Old Mother Hubbard: the Defensive Tackles

Let’s start with the good news! First, let me quote the “Bottom Line” summary of last year’s defensive tackles, from last year’s Old Mother Hubbard:

Andre Fluellen is a very versatile, high-effort player only two years removed from being a third-round draft pick. Whether he plays inside, outside, or both in 2010, Flu should get plenty of rotational snaps next season.

Landon Cohen is rapidly developing from a seventh-round flier into a useful rotational DT. While he'll never be a 320-pound line-clogger, he's only 23. If he focuses on lower-body development, improves his leverage, and continues to hone his technique, he’ll be a very nice complement to/backup for/situational replacement of Sammie Hill.

Grady Jackson turned in a B- performance in doing exactly what the Lions asked—stop the run on 1st and 10. Even if the Lions draft or sign a three-down starter, Jackson can still contribute in that role. I expect to see him back on the roster in 2010, though hopefully not as a “starter”.

Sammie Hill is already the Lions’ best defensive tackle, and should prove to be much better in 2010 and beyond. He has the size, strength, and athleticism to become a perennial Pro Bowler, and his steady improvement from preseason to the end of the season shows the effort and coachability he’ll need to get there. He’ll start for the Lions this season, and for many more to come.

Bottom Line: There’s no doubt that the defensive line is much stouter this season than last—that 0.72 YpC improvement in the run defense had to come from somewhere!—this is still a D+/C- line. The Lions absolutely must add an impact starter. Whether that is an elite DT talent in the draft—as in, with the #2 overall pick—or, by trade for a veteran starter, or by making a splash in the free agent market, it must be done.

There was a lot of praise for each individual player, but the Bottom Line for the unit as a whole said it best: “This is still a D+/C- line.” The Lions needed more consistency against the run than Jackson or Hill were managing, and much more penetration up the middle than Fluellen or Cohen were providing. They needed someone to demand double teams inside, to free up the ends outside.

Subtractions:

Grady Jackson was released after one year in Detroit. Landon Cohen didn’t quite make the final 53 for 2010; he was let go just days before the season opener.

Additions:

Ndamukong Suh, or course, was the Lions’ top draft pick, #2 overall. The Lions traded a fifth-round pick to the Browns for Corey Williams and a seventh-round pick. This is what is technically known, to people in the industry, as a “filthy steal.”

Chart?

Chart.

This is a star chart, showing the Pro Football Focus player grades Of the Lions’ four active-roster DTs. If you’re unfamiliar with PFF’s grading methodology,  just follow that link. They painstakingly review every player’s performance on every snap in every game, grading their performance on each play from –2 to +2, where “zero” is a typical, “he did his job” level of performance. For context, I’ve included the best- and worst-graded DTs who played at least 25% of their teams’ snaps: the Bills’ Kyle Williams, and the Colts’ Daniel Muir, respectively. The black line shows the league average.

First, we see just how ridiculously good Kyle Williams graded out this year, especially against the run; he was nearly unblockable. This was a good chunk of the reason why the Lions’ runningbacks couldn’t get to the line of scrimmage, let alone past it, when they played the Bills.

Though he played just 372 snaps, Sammie Hill graded out as the Lions’ most effective overall DT, and eleventh-best in the NFL. He was the Lions’ best, and most consistent, run stopper. Hill also went the whole season without a penalty, the cleanest of the Lions’ DTs. Surprisingly, he was also an above-average pass rusher.

Initially, Hill’s performance was underwhelming. He turned in weak grades throughout the beginning of the season, especially against Minnesota. However, after the Jets game Hill turned a corner, and graded positively against both the run and the pass for the rest of the season. His best performance was against Tampa Bay: he played about 40% of snaps, and logged a sack, three tackles, and an assist. I admit, I winced when I re-read my line from last year about Hill having the talent to be a “perennial Pro Bowler,” but his upside is high, indeed—and he’s getting there fast.

Bottom Line: A natural big body who is slowly fulfilling his top-flight physical potential, Hill will remain a big part of the Lions’ rotation as his technique and body develop.

Ndamukong Suh played almost a thousand snaps this year, leading all defensive tackles. In the middle of the season, PFF tried to defuse the Suh hype bomb, explaining that his performance was quite rookie-like. Yes, despite undeniable physical talent, and some monster games and plays, Suh was all over the place in 2010. Sometimes, he flashed truly elite pass-rushing skills;  sometimes, he was blown off the ball. Just as I saw with Sammie Hill in his rookie season, Suh struggled against trap and seal blocks. If the man blocking him wasn’t the man directly across from him, Suh was often taken out of the play.

His awesome closing ability means he’s sort of the anti-DeVries: he gets an awful lot of sacks per pressure. However, just as Jared DeVries put a lot more heat on the QB than his sack numbers suggested, Suh’s impacting the game much less than the sack totals would suggest, especially given a thousand snaps to work with.

Let me be clear: a rookie starting, playing a thousand snaps, and getting stronger throughout the year—his best grades were in weeks 8, 11, 12, 14, and 15—is phenomenal. That he successfully brought down the quarterback ten times is amazing. But, remember about the “instant impact” rookie: “amazing” for a rookie is still only “really good” in absolute terms. You can see on the chart above, Suh is nowhere near the best defensive tackle in the NFL. But his floor is “above-average NFL starter,” and his ceiling is . . . well, through the roof.

Bottom Line: Suh is an incredible physical talent, with almost unlimited upside. As a rookie, he performed like an above-average starter, while carrying the heaviest workload in the NFL. If he continues to improve, Suh will become one of the best in the NFL—and maybe one of the best ever.

For all the smart moves, solid trades, and wise decisions Martin Mayhew has made over his two-and-a-half season tenure as Lions GM, none has gotten a higher yield with less of an investment than Corey Williams. By overall grade, Williams was the “least good” of the Lions’ three DTs with enough snaps to qualify for PFF’s rankings. However, that’s almost entirely due to his worst-in-the-NFL grade for penalties, something every Lions fan knows full well about. Williams was the Lions’ best pass-rushing DT, which is saying something; the Lions’ line consists entirely of above-average pass rushing DTs. He was also strongly positive against the run and in coverage.

At the end of the season, Gunther Cunningham said that he thinks Corey Williams is just as deserving of Pro Bowl honors as Suh. Outside of the ridiculous penchant for penalties (several of which kept critical opponent drives alive), the PFF grades agree.

Bottom Line: Williams was a two-way force for the Lions in 2010, and an incredible addition to the roster. With his natural size (6’-4”, 320 lb.), great acceleration, and sometimes-too-quick snap anticipation, Williams is a difficult assignment for any offensive lineman. It would be really, really, really nice if he could cut down on the penalties.

The only other player to earn snaps at DT for the Lions in 2010 was Andre Fluellen. With much fewer snaps than any of the others, he didn’t make the 25%-or-more cut.  He was very slightly above “average NFL starter” level in pass rush, but was a liability against the run. Combined with a picking up a penalty, his final PFF grade put him as far below “average NFL starter” as Ndamukong Suh was above.

Bottom Line: Flu is still very young (two years older than Suh), and has developed into a decent pass rusher. He still has a hard time anchoring against the run, and is more of a “pursuit” guy. He’s not, then, an ideal fit for this defense. But anyone with his frame, athleticism, and ability to penetrate will keep getting chances as long as they keep working hard. Flu is a perfectly fine rotational/situational DT—and still has room to grow.

Practice squadder Robert Callaway, fresh out of Saginaw Valley last season, didn’t see any action. I’m sure the 6’-5”, 312-pound local boy will get at least a camp invite this summer.

SHOPPING LIST? As a unit, the Lions’ defensive tackles are complete. They join the Giants, Eagles, Raiders, and Vikings as the only teams where every member of the active DT rotation was graded above average. The oldest, Williams, is 30; Fluellen just turned 26, Suh and Hill are both 24. Unless the Lions want new blood to replace Fluellen (unlikely, as they just tendered him an RFA offer), the Lions should make no moves here.

