probably acquire for just the 1.1 all by itself: Matt Stafford.  We may yet see a dramatic move from the Lions, possibly a trade down from 1.1, or possibly a trade up or down from 1.20.  But, by far, the most likely scenario is that the Lions will to the obvious thing, the boring thing, the lame thing, the thing we all don't want them to do: take a QB number one overall.  Get your credit cards ready, folks, for your brand-new Stafford #7 jersey, on sale at www.detroitlions.com less than ten seconds after the pick is announced.  A new hope, a new savior, another Skywalker.  Let's hope this one is more Luke Stafford and less Anakin Harrington . . . 

Read more...

the grandmaster, rampant

Check.

In chess, you say "check" when one of your pieces has moved in position to attack the opposing king--when your next move, if not thwarted, would result in your victory. Throughout the length of a chess match, each king may be in check many times, or few; as quickly as within a handful of moves, or perhaps not until the endgame draws to a close. Often, check is a mere formality, easily escaped or blocked. The opponent might merely push a pawn, slide over a square, or capture the piece making the threat. Still, putting the opponent's king in check is always significant. The opponent must react to the move in some way, or the match is over. Occasionally, putting the king in check provides a time advantage, gaining what players call a tempo; getting literally and figuratively one step ahead of the game. Even better, sometimes putting an opponent in check derails their strategy: forces a change in pawn structure, forces a trade of pieces, or otherwise weakens the opponents position. "Check" is most often heard in the middle and endgame, as the players' strategies develop, as the webs are woven across the board, as the snares are drawn, made taut, and set.

The Cutler situation has been brewing in Denver for weeks and weeks. Reportedly furious when his trusted QB coach was broomed with Shanahan and rest of the Broncos coaching staff (after Cutler was promised he'd be retained). Cutler reportedly asked to be traded right then. They temporariliy mollified him by saying the new offense would be markedly similar to the old one. The situation then deteriorated further when it came out that one of Cutler's favored targets, TE Tony Scheffler, was being shopped. Then began a curious case of "He Said, He Said" that may never be truly untangled . . . word came out that the Patriots were in the process of dealing Matt Cassel to the Chiefs--this was surprising, because all signs had pointed to the Patriots simply paying Cassel to stick around for one more year. When new Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels realized that Cassel was available--his quarterback, the quarterback he'd groomed from a late-round nobody into a surprisingly effective starter, the quarterback who'd run his very offense at a playoff-caliber level just weeks beforehand . . . well, he was intrigued.

Martin Mayhew and the Lions sensed an opportunity, and immediately he began working the phones, devising a Flip This QB scenario that would send a pick (or picks) to New England, Cassel to Denver, and Jay Cutler to Detroit. This, I believe, was a "check" moment for Martin Mayhew's attempt to rebuild this franchise. For a second, us Lions fans got a taste of glory: positive headlines. Our beloved franchise's leadership making waves amongst the national media for competence and not buffonery! Finding out we were agonizingly close to acquiring a 25-year-old Pro Bowl quarterback in his prime! Even though the trade was not consummated at the time, there was no question that Martin Mayhew had seized the bull by the horns. He had played at the highest-stakes tables with some of the titans of the NFL landscape, and acquitted himself well. We saw we had a GM with vision, reflexes, and an opportunistic approach. It wasn't the end of the match, but a significant turning point? Absolutely.

Cutler took the news of he trade talks . . . poorly. As anyone reading this should know, he began a monthlong campaign to get himself traded. Not content to work for a head coach who'd rather have a less-tested, less-experienced, less-talented quarterback, he asked to be traded. The way the Broncos organization handled this couldn't have been worse, and after a month of bluster and gamesmanship by both sides, the Brocons have announced they are trading him as soon as possible, and have already removed him from the team website.

This couldn't possibly have come with better timing for the Lions: they just worked out a sure-fire first-ballot Hall of Famer today. I immediately posted that this is either genuine, and an extraordinary quarterbacking talent has fallen into the Lions' lap--or, this is part of an elaborate smokescreen, the point of which I wasn't quite sure. There's currently no demand for Stafford; if the Lions do not take him he could fall all the way out of the top ten. Convincing the rest of the league that you are absolutely overjoyed to reach for Stafford seems to serve no purpose whatsoever . . . now all the teams beneath you can solidify their boards knowing that the Lions are no threat to take anyone they covet.

Unless the Broncos put a giant "FOR SALE" sign on Cutler, and open up the bidding.