Technorati Tags: nfl,detroit lions,defensive tackles,defensive line,nfl draft,nfl free agency,ndamukong suh,corey williams

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The Greatest of Best? Lions Minicamp, Day 1

Last year, I broke down the what I called the key performance indicators of minicamp.  As I said at the time:

We won’t get to see this First Real Football in detail. There won’t be any TV broadcast we can TiVO and replay. There won’t be any live streaming play-by-play. There probably won’t be any live Tweeting, either (since the Twitter-savviest Detroit sports journalist, Greg Eno, has informed me he won’t be there). And of course, we won't have any of the typical measures of football success to go by--yards, points, wins, or losses. So, we’ll have to wade knee-deep into the stream of quotes, blurbs, blogs, and articles that will flow through our favored information channels in the nights and days following these practices, and hope to catch some fish of truth.

In the absence of absolutes, all we have to measure is the relatives: one player against another, one position group against another.  Until this point, though, there hasn’t been much “Real Football”—no hitting, no tackling, no full-speed blitzing or blocking—so we’ve seen none of the truth that only fire can tell.

Tom “Killer” Kowalski over at Mlive.com notes Kevin Smith got on some 7-on-7 action, but John Niyo of the Detroit News gives us news of the other back, Javhid Best.  The initial signs are extremely encouraging.  Quoth DT Landon Cohen:

"That guy has got impeccable cutting and great speed, so he's gonna be one of those guys that can take it to the house for us.  When he gets the ball, he's got great vision, great athleticism. He's gonna be great, man. I like what I see in him so far."

Superficially, Best’s, ahem, best attributes are his speed, acceleration, quickness, burst, explosion, and other synonyms for running fast.  But Jahvid’s first word to describe what he does best is “vision,” and it’s exciting to hear a teammate say the same thing.

Of course, as a Lions tailback, and a first-round pick to boot, Best will be unfairly compared to Barry Sanders.  But in this way, Best definitely reminds me of Barry—for all that was (rightly) made of Barry’s speed, acceleration, quickness, burst, and explosion, his greatest gift was his vision.  His vision, that let him see daylight where there was none.  His vision, that let him see when he’d get more daylight by pausing and letting his pursuers overpursue.  His vision, that allowed him to avoid big hits before they came.  His vision, which allowed him to apply his ability to run fast in game situations.  His vision, which converted talent into greatness with perfect efficiency.

That greatness is singular; Barry Sanders will ever be the only Barry Sanders.  But if Best, and his teammates, are right, and Best’s best quality is his vision, his greatness could be something to behold as well.  Fortunately for us, training camp will be public again this year, so we can all behold it together.

Technorati Tags: nfl,detroit lions,minicamp,training camp,jahvid best,kevin smith

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The Lions' Defensive Line, As I Understand It

My recent articles about Ndamukong Suh and the Lions' defensive line have kicked up a bit of a fuss about the roles of Suh, DT Corey Williams, and RFA target DT/DE Anthony Hargrove within the Lions' defense. This is my understanding of how all of these players can contribute to the Lions' defense, along with holdovers like Sammie Hill, Cliff Avril, and Jason Hunter.

This is the Lions' base defensive line alignment:

The numbers represent where the defensive linemen line up. You've heard me reference this before: the "one-technique" defensive tackle lines up between the left guard and center, the "three technique" on the outside shoulder of the right guard. In the Tampa 2, these tackles are called the "nose" and "under" tackles, respectively. Though I don't believe Schwartz and Cunningham use that nomenclature, I've labelled the 3-tech and 1-tech as "UT" and "NT" in this diagram for clarity.

In the Schwartz/Cunningham system, the ends line up very, very wide--beyond the outside shoulders of the tackles. This serves several purposes: first, it sets an outside edge in the run game. Runningbacks cannot simply bounce outside of the defensive ends to find daylight; they're hemmed in between their offensive tackles. Also, screens and tosses are much harder to execute. Finally, it forces the offensive line to spread out to protect against the outside speed rush, opening up interior gaps.

Schwartz mentioned before last season started that the defense uses "3-4 principles"; this is what he was talking about. The ends set a hard edge on the outside, funneling runs back to the interior. Unlike a 3-4 set, though, there isn't a two-gap tackle handling the interior--there are two one-gap tackles:

You see right away that all gaps aren't accounted for; that's okay. The ends funnel runs inside, and the tackles take up blockers. If everyone merely does their job, the result is something like this:

The ends are in position to hold the edges, the under tackle has locked up the right guard, and the nose tackle has commanded a double-team. Depending on whether one, two, or zero tight ends stay in to block, the defense has already ensured the runningback must stay inside. What happens once this impasse is reached?

Oh, right, linebackers. If the defensive line is doing its job, the linebackers should be able to clean up the mess. Unfortunately, this requires disciplined linebacker play. If the defensive line cannot stop the run by itself, the linebackers must be in position--or the tackle won't get made.

This is why the Lions need help at defensive tackle. If, in the above situation, the UT overwhelms the RG, then the play is disrupted--and there's no daylight outside. Further, if the NT can gain ground against the double-team, or split it, the play is again disrupted.

This is also why the Lions needed help at defensive end. If the DEs aren't strong enough to hold up at the point of attack, then all the interior disruption in the world won't stop the play. Many Lions fans will ruefully remember many times Shaun Rogers burst up the middle, only for the tailback or quarterback to sidestep him and have plenty of room to run.

Not only would excellent line play obviate the need for the linebackers to play cautious, stay-at-home football, it would keep blitzing lanes open, improving the blitz's effectiveness against both the run and pass.

Now, where to the Lions' defensive linemen fit into the picture?

• Sammie Hill is the 1-technique tackle, labelled as "NT" above. He's a big, beefy, 330-pound DT with some real athleticism. His rookie year, he was primarily a space eater. However, he flashed the potential to become dominant in that role; not just drawing double-teams--demanding them, and making plays anyway.
• Corey Williams was developing into a star in Green Bay as a 3-technique pass-rushing DT. Cleveland thought he'd make a perfect 3-4 end, and gave up a second-round pick to bring him in. Unfortunately, Williams just wasn't a fit for the scheme. He lacked the speed needed pressure the quarterback as an end, and his natural talent is penetration, not containment.
  It's presumed that he'll return to the 3-tech role that suited him so well in Green Bay, and if the Lions make no additions to the line between now and the regular season, he'll be the starter. However, I could see his role changing on obvious passing downs. Hill is not a penetrator, so the 320-pound Williams could slide over to the 1-tech spot, providing a pass rush without sacrificing size . . .
• Kyle Vanden Bosch is the prototypical right defensive end for this defense: 270 pounds, very strong, very tough, difficult to keep off of the quarterback or runningback.  His tenacity, leadership, and—we hope—production should make him the Lions’ best defensive lineman, even best defender, in 2010.
• Cliff Avril’s first two seasons with the Lions have been a tease.  At times, he’s looked like an elite pass rusher in the making--and at times, he’s disappeared.  At 260-to-265 pounds, he’s decidedly undersized as an LDE in this system.  That might be why he closed the season behind 271-pound Jason Hunter on the depth chart . . .
  Avril’s 2010 is going to be crucial to his development.  He has to continue to develop his body to the point that he can drop anchor on the left edge—and he has to prove he can consistently pressure the quarterback.
• Jason Hunter is a developmental prospect, a hardworking special teams standout who was cut from Green Bay when they switched to a 3-4.  Hunter’s got the perfect body type for this defense, but his play has been inconsistent as well.  At times, he’s played the run well, and at times, he’s been easily blocked.  He’s gotten a little bit of pressure on the quarterback, but he doesn’t have the physical pass-rushing gifts that Avril does. 
  In some ways, he’s the mirror image of Avril: an inconsistent natural run-stopper instead of inconsistent natural pass-rusher, both trying to become a 30-snap guy within this defense, each improving at the expense of the other.
• Kevin Carter is a guy who doesn't play for the Lions, but a player whose role in this defense the Lions would love to fill.  As a Titan, the 305-pound Carter was an outsized pass rusher, a three-down force who would play primarily outside, but would slide inside on obvious passing downs to provide an extra push.  It’s this role that would be filled by Saints RFA DL Anthony Hargrove, if he’s traded to the Lions.
  Hargrove's signing would likely relegate Hunter to the bench and special teams (where he arguably belongs, for now), and Avril would continue to rotate in on second and third downs.
• Ndamukong Suh also doesn't play for the Lions, but as you all should know by now, I hope he will.  I think he’s a once-in-five-years prospect as a pass-rushing tackle, a guy that could, in rotation with Corey Williams and Sammie Hill, seriously disrupt opposing offenses—against both the pass and the run. 
  Assuming the Lions do not get Anthony Hargrove, Suh would likely play as the “UT” next to Corey Williams’ “NT” on passing downs—and he could even do a little Kevin Carter on running downs as well.  If the Lions got Hargrove, it wouldn’t necessarily mean the Lions couldn’t draft Suh and rotate him in, just that snaps would be lessened for all involved, and the DL depth would be much,um, deeper.  Picture a nickel-defnese line of Avril, Hargrove, Suh, and Vanden Bosch, or a second-down line of Hargrove, Suh, Williams, and Vanden Bosch, or a first-down line of Hargrove, Willams, Hill, and Vanden Bosch . . .
  Given the news, though, that the Hargrove has signed his tender and the Lions might try to trade out of the #2 pick, the Lions would prefer to trade for Hargrove, move down, and pick up a developmental tackle later.  Who knows if they’ll be successful—for now, though, I don’t think Suh and Hargrove both come to Detroit.

Submitted for your approval: my projected defensive line depth charts with the "Hargrove/Suh" role combined (for now), and rotations/position battles notated, too:

Edited to add: Everyone’s been killing me for not including Turk McBride and/or Andre Fluellen, both of whom got a decent amount of snaps last year and are vaguely promising.  I see McBride (and Andre Fluellen) as occupying the role that I noted here “Hargrove/Suh”.  If either Hargove or Suh were a Lion next year, McBride and Fluellen would be battling for the role of “second-string DE/DT flex". Considering that there are first- and second-stringers at both DE and DT already, there aren’t a lot of leftover snaps.  If both make the team, I think Hunter or Cohen are the casualty.

This is kind of the thing about the Lions getting better—they’re going to let good players go, because those good players aren’t good enough to be on the Lions.  If you add in Vanden Bosch, Williams, and Suh, there are three fewer roster spots to go around for the Marinelli-style four-year projects and ‘tweeners.

Technorati Tags: detroit lions,nfl,ndamukong suh,anthony hargrove,kyle vanden bosch,cliff avril,jim schwartz,gunther cunningham

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Neither rain nor snow nor sleet . . .

It’s (finally) mailbag time!  Most of the questions I received had to do with a very round peg that just might fill a very big hole in the Lions’ lineup.  I'll print David M, of NFLDraftBlogger.com's instance:

I saw that Ed Johnson of the Colts was released today. We need DT help and he's a decent DT that hasn't been playing up to standards and being lazy (the reason for release was listed as him being overweight at 315 pounds). He got his wake up call from the Colts, so do you think the Lions will attempt to sign and shape him up?

Johnson is an interesting case.  The 6’-2”, 296# DT was released from the Colts last year, after a traffic stop resulted in the discovery of marijuana in his car.  He was re-signed by the Colts seven months later--after, essentially, promising to be good.  However, he was released again last week.  When pressed for a reason why, Colts coach Jim Caldwell denied that it was a character issue, saying that it was a case of “overall production, or lack thereof”.

This is an interesting philosophical question for Lions fans. If Ed Johnson was truly cut only for performance, and not character, issues, then he's not just a "turd", and might be of use. Then again, if he was truly cut only for performance, he must have been terrible indeed; NFL teams don't release a guy midseason unless they're clearing up a roster spot for someone else. The quagmire was cleared up a few days ago when, Colts GM Bill Polian finally came clean:

“Jim Caldwell about three weeks ago called him in and essentially said to him, 'Ed, you have to pick it up – the production, the hustle, the effort and the ability to lose the weight has to be improved,''' Polian said Monday, adding that Caldwell told Johnson, “Otherwise, we're going to have to make a change.'''

So there you have it: Ed Johnson was indeed cut for being lazy.  His weight was a just manifestation of that lack of intensity.  The many Polian, and Caldwell-via-Polian, quotes in that article make it crystal clear: the coaches wanted nothing more to do with Johnson’s half-hearted effort.  This guy is like a fat Chuck Darby, without Darby’s motor; I don’t think that’s someone who can help the Lions.  Moreover, Sammie Hill, a player with a naturally huge frame and a lot of heart, should come back healthy next week, or shortly thereafter.

David also highlighted another free agent target who might be worth pursuing:

I saw through various media outlets that former starting safety for San Diego Clinton Hart was released. Why have we not heard about the Lions going after him? Are they really pleased with Marquand Manuel starting next to Delmas? I know Ko Simpson is here too, and I like him as a player, but it never hurts to bring in someone with starting experience.

I have to admit, I hadn't heard of Hart's release. Judging by the fan reaction, it looks as though the Associated Press’ take on it:

Coach Norv Turner said the Chargers were carrying an extra safety and felt younger players Steve Gregory and rookie Kevin Ellison "have come along and are ready to play."

is essentially correct.  The Chargers are trying to shake things up in general, and Hart's release (following several weeks of poor play) sent a message to the rest of the defense that nobody's job is safe.

As far as the Lions making a move to pick him up, I think you answered your own question. The Lions already have a starter they seem to like in Ko Simpson, and I'd expect him to come back healthy after the bye.  I have not been fond of Marquand Manuel's play, but he's been on the team--and in the system--for much of the offseason, and can play either safety spot.  That's another thing to remember: Schwartz doesn't use the typical "strong" and "free" safety roles; a traditional SS who's a liability in coverage has no place in this defense. According to Adam Caplan of Scout.com, that's exactly what Hart's problem has been: coverage.

I also got another very good question from commenter SomeChoi:

S Hill and L Cohen seem to be good DTs who will only get better. Yet, Killer talks about DT as a major need for next year. Am I just overvaluing those guys? I would think LT is a bigger need than DT (but both behind DE, CB, and S).

I think we as Lions fans need to be clear: after Megatron, Matt Stafford, Brandon Pettigrew, Louis Delmas, and DeAndre Levy, just about everyone on the roster is a candidate to be replaced this offseason.

Of course, I would love for the Lions to get an elite left tackle--but the Lions' DT rotation, with Hill out, is Cohen, 36-year-old Grady Jackson, and 278-pound Turk McBride.  Understand that on a team with an established defensive line, Hill and Cohen would have each had to wait a year or two to get on the field--and instead, they're part of the starting rotation.

Likewise, the DEs are extremely thin: Avril is just starting to turn it back on after his injury, Dewayne White can't stay healthy, DeVries was going to START before going on IR, and his street-free-agent replacement, Jason Hunter, is also out. Six months ago, Jason Hunter was a special-teams standout for the Packers, who was then released.  Now, the Lions are eager for his return, so they can plug him back into the rotation? Yikes.

I've been ringing alarm bells all offseason long: the cornerback position is absolutely dire.  Henry is better suited to safety, Buchanon needs to pull his head out of his posterior, and there isn't another legitimate NFL starter on the roster.  Will James is a great story, but he's another weak #2/strong #3-type guy that could be a cog in an otherwise-excellent secondary, but he's no #1, not in a division full of excellent, strong-armed quarterbacks.