Now, the Lions have leaked that Matt Stafford showed them much more than he'd shown anyone else to this point. Now, they have opened up the possibility that Stafford may indeed be a quarterback worthy of building a team around. Now, they are entering a bidding war with, by far, the most expansive cache of ammunition. Let us not kid ourselves: though the Jets, Buccaneers, Bears, 49ers, and Browns have called the Broncos to make their bid, none of these teams have nearly the picks that the Lions have, nor do they have any way to replace what the Broncos would be giving away: a great young quarterback. Those about to protest that the Browns have Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn would do well to understand that if either of those quarterbacks were even nearly Cutler's equal, the Browns would not be trying to acquire Cutler. No, the Lions have positioned themselves as the only interested team that can provide a quarterback that might possibly replace Cutler: Matt Stafford. And the Broncos, by publicly severing ties with Cutler and announcing that he will be traded, have removed a significant amount of their leverage. Now, instead of a few teams bidding against each other, trying to make the Broncos part with the cornerstone of their franchise, there is one team who can give Denver what they so desperately need: a new quarterback.

It remains to be seen how this all will play out. But we are much further into the match than we were before. This may yet be another "check", a momentary derailing of the greater strategy in a battle that yet will rage for months or years. Or . . . it could be the beginning of the endgame. The crucial turning point in a war for respectability, for pride. The moment when the trap is sprung, and the snare draws fast upon its prey. The day before the day when the Lion can once again lift his head with pride.

Read more...

speculation about speculation about speculation

This little tidbit appeared on the mlive.com "Highlight Reel" blog: the Lions might be sniffing around Buffalo's LT, Jason Peters.  Peters played last year in Buffalo only after an extensive holdout, and this year he looks ready to do the same.  Peters is doing the same thing that many of us have been doing lately when examining candidates for the first overall pick: comparing his worth to that of 2008 rookie LT Jake Long.  This is the first time (that I know of) that a player is trying to establish his market price in relation to a recent top pick, as opposed to what other veterans are fetching on the free agent market.  The Bills appear to be essentially saying, "Hey, 1.1s get 1.1 money; their market is compared to previous 1.1s, not to veteran players of the same position".  These negotiations, if they go sour, might be a tipping point in the debate over the contracts doled out at the top of the draft . . .

Meanwhile, the Lions are licking their chops.  If they can get a young, proven veteran LT in his prime, then they will have filled another hole.  Moreover, that would give them tremendous flexibility in their attempts to swing a deal for Jay Cutler.  If they already have a franchise LT, and MLBs look plentiful at 1.20, they could trade the 1.1 to Denver, let them board the Matt Stafford Failboat, and ride Jay Cutler to the NFC North title, the year after going 0-16.  Or, they could draft Aaron Curry 1.1, and still give up the 1.20 without giving up the chance to land a quality LT.  Or, they could draft Stafford 1.1 without guilt, knowing they've already built a tremendous OL in front of him, and put talented skill players around him.

One other article I'd like to draw your attention to is over at DF79's blog.  He dissected the Redding/Peterson trade in incredible detail, including all of the various salary cap implications.  A tip of that hat to you, sir.

Read more...

the Lions Congregation, part two

The second edition of The Lions Congregation is up over at the Church of Schwartz.  In it, the men of the Schwartz cloth hear the people speak (and do a little speaking, themselves) on:

* The QB depth chart

* If Culpepper can still play

* If we'd trade the #1 overall pick for Jay Cutler

Those of you who've been reading a while probably already know my answer on at least one of those questions . . . please check it out anyway, it's a great read, and the responses cover practically the entire spectrum of possible answers to the sticky QB problem.

Read more...

the first forty eight

One of my and Mrs. Ty's guiltiest pleasures is watching late-night crime reality shows, like Forensics Files.  One of the many such shows beamed into my home from low orbit is called "The First 48", and its premise is that a homicide detective's chances of solving a case are cut in half if he or she can't pull it together in the first 48 hours.  The show then breathlessly follows a team of law enforcement agents from the time a homicide is reported, all the way through the first 48 hours of the investigation.  I have no idea if the quoted statistic is true or not, but as I sit at the computer tonight, just minutes before the first 48 hours of free agency draw to a close, I can't help but note the parallels.