I could go on and on about the talent definciencies all over the roster--but I'll try to stick to your question.  Sammie Hill is still extremely raw; he doesn't yet know how to use that incredible build to its fullest. His technique, hand work, and use of leverage is simply not there yet. Once it is, though, his potential is limited only by his effort. If he reaches that potential, could be the Lions' nose tackle for years to come.  However, at this point he's just a big body--that helps, but only goes so far.

Landon Cohen has made absolutely unbelievable strides since the Lions took him in the 7th round of the 2008 draft, putting on about 35 pounds of pure muscle.  I bumped into him at the “Lions Uncaged!” event; he didn’t notice, but my clavicle was broken in three spots.  Still, he was a seventh-round draft pick just last year.  He BARELY saw the field--and all of the technique coaching he got last season was wiped out and rewritten with the opposite approach this summer.  If he continues to develop, he could indeed be a valuable rotational guy next to Hill.

This is kind of the thing: us Lions fans are so used to anyone who's even moderately decent starting; the notion of having both an excellent starter and a solid backup is disorienting.  I agree that Cohen and Hill are two excellent young prospects--but this defense needs to be built around the NEXT Grady Jackson, the next Albert Haynesworth, the next Pat Williams. If you have a chance to draft the kind of DT who stops people's running games cold all by himself, you don't pass on that guy because Landon Cohen is coming along pretty good.

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Comes the Turk

Of all of the many aspects of professional football that we as fans either never see, or overlook, probably the dimension that’s swept the farthest under the rug is this: it’s professional football.  This game, it’s these men’s lives--and livelihood.  Much was made of the heartwarming story of WR Dane Looker, who’d  given up on playing this season, and was working on a new deck when the Lions called.  Nobody’s writing stories about Dane Looker taking a red-eye flight back to his wife and three kids, sitting on his new deck with a cold one, staring at the full moon, and wondering if his phone will ever ring again.

I don’t mean to be maudlin; this, of course, is the nature of the business. Just like law, finance, or medicine, these are the best of the best of the best in the world at what they do.  While there is friendship and family, and there are institutions and traditions, the NFL is a trust—a oligarchy of thirty-two billion-dollar businesses.  From the unspeakably wealthy men who run these teams, to the unpaid interns putting in 90-hour weeks, the pressure on every single member of these organization is unimaginable—and so is their level of performance.   The difference between 16-0 and 0-16, in terms of absolute overall franchise quality, is probably only a few percentage points. 

You know that guy who sucks so bad you keep bubbly on ice for the day he’s sent packing?  He’s an incredible athlete, faster than you could ever believe, ripped to the Nth degree, and probably spent the first seventeen years of his life being the best player on the field, in every game he played.  If you challenged him to a footrace, he’d probably cover twice the distance you do in half the time.  And yet, as soon as they can find a guy that’s a breath faster, his six-figure salary becomes cab fare and a firm handshake.

Many good players, and good men, lost their jobs today.  I’m most depressed about Stuart Schweigert—whose dedication to the fans turned my family’s trip to the open practice event from a total fiasco into a nice memory that might never leave my two oldest children.  From his Twitter feed, you get a true sense of exactly how painful it is to wholly invest your mind and heart—and literally risk your body—for half a year, only to have your dream snatched away from you on the eve of the season.

 However, it’s not all bad news.  Underdogs like Adam Jennings and Landon Cohen have managed to parlay a consistently excellent camp into a full-time roster spot.  The Lions, as anticipated, held four roster spots for quarterbacks, in order to give hometown favorite Drew Stanton time to heal.  And, in terms of what we fans usually concern ourselves with, the wins and losses?  Well, only 19 of the 53 players from the 0-16 team’s opening-day roster remain; an astounding feat by GM Martin Mayhew, head coach Jim Schwartz, and everyone else with a say in assembling the personnel.   

It remains to be seen exactly how much better this year’s iteration of the Detroit Lions football club is than the last.  However, it’s inarguably a dramatically different squad, from the bottom of the roster to the top.  In fact, it’s still in flux---the “final” list of 53 is really just a snapshot in time, a waypoint on the journey from the opening of camp to the conclusion of this season.  The Lions already have their wish list of candidates from other teams; their trash still potentially the Lions’ treasure.  They will certainly use and abuse their #1 waiver priority.  The revolving door will spin and spin—and with each go-round, the roster will get a little better, someone will get a new job, and, unfortunately, someone will be fired.

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the first line of defense?

It’s a little bit difficult to believe that I’m about to write about the desperate, unsettled nature of the Lions’ defensive line.  After all, it was just three years ago that the Lions hired Rod Marinelli—one of the NFL’s top defensive line coaches, and reputed leaguewide to be a brilliant teacher and motivator.  He was going to revamp the Lions’ perennially toothless defense, and leading the way would be a Tampa-like front four, our very own Warren Sapp, Booger McFarland, Simeon Rice and Greg Spires to brutalize quarterbacks with.

The plan was, our fierce, fast, athletic line would crash through the gaps, and terrorize opposing quarterbacks.  Since the D-line would be so dominant, blitzing would rarely be required; our small, fast linebackers could park in short zones and deny the offense the short passing game.  With the terrorizing defensive line up front, and the blanketing zone behind, the Lions’ defense was going to be a nightmare for opposing offensive coordinators.

Yes, well.  We knew things weren’t quite going to go to plan when Marinelli’s “top priority” was to sign Kalimba Edwards to a massive five-year extension, based on an Avril-esque rookie season and three years of groin injuries.  This started a chain of events—bad signings, draft misses, Marinelli “I’ll coach him up” hubris, trades, and injuries--that left the Lions’ defensive line in its current state: a guy who couldn’t even make the Packers’ camp roster now has “the inside track” on starting at left end.

There was an incredible kids’ show on PBS when I was small called “Square One TV”.  Famous for its nonstop U-of-M football in-jokes, the show was somewhere between Sesame Street, a sketch comedy show, and a cartoon—all with math as the focus.  The latter half of each episode would feature “Mathnet”, a Dragnet spoof that followed the adventures of two detectives who would solve crimes with math.  Often, when they were completely flummoxed, with several conflicting leads, they would “play ‘What Do We Know?’”, and the answers would reveal themselves.  It’s played like this:

• We know that Grady Jackson is listed at 6’-2”, 345#.  We know he’s a natural wide-bodied, two-gap run-stuffing defensive tackle, of which the Lions’ staff would love to have two in the center of their defensive line.  We know he’s 36 years old, and will likely only see action in running situations, i.e., first down and second-and-short.  Despite being limited to 15-25 snaps a game, Gunther Cunningham admits that “when you get him in there, everything else goes good.”  We know he will likely be (unjustly) suspended for the first four games.
  
  
• We know that Chuck Darby is listed at 6’-0”, 297#.  We know that he’s a natural one-gap run-stuffer, blessed with an incredible motor, big heart, and not much else.  Darby is an overachiever who plays at his absolute limit every second he’s on the field, but he—like Jackson—is getting up there in years (33), and is best suited for running down duty only.
  
  
• We know that Landon Cohen is listed at 6’-3”, 274#--though he says he was up to 285 last year, and weighed in to training camp at 302.  We know the Lions drafted him in the seventh round of the 2008 draft.  We know he did an absolutely astonishing 50 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press at the outset of training camp—for comparison, B.J. Raji only mustered 33 at the combine this year.  We know Tom Kowalski reported that he’s been making a splash at camp.
  
  
• We know that Andre Fluellen is listed at 6’-2”, 296#.  We know he’s an athletically gifted 2008 third-round pick.  We know he played at both DT and LE last season, and, according to the official site, allowed only 1.74 yards per play directed at him his rookie season.  We have absolutely no clue where the official site got that stat from, how it’s derived, or where we could get it for more players, but we sure wish we knew.  We also have no word on his camp performance to date.
  
  
• We know that Sammie Hill is listed at 6’-4”, 329#.  We know he was drafted out of tiny Stillman College in the fourth round of this April’s draft.  We know he’s raw and unpolished, but has the physical tools to remind Gunther Cunningham of Albert Haynesworth.  We know his technique and conditioning are a long way from being ready for the big leagues.  We know he was drafted to play Major League Baseball.  We know he is very impressed by hotel rooms (the famous YouTube video of him and fellow RRA clients doing the “Cribs” thing at their agent-supplied hotel room has apparently been taken down).
  
  
• We know that Shaun Smith is listed at 6’-2”, 325#, and has been a moderately effective two-gap DT and DE in the Browns’ 3-4.  We know he was on the outs in Cleveland for motivation problems—motivation problems paired with a penchant for mouthing off to the media.  We know that immediately after signing, he told the Detroit media that ex-Lions DT Shaun Rogers would love to come back to Detroit.  We know The Grandmaster thinks Smith’s talents fit the Lions’ needs.
  
  
• We know that Orien Harris is listed at 6’-3”, 300#, we know he’s a high-motor guy, and has been on six different rosters in his four years in the league.  We know the Lions’ brass thinks he had a better chance of making the roster than Ronald Curry.
  
  
• We know that there’s no way the Lions keep eight defensive tackles on the roster, so John Gill won’t make the team. UPDATE! About an hour after I posted this, John Gill was released.  I apologize to Mr. Gill if I influenced the Lions staff in any way.
  
  
• We know that Cliff Avril is listed at 6’-3”, 253#, though he reported to camp at a lean 260.  We know he’s an explosive edge rusher who led all rookies in sacks last season, in less than half a season’s work.  We know he played mostly outside linebacker at Purdue; the Lions were one of the few teams who saw him as a full-time defensive end.  We know he’s a prototypical 3-4 ROLB, a little bit light for a prototypical 4-3 RE, and probably ten or fifteen pounds shy of the ideal for Schwartz and Cunningham’s new scheme.
  
  
• We know that Dewayne White is listed at 6’-2”, 273#.  We know he was effective in spot duty as a pass rusher in Tampa Bay, and we know that—when healthy—he’s been an effective pass rusher here.  We know he matches the ideal body type and game for a RE in the Lions’ new system.  We know he’s not as effective at rushing the passer from the LE spot, and isn’t the run-stuffer an LE should be.
  
  
• We know that Jared DeVries is out for the season.
  
  
• We know that Ikaika Alama-Francis is listed at 6’-5”, 280#, but that he’s bulked up to 292 in anticipation of switching to tackle.  We know he was a 2007 second-round pick.  We know former NFL head coach Jerry Glanville called him the most talented defensive lineman he’d coached.  We know that with the injury to DeVries, “Five-O” is back at LE.
  
  
• We know that Jason Hunter is listed at 6’-4”, 271#.  We know that he matches the ideal body profile of a DE in Schwartz and Cunningham’s new scheme.  We know he had a promising first few years in Green Bay--including being their best special teams tackler--but that he had no place in their new 3-4 alignment.  We know he has the “inside track” at taking over DeVries’s starting gig.
  
  
• We know that Sean Conover is listed at 6’-5”, 275#, and also fits the physical mold of a Lions DE.  We know he was acquired by the Titans as a rookie free agent, but after two seasons of semi-successful spot duty, he was released.  We know he then kicked off a practice squad tour: the Ravens, Falcons, and Jets all had spots on their practice squads or reserve list for him in 2008.
  
  
• We know that Ryan Kees is 6’-6”, 275#, and also fits the physical mold of a Lions DE.  We know that he tore it up at D-II Saint Cloud State.
  

In true Mathnet style, let’s look for the emergent patterns.  One is obvious: we see that every defensive end the Lions have acquired this offseason goes around 6’-5” and is 270-275 pounds.  This is the body type the Lions would like to see two of set wide, bracing the offensive tackles on either side.  Two ends built like this can set a very hard edge, denying running backs the outside, denying the pitch, disrupting the screen.  Setting these strong ends out wide will force the running backs up the middle.

Speaking of the middle, another pattern emerges here: with Grady Jackson, Sammie Hill, Shaun Smith, and Orien Harris, every defensive tackle the Lions have acquired has been a natural two-gap run stuffer, with a big, wide body.  According to Schwartz, the Lions still use a one-gap responsibility system, but instead of trying to ‘get skinny’ and blast up those gaps with a leading shoulder, the Lions are now squaring up to the gaps, filling them, and then shedding blockers.

According to Nick Cotsonika and Carlos Monarrez of the Free Press, both Jason Hunter and Cliff Avril have been seeing time at both ends, but DeWayne White appears fixed at the right end.  This makes sense; White is a productive veteran who perfectly fits the mold of the new right end.  It will be between the gifted-but-too-small Avril and the bigger-but-less-explosive Hunter for the starting LE spot—but keep in mind, with the high levels of blitz, and extreme situalization of the defense, no matter what the depth chart looks like, Avril will see a “starter”-like snap count.  Ikaika Alama-Francis would have been the perfect left end coming out of college, but he’s about thirty pounds too heavy now; I have no idea if they’ll have him lose weight, or what.  He may challenge Hunter for first- and second-down LE reps.

When Grady Jackson was signed, the prevailing wisdom amongst fans was that he’s be the starting nose tackle and Chuck Darby would be the #2.  However, basing this on little more than hunch, I think the Lions will play them side-by-side on running downs.  Darby’s simply too small to play the nose tackle role in this defense.  Besides, with the employment of the 3-3-5 nickel defense, there may only be two tackles out there on running downs anyway.  If you have two natural run stuffers who aren’t much good for anything else, and only have 15-25 snaps a game in them, why not use them together for 15-25 ‘1st-and-10’s and ‘2nd-and-short’s?  I think Shaun Smith or Sammie Hill will be the #2 ‘bigger’ tackle; Smith if he shuts his mouth and plays well consistently, Hill if he can get his conditioning where it needs to be.  Landon Cohen’s had an incredible camp, and Andre Fluellen really impressed me with his inside/outside athleticism late last season.  I still think the best place for “Five-O” is at the under tackle spot.

So, where does this leave us?  I decided to chart it out, based on everything we that we know, plus a little good old-fashioned hunchwork:

Alignment	LE	UT	NT	RE
Base 4-3 (run)	Hunter/Francis	Darby	Jackson	White/Hunter
Base 4-3 (pass)	Avril/Hunter	Cohen/Fluellen	Smith/Hill	White/Avril
Nickel 4-3	Avril/White	Cohen/Fluellen/ Francis	Smith/Hill/ Francis	Avril/Peterson
Nickel 3-3	Francis/Fluellen/Cohen	--	Smith/Hill	White/Francis/ Fluellen

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Morning view

I've decided to continue with the Three Cups Deep-style quick hits throughout training camp; there's so much info coming out now that I've gotta hustle to skim off the cream of the crop and dollop it in your morning joe.  Monday’s practice sessions didn’t see a lot of new storylines break; rather, we saw a lot of the same storylines develop:

• DT Landon Cohen continued to impress.  According to Tom Kowalski over at Mlive.com, Cohen followed up his jaw-dropping 50-rep performance in the bench press this weekend by making play after play on Monday.  Some folks are already calling him “Cohen the Barbarian”, which I find hilarious—those doing so are likely unaware of the literary allusion they make.  Cohen celebrated his 23rd birthday yesterday, and as he says this is indicative of his “grown-man strength kicking in”.  I should emphasize that there are plenty of rookies drafted in April whose 23rd birthday was a lot further back in time than yesterday.  Cohen, if he can continue to develop like this, could be the surprise gem that saves the Lions’ defense—in a year or two.  Unfortunately, there’s no mention of who these reps came against—and if it was linemen like Damion Cook and Dylan Gandy, we can’t start toasting Cohen’s breakout just yet.  Don’t forget, recent Lions past is full of traning camp rags-to-riches stories that never panned out.  Greg Blue, “Blue” Adams, David Kircus, Scotty Anderson . . .
  