In the days leading up to free agency, there's a wierd period of a few days where agents and players and teams are all doing an intricate dance, feeling each other out, hush-hush, while publicly saying nothing.  Why?  Because, of course, the league forbids any such contact until the clock strikes midnight at the end of the league year, and the free-agents-to-be become actual free agents.  Usually, there are rumblings about who might be headed where, but this year the 'tampering' escalated to unignorable levels.  This year's biggest fish, Albert Haynesworth--a man who many Lions fans were hoping would take less to rejoin The Grandmaster up here--was reported to be off the market three days before there was even supposed to be a market.

Many Lions fans and observers were irrationally hoping that the Lions would be making a big splash in the early hours, depsite repeated quotes from the men in charge that that wouldn't be happening.  Don't ask me why the Lions blogologue exploded with hate when there were no new signings as of noon on Friday; this was all foretold well in advance.  I honestly wonder who, besides Haynesworth, people were expecting the Lions to break the bank for?  However, soon there were rumblings of a coming meeting with WR Nate Washington and RB Derrick Ward, and--yes!--OG Derrick Dockery.  Then came the first slap in the face: News surfaced that Mayhew had brokered a deal with Carolina for CB Ken Lucas--but Lucas immediately nixed it, saying he wouldn't report if he was traded to the Lions.  As I said at the time, those of you out there rooting for 0-16, well, the weed of crime bears bitter fruit, you old hag.

I was both thrilled to hear this--the Lions are moving swiftly to address what I percieve to be the most glaring need, with a player I've long admired!--and crestfallen: they couldn't do it because dude would rather not play than play here.  It was right then that I realized how far uphill Martin Mayhew had to go.  Still, he filled one need (#2 RB/third down back) with the signing of Maurice Morris, and with Derrick Dockery and Nate Washington in town, I thought we had a great chance of plugging all our biggest holes on offense--save QB--without breaking the bank or giving up anything in a trade.  As I left work, I was bouyed by the notion that Mayhew saw all the holes, that he was filling the ones he could responsibly fill responsibly, and appeared to be patching up the offense and preparing to raze the defense and rebuild it from scratch.

Imagine my suprise when I turned on my radio and heard Brian VanOchten, of the Grand Rapids Press, on Bill Simonson's "Huge" show, spewing ignorant, exasperated tripe about how the lack of a splashy signing meant it was the "same old Lions".  Odd, but I seem to remember Matt Millen making a while lot of splashy free agent signings that amounted to precisely jack and squat over eight long, painful years of failure.  No, I think Mayhew's initial approach--the exact one he said he'd take from the get-go--was the right one.

Oh, but just because he didn't make a splashy free-agent sign, didn't mean he wasn't about to make waves.  News broke that the Dockery "free agent visit" was actually part of an accidentally unconsummated trade (gee, thanks Buffalo!), resulting in Dockery returning to the team that drafted him, the Redskins--who, somehow, still had some money left?  Undeterred, Mayhew managed to work a stunner of a deal in his third attempt.  He dealt Jon Kitna to the Cowboys for--at least--CB Anthony Henry, a legit veteran starting cornerback.  Admittedly, he's coming off a down year, but he's still an enormous upgrade over Travis Fisher as a #1 CB.  Mayhew also filled some depth with WR Bryant Johnson, who would make an okay inurance policy if neither Nate Washington nor T.J. Houshmandzadeh will sign here--and an awesome #3 if one of them does sign.  He also addressed CB depth and the lack of specialized special teamers by signing ex-Titan CB Eric King.

Finally, we come to the real whiz-bang deal of the evening: hot on the heels of the reports of Matt Cassel being traded to the Chiefs, several sources reported that the Lions had dangled a "flip this house" scenario to the Broncos: We'll get you Matt Cassell if you'll give us Jay Cutler.  First of all, the fact that this even reached the dicussion stage should put to rest any visions some had of a diaper-clad Martin Mayhew, sitting in a high chair at the Big Boy table, crying for his mama because widdle ole him don't know what ta do.  Second of all, trading for Cassell--to flip him for Jay Cutler?!?  Not only would our quarterback picture have gone from one of the gloomiest to one of the brightest (Cutler the starter, Culpepper the veteran backup, Stanton the project), the proposed chain of trades would have been plain crazy, as would have been the press coverage and fan reaction.  Crazier still is this: the fact that the deal was even discussed at all infurated Cutler--to the point where he is referring to his Broncos career in the past tense to the Denver media.  The latest as the "first 48" come to a close?  That the deal may not be dead, and the Lions may still be in the hunt.

What's the verdict?  In the matter of Lions Fans versus Martin Mayhew, on one count of being a real NFL GM, me the jury finds the defendant guilty.  Mystery solved.

Read more...