  
• The Detroit News’ John Niyo writes that DT Sammie Hill is getting a lot of special attention from defensive line coach Bob Karmelowicz.  There’s a few great quotes from Schwartz in that story about how scouting Hill reminded him of scouting Leon Lett—and frankly, thoughts about the next Big Cat in Honolulu Blue get me all hot and bothered.  Here’s another difference between Schwartz and Marinelli: instead of the defensive line coach stopping defensive line drills to work with a guy like Hill—the head coach would stop team drills to work with a guy like Hill! Okay, that might be a sight exaggeration, but still—Schwartz is excited to see Hill in practice and watch the game film afterwards; NOT spending big chunks of practice working on fine points of technique with individual players.  Schwartz is coaching the coaches, and letting the coaches coach the players—exactly as it should be.
  
  
• Killer also wrote a nice little piece on that exact point: Schwartz spending time with both the offense and the defense—and how his coaching to “situations” and mentally tying what they’re doing on the practice field to what they do in games so wildly varies from Marinelli’s.
  
  
• Before the first all-roster minicamp, I wrote about ‘key performance indicators”, things that fans should watch for to see if real progress is being made.  One of those was the matchup of the receivers versus the corners; since we know for a fact that Megatron is an elite wideout, how the Lions’ corners fare against him will be a great measuring stick for how they’re doing in general.  So far, the results are looking good; according to the Free Press’s Nick Cotsonika, #1 CB Phillip Buchanon has been holding his own.  Killer reports that former EMU standout Chris Roberson got some reps with the ones when Eric King and Keith Smith both took the morning off with minor injuries—and did extremely well.

As always, stay tuned both here and at my Twitter feed for the latest!

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three cups deep

I find myself waffling between waxing rhapsodic about the hedonistic pleasures of brewing coffee, and writing about the whole weekend’s worth of Detroit Lions training camp action.  I know what you folks have come here for, though, so I’ll get right to the good stuff:

• Though many insist on 100% arabica beans in their espresso, I’ve found that a well-selected robusta bean can add a lot of bite and body to an otherwise . . . oh.  What?   . . . *sigh* . . . fine.
  
  
• It’s no secret that the Lions’ new defensive scheme is going to rely heavily on the play of the tackles to stop the run.  With veteran run-stuffer Grady Jackson likely to miss the first few games of the season—and likely to be on a limited-snap leash after that--the Lions will desperately need at least a couple of the guys behind him on the depth chart to make a big impact.  Saturday’s conditioning tests saw two young defensive tackles make statements, indeed: Sammie Hill failed the conditioning test given to all players prior to the first practice.  We’re assured this doesn’t mean much; Hill passed the test later in the afternoon.  Hill himself blamed it on trying too hard to ‘wow’ with his long shuttle time, and running out of gas before he could finish.  However, this conditioning test was like homework—all of these players passed these tests at the conclusion of minicamp.  Seeing Hill on the sidelines for the first Saturday session because he failed the conditioning test was not a great sign.  Landon Cohen, however, blew everyone away by benching 225 pounds an incredible 50 times.  For perspective, B.J. Raji did 33 reps at the combine;  Sammie Hill did 27.  Cohen’s a very interesting case study.  When I reviewed the Lions’ 2008 defensive tackles in my Old Mother Hubbard series, this is what I said about him:

  “Cohen was a seventh-round draft pick last year from Ohio.  Not the Buckeyes, the Bobcats.  He was a destroyer up the middle, despite his relatively light 6'-4", 278 lb. physique.  Interestingly, Cohen was a 4-year letterman in track at his high school in Spartanburg, SC.  Track!  At Ohio, Cohen played the nose tackle position despite being a little undersized for that, even by MAC standards.  And yet, he was 2nd-team all-conference his senior year, with 59 tackles (27 solo), 12.5 TFL and 1.5 sacks, starting all twelve games.  Despite being a little taller, and notably thinner, than fellow rookie Andre Fluellen, Cohen is listed on the Lions depth chart as a nose tackle.  He saw time against several teams, setting his career high in tackles against the Colts (4).  I didn't get to see much of him, but from what I can find in scouting reports, he has excellent technique and leverage, helping him make up for his lack of beef.  He seems to excel in initial burst and shedding blocks with quick moves, but doesn' t have the range or athleticism to run around making plays on the edge or in space.  According to the info I can find, he's at his best as a one-gap upfield rusher.  Bottom line: Cohen is a true 4-3 one-gap nose tackle who was born a little too small.  If he could add a lot of bulk he could stay at NT--otherwise, he's another 4-3 UT/3-4 DE project.”

  It looks as though Cohen’s doing everything he can to add the bulk and strength he’ll need to stay at DT; this should be a very interesting position battle, indeed.
  
  
• There was a lot of talk about the QB position coming into the weekend.  Though impressions of how each quarterback “looked” seemed to be heavily informed by the observer’s favored starter for the year, there was consensus on one issue: Matt Stafford is the real deal.  Scout.com’s Nate Caminata, the Detroit News’s Bob Wojnowski, and—astonishingly—the Grand Rapids Press’s Brian VanOchten all agreed: Stafford carried himself with a veteran’s poise and confidence--even motioning for a PI call after one threaded-needle pass fell incomplete!  He appeared completely comfortable with the playbook and the speed of the game, and has eye-popping physical tools.  All three agreed that while Duante Culpepper looked sharp, he might already be the 1b to Matt Stafford’s 1a.  Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press, however, appealed to caution, imploring the Lions to keep Matt Stafford on the pine, regardless of performance.  I enjoy Rosenberg’s work, but I couldn’t disagree more.  If Stafford’s relaxed, comfortable, confident, and executing better than anyone else, what possible reason could there be to hold him back?  Rod Marinelli held Drew Stanton back in 2008—reportedly, until they got off the schneid.  Stanton’s still waiting for his chance.
  
  
• Speaking of DS, his performance on Saturday left a lot to be desired.  Rumor has it that he threw several ducks, looking far behind Stafford and Culpepper in execution, leading forumgoers to call for his head—or at least his roster spot.  However, I’ve been cautioning against having this knee-jerk reaction.  Stanton simply isn’t the kind of guy who’s going to blow you away in practice.  He’s not a shorts-and-T-shirt passer, he’s a gamer who makes it happen when it counts.  On Sunday, they ran through extremely harsh two-minute drills, and what do you know?  Tom Kowalski went out of his way to praise Stanton’s crisp execution.  Good on you, Drew.  Keep fighting--you deserve it.
  
  
• Finally, Martin Mayhew had a nice little session with reporters, going over all the recent roster changes.  Mayhew said that he’s “happy” with the linebackers and running backs; there’s a good mix of talented, impact veterans, and talented, developing youngsters at both spots.  Beyond that, Mayhew said he was pleased with the amount of raw physical talent at quarterback. However, he refused to go any further than that, declining to say he was done working on any other unit.  Clearly, while he didn’t say a single negative thing about anyone on the roster, he sees holes at every other position group—which is good news, because I see them, too!  Mayhew said the Lions’ brass has “areas of concern”, and efforts to address them are ongoing.

Lots of good stuff from this weekend—and more is coming, because the Lions should be wrapping up the morning session as I write this!

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martin mayhew mercantile

Yesterday, the St. Louis Dispatch reported--and Scout.com expounded upon (in a brilliant article authored by a true gentleman)--a trade between the Rams and Lions.  The Lions sent recently-signed WR Ronald Curry to the Rams--which, according to my last count, makes for eighteen wideouts on the Rams' camp roster.  In return, the Lions got DT prospect Orien Harris, a two-year vet who's seen five different NFL rosters.

Harris, unfortunately, is not the answer to the Lions’ prayers at defensive tackle.  According to a beautifully in-depth scouting report done by the Sports Xchange on FOXsports.com, Harris possesses the wingspan, hands, and frame to be a two-gap nose tackle, but lacks the bulk needed to truly anchor the point of attack.  He also doesn’t play with great technique, not using his long arms and big hands to their full potential.  It notes that while he’s not a firebreather, he’s a “competitive type” who was the “heart and soul” of the Hurricanes’ defensive line his senior year.

Why, then, can’t he keep a job?  He was drafted in the fourth round of the 2006 draft by the Steelers, a 3-4 team who’ll eventually need a nose guard to replace Casey Hampton.  Unable to make the stacked Steelers roster, he was signed before the season by Cleveland, and he saw action in a couple of games there.  Brought in by first the Bills, then the Saints in 2007, he made a huge impression in the 2007 preseason.  Saints head coach Sean Payton:

”He's been one of those guys that's been durable. He's been steady. He's a try-hard guy that gives a lot of effort on each play. Even today, he made some plays in practice. So he's caught the attention of a lot of us, the guys on defense and myself included. He comes to work every day, and he showed that last week in the game."

In the first two preseason games, Harris had 11 solo tackles and a sack . . . and yet, on a team where there ought to be an opportunity on the defensive line, Harris wasn’t retained.  He ended up with the Bengals, and he saw 14 games’ worth of action, starting twice and garnering 14 tackles.  Earlier in the offseason, the Rams—in a similar depth-for-depth move—dealt RB Brian Leonard to the Bengals for Harris’ rights.  Before Harris ever donned pads as a Ram, however, he’s become a Lion.

All of this is more evidence of the Lions’ 365-day strategy of improving the roster.  Every single chance they get, they’re going to make a move to get the best 80 in camp, and the best 53 on the roster.  They’re scouring other teams rosters, anticipating possible cuts, and—just like in the days leading up to free agency—negotiating player-for-player trades.  These trades nullify the Lions’ chief offseason handicap: a player who has a choice of signing anywhere is unlikely to choose a team coming off an 0-16 season whose stadium is north of Canada.  Moreover, they wring blood from a stone.  With the arrival of Dennis Northcutt—a veteran slot WR who could also return kicks—Ronald Curry was likely to be cut.  Rather than simply let him walk away, the Lions brought in a player who’ll have a chance to contribute. 

Harris is a young DT with the raw physical tools—short wide frame, big wingspan, big hands, lower body strength—to develop into the player the Lions so desperately need right now.  Maybe the Lions’ coaching staff is the catalyst he needs to reach his sizable potential, and he starts the season as a starter.  Maybe he flashes enough production in preseason to hold a rotational spot while the Lions wait for the return of Grady Jackson from suspension.  Or, maybe, he simply makes the team over a Marinelli holdover who didn’t fit the plan, and an Ikaika Alama-Francis or Landon Cohen gets shipped off to another team, to improve the roster yet again.

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old mother hubbard: the defensive tackles

To analyze the defensive line properly, we're going to have to briefly review whether the pentagonal peg that is the talent is going to be hammered into a square or round hole: a scheme that utilizes four or three down linemen.  Schwartz and Cunningham have actively evaded this question as they're going to try to fit the scheme to the talent and not the other way around.  Since they've only just begun the process of evaluating the talent they currently have, in theory they have no better idea whether they will run a 4-3 or 3-4 than you or I.  Let's evaluate the talent from both perspectives.

Cory Redding: Redding is the highest-paid defensive lineman on the Lions' roster.  Drafted in the 3rd round of the 2003 draft, he was a strongside DE at the University of Texas, and a linemate of Shaun 'Big Baby' Rogers.  He was drafted as a DE/DT 'tweener, a guy who could dominate against the run on first and second-and-short, and then move inside and rush the passer on second-and-long and third down.  This past season was his sixth, and at 28 he should just be entering his prime.  He's listed at 6'-4", 295, though I thought he looked at least 15 lbs. heavier than that this season.  When Rod Marinelli came to town to install the Tampa 2, Redding was tabbed as an 'under' tackle in the making, a one-gap pass rushing DT in the mold of a young Warren Sapp.    As many know, Redding had a breakout season in 2006, playing like a stud in Shaun Rogers' absence, garnering 8 sacks.  However, when Rogers came back in 2007, rather than pick up where he left off, Redding mostly disappeared.  He took another step back in 2008, even though Rogers was gone once again.  Playing in only 13 games due to a late-season knee injury, Redding was completely pedestrian, getting 38 tackles and three sacks.  Redding is nothing like the force the Lions thought they were getting when they signed him to a monster deal after the 'o6 year.  He's definitely got the athleticism to be a disruptive presence in the middle, but either he has quit on the Lions or he's lost something.  Out of shape?  Less weight work, more twelve-ounce curls?  It's difficult to say.  Of course, it's significant that he's the only Lions lineman that ever commands a double-team, so that can account for some of it--but then he rarely beats the double-team like a premier DT can.  In a 4-3, he is definitely too big and too slow to play defensive end, but with the right motivation he could still be a solid starter at the smaller tackle spot.  In a 3-4, he would make a very good defensive end--he'd just stand there and take up two blockers so the LBs behind him can make a play!  As a 3-4 nose tackle, however, I think Redding would be overmatched.  He could take up a double-team, but not regularly shed it or split it to make plays.  From an off-the-field perspective, Redding is extremely popular in the locker room and is typically voted a captain.  As one of the few holdovers from the pre-Marinelli era, Redding is a rare Lions veteran and a strong, vocal leader.  Even if his play on the field doesn't justify his exorbitant salary, now is not the time to start ditching positive locker room leaders.  Bottom Line: The Lions are committed to Redding money wise for at least 2009 and maybe 2010, so look for him to be starting as a 4-3 UT or 3-4 DE/NT in '09.

Shaun Cody: Four years ago, Cody came into the league as the star of the not-hit reality TV show "Super Agent", a second-round pick in the draft, and the Pac-10 defensive player of the year.  Listed at 6-4", 310, Cody played both inside and outside at USC.  Lacking the speed to be a full-time pass rusher, yet lacking the bulk and strength to throw people around, Cody was prized for being a hardworking, talented football player who was productive at the highest level of college football--sure to find a place in the NFL.   After being drafted by the Lions, Cody immediately got into the rotation, playing in every game, and even started two.  He got 27 tackles and 1.5 sacks in his rookie year . . . up until Redding went down with a knee injury in late 2008, it was Cody's most productive year.  Shaun Cody has been mostly invisible in his tenure with the Lions, not exactly what you want out of a highly touted second-round pick.  Until late 2008, he didn't flash much heart or motor, and even when he did he failed to make an impact.  This year, however, as he matured and his opportunities grew, he was starting to get upfield, make solid tackles, and collapse the pocket.  He didn't get any sacks, but he did get 36 tackles (25 solo) and three passes defensed--all three numbers are career highs.  Of course, these are still very mediocre numbers for a DT that played in every game and started four--but at least the needle moved.  Moreover, Cody's body type and game are ideally suited for the end position in a 3-4 alignment--if the Lions were to move to a 3-4, keeping Cody would make sense--however, this being the offseason after his fourth year, Cody is now due to be an unrestricted free agent.  Bottom Line: the Lions' interest in retaining Cody will probably depend on the chosen defensive alignment.  If they choose a 3-4, they may pay to keep him as an end.  If they stay in a 4-3, he could be allowed to walk.

Andre Fluellen: Fluellen was a rookie this year, a 6'-2", 296 lb. third-round pick from Florida State.  At FSU, he was a tenacious and disruptive interior run stopper--when healthy.  The coaching staff has repeatedly claimed he's a better player than any recent FSU DT, including guys like Darnell Dockett and Broderick Bunkley.  In the NFL, his height, frame, and athleticism projects him as candidate to see time both inside and outside (detecting a theme yet?).  As I posted earlier, "Flu" really started to flash his talent towards the end of the year:

"Andre Fluellen, on the other hand, barely saw the field until the bitter end, but when he did I noticed something. Andre Fluellen was bringing guys down in the secondary for eight yard gains. He was forcing running backs out of bounds. He was wrapping up wideouts on WR screens, after said WRs juked the corners. He wasn't ever collapsing the pocket or throwing guys around, but Fluellen-at 296 pounds mind you--was frequently the second or third guy in on every tackle, everywhere on the field. That speaks volumes about A) his level of effort, and B) his athleticism."

I really like Fluellen's future in the two-years-out timeframe.  His motor and hustle would let him contribute as a 4-3 strong side end, but after adding bulk and strength, I see him as a replacement for Cory Redding: a big, lean defensive tackle with a motor and tackling skills.  In the 3-4, his size would make him seem like an end prospect--but I am not sure he has the point-of-attack strength and bulk to keep the linemen behind him clean.  Also, he wouldn't be used much on stunts or traps, where he could use his lateral and deep speed to get upfield and disrupt.  I think if he could add 20 or 30 pounds over the next several years and work on his strength and technique, his short, wide frame  and high motor could allow him to be a pocket-collapsing nose tackle.  Bottom line: a talented natural one-gap player who could blossom into a force as he goes through NFL training and nutrition.  In 2009 I see him as a 4-3 SDE/UT, or a 3-4 DE.

Landon Cohen:  Cohen was a seventh-round draft pick last year from Ohio.  Not the Buckeyes, the Bobcats.  He was a destroyer up the middle--despite his relatively light 6'-4", 278 lb. physique.  Interestingly Cohen was a 4-year letterman in track at his high school in Spartanburg, SC.  Track!  At Ohio, Cohen played the nose tackle position despite being a little undersized for that, even by MAC standards.  And yet, he was 2nd-team all-conference his senior year, with 59 tackles (27 solo), 12.5 TFL and 1.5 sacks, starting all twelve games.  Despite being a little taller and notably thinner than fellow rookie Andre Fluellen, Cohen is listed on the Lions depth chart as a nose tackle.  He saw time against several teams, setting his career high in tackles against the Colts (4).  I didn't get to see much of him, but from what I can find in scouting reports, he has excellent technique and leverage, helping him make up for his lack of beef.  He seems to excel in initial burst and shedding blocks with quick moves, but doesn' t have the range or athleticism to run around making plays on the edge or in space.  According to the info I can find, he's at his best as a one-gap upfield rusher.  Bottom line: Cohen is a true 4-3 one-gap nose tackle who was born a little too small.  If he could add a lot of bulk he could stay at NT--otherwise, he's another 4-3 UT/3-4 DE project.

Chuck Darby:  The "War Daddy" was one of the system players brought in by Rod Marinelli.  Darby was an undrafted free agent NT who spent 2000 on the Bucs' practice squad, then got signed in 2001, and finished the 2002 season by starting in the Super Bowl.  Darby left for Seattle as a free agent, and they were happy to get him.  By all accounts, Darby was a valued teammate whose intensity and relentless drive helped rally everyone around him.  Seattle wanted to keep him, but Marinelli pushed hard to get him signed first.  Not ideally sized at 6'-0", 297"  (DETECTING A THEME YET?), Darby plays with great passion and motivation.  When able to get the edge on his opponent, Darby can be a disruptive force up the middle on both passing and running downs.  However, he is unable to maintain his extraordinary effort for a great number of snaps, and with the Lions defense often being hung out to dry by the offense, Darby became a situational player.  Also, when facing elite interior linemen, Darby is erased--he posted just three total tackles in two games against Minnesota's Matt Birk and Steve Hutchinson--at some point, effort cannot overcome a lack of size and talent.  Bottom line: Darby could make a good 3-4 end, but would be a liability at NT.  No matter the alignment, Darby is a valuable rotational player who brings emotional leadership on and off the field--and comes at a low cost.  If he'll stay, we should keep him.

Langston Moore:  Moore is a 4th-year veteran still coming into his own.  He's made an impression ever since the Lions signed him late in the 2006 season.  A former sixth-round pick of the Bengals, he's on his third NFL roster--which is odd because for a sixth-rounder who's bounced around so much, he's seen plenty o f action.  At 6'-1", 305 lbs, Moore is a little shy on bulk for an NT (is there an echo in here?).  Moore has been an effective rotational body at NT, enough so that he was one of eleven defensive linemen kept on the original 53-man roster.  Moore is an intelligent, enthusiastic young player with burgeouning business interests off the field, but he's already behind Cohen on the depth chart, and I don't see that changing any time soon.  Bottom line: Moore will probably be the first guy cut . . . if he sticks around, he'll be 4-3 DT depth.

SUMMARY:

Going by listed height and weight, and the roles they typically play, the Lions have 4 guys who are somewhere between a 4-3 strongside run-stuffing DE, a 3-4 DE, and a 4-3 'under' or 'three-technique' DT.  The only natural 4-3 nose tackles they have are both sub-300-pounders.  In case you didn't notice, there is a recurring theme of 'undersized'.  The Lions do not have enough bulk up the middle, and were regularly pushed around in the run game.  This was most evident in the Thanksgiving Day debacle, where Tennesee's excellent offensive line and running backs were absolutely gashing the Lions for 7-, 10-, 20-yard chunks just by running up the middle.  It really looked like the Titans put it in the cooler before the first quarter was out--but just running the same four or five run plays was absolutely blowing holes in the Lions defense.  If the Lions stay with a 4-3, they are going to need to improve upon Chuck Darby as a starting NT, and either Redding is going to have to recapture his 2006 form, or Fluellen is going to have to take big strides and make an impact, or both.  If they move to a 3-4, the Lions will be absolutely destitute at NT.  The biggest body they have is Cody, and IMO he would be worthless as a two-gap tackle.  Redding could pound some cheeseburgers and be subpar there, but nobody else--Darby, Cohen, Fluellen--could even hope start at NT in 2009.  They would have to acquire a starter--either a proven veteran free agent, or a rookie acquired with one of their first three picks.  The good news is that there would be a surplus of young, interesting 3-4 DEs.  If you had a rejuvenated Redding, Cody, and Fluellen rotating between two DE spots, with a big fat dude in the middle, THAT could be an effective DL.

On the free agent market, the "big fish" is Titans DT Albert Haynesworth, a monstrous talent who is practically a run defense unto himself.  Many Lions fans hope that Haynesworth is looking to move with his defensive coordinator, new Lions HC Jim Schwartz, but that runs counter to everything Lewand and Mayhew have openly said about their plans to build through the draft instead of free agency.  Mayhew even explicitly said that the Lions won't be making the huge-money deal for the splashy guy at midnight the first day . . . which seems exactly the kind of deal Haynesworth will be looking for.  There are a few intriguing veterans who may get a look, like Tampa DT Jovan Haye, but I don't see a quick fix out there.  In the draft, the premium talent is a guy I suggested people watch a while ago, Boston College man-elephant B.J. Raji.  Raji is an honest 350 and is exactly the sort of dominating bulk you want as a 3-4 two-gap tackle--yet he shows burst and athleticism too.  His downfall appears to be consistent effort and motivation, but then many physical freaks run into those issues.  How many of you out there are clamoring for Shaun "25 Snaps and Four Tanks of Oxygen" Rogers back right now?  If Raji were available at the 1.20 spot, he'd be very hard to pass up--no matter the defensive alignment we choose.

Next up, defensive ends . . .

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