Williams, Burleson, Vanden Bosch: Gasoline on the Lions' Little Blue Flame

Icon SMI

Last night, I posted, and we liveblogged, in anticipation—wondering, waiting, hoping.  What would the Lions do?  Who would they pursue?  Would their “selective, aggressive” approach net them real building blocks, stopgap solutions, or nothing at all?  Would we have reasons to jump for joy, and rekindle our hope, or trying to get over our disappointment?  Our impatience was rewarded: we didn’t even have to wait for midnight for the first move.

The Lions sent the later of their two fifth round picks to Cleveland, and in return got Corey Williams, and the Browns’ seventh-rounder.  Williams, a 6’-4”, 320-pound defensive tackle, was a sixth-round pick of the Packers in 2004.  He saw spot duty for two years, then—after notching two sacks against the Lions in 2006—took over the starting job.

Williams garnered 7 sacks in both ‘06 and 07, even being named the GMC Defensive Player of the Week for his 2-sack, 4-solo-tackle, 2-forced-fumble performance against Carolina.  Following a tough playoff loss to the eventual Super Bowl-winning New York Giants, wherein Williams had 4 solo tackles and 5 assists, the Packers placed the franchise tag on Willliams.

However, the Packers traded Williams to the Browns, in exchange for a second-round pick.  Williams was to move from his natural 4-3 tackle position to a 3-4 end spot, flanking fellow 2008 Browns acquisition Shaun Rogers.  Given his big-body size and pass-rusher speed, Williams seemed to be an ideal fit for what the Browns wanted to do.

Unfortunately, Williams simply failed to produce as an end.  Despite starting every game, Williams only managed a half a sack in 2008.  Relegated to the rotation for almost all of 2009, Williams was mostly invisible, but occasionally flashed his old form.  He got his first start of 2009 against Pittsburgh in Week 14—and responded with 5 solo tackles and 2 sacks, leading the Browns to one of the most improbable upsets of 2009.

Corey Williams, at age 29, with seven years of experience, is the kind of foundational veteran in his prime that the Lions have so few of.  With him as a pass-rushing 3-technique (and despite my confusion last night, that’s what he is), and Hill at the 1-tech, the Lions will have 650 pounds of beef in the middle of the line.  That could be the kind of “you won’t run against us” interior the Lions want to build.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether Williams will recapture the form that earned him the Packers’ franchise tag—but, given the pittance they gave up to get him—moving down from the middle of the fifth to the early seventh—it’s a huge win for Mayhew and the Lions.

Nate Burleson is a player I’ve always admired.  When the Vikings were at the peak of their Dennis Green, pinball-numbers, media-fawning-all-over-them, not-winning-anything-ness, Burleson stood out as a smart, tough, talented player who wreaked havoc in the margins between Randy Moss and Marcus Robinson.

In fact, in only his second year since being drafted in the third round, he led the Vikings in receptions and yards (68/1,006), and finished second only to Randy Moss in TDs (9 to Moss’s 13).  This was partially due to him taking over for Moss for a few games when Moss tweaked a hamstring—but production is production. 

Then, there was the whole Poison Pill fiasco.  Seattle, whose All-Pro guard, Steve Hutchinson, had been pilfered by the Vikings—because the Vikings had included a clause that made Hutchinson’s entire contract fully guaranteed if he was ever not the highest-paid offensive lineman on the roster.  Since Seattle was already paying LT Walter Jones more than Hutchinson’s offer, they “couldn’t” match the offer sheet.  In retaliation, the Seahawks signed Burleson to an offer sheet with a clause making the entire contract guaranteed if he played more than five games in one season in the state of Minnesota.

Burleson didn't quite match his 2004 performance in his first year as a Seahawk--but catching 50 balls for 694 yards and 9 TDs wasn’t too shabby.  He showed the burst and open-field moves that a receiver needs in the Bill Walsh offense; he took short passes from Matt Hasselbeck and stretched them out to an average 13.9 yards per catch.

In 2008, the sky was the limit—until Burleson tore his ACL in the season opener, putting him on the shelf until 2009.  He was on pace for an excellent ‘09 campaign, until he suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 13.  Still, he finished with 63 catches for 812 yards and 3 TDs—right in line with his career pace.

When Burleson's healthy, he produces at a pace that’d net him 60-80 catches for a year, at 12-14 YpC.  This is a world apart from Bryant Johnson’s miserable 35-catch, 417-yard performance in 2009.  Moreover, Burleson has the quickness, route-running ability, hands, and toughness to make teams pay for single-covering him with their #2 corner.  He’s the perfect weapon to exploit the aerated coverage he’ll see when playing with Megatron.

With his tough-as-nails approach to the game, and his intelligence, Kyle Vanden Bosch is Jim Schwartz’ kind of player—and Jim Schwartz’s kind of man.  At Nebraska, he was a three-time Big 12 All-Academic selection, and finished his bachelor’s degree in finance with a 3.82 GPA.  He was also Nebraska’s three-time Lifter of the Year.  His 6-4”, 270-pound frame is a prototypical match to Schwartz’s ideal.

Perhaps, then, Vanden Bosch wasn’t surprised Schwartz arrived on Kyle’s doorstep at midnight.  They spent all the wee hours together sharing some vino, and talking some football:

"He said, 'We want to bring you in to be a big-time player,'" Vanden Bosch said. "Not a figurehead. ... He said, 'I watched the tape last year and you're still the same player you were two years ago [when he had 12 sacks for the Titans]. It's just one thing here or there.' ... It was good to hear that again."

The stats, of course, don’t really bear that out: Vanden Bosch had 31 sacks in 2005, 2006, and 2007 combined--but only 7.5 in 2008 and 2009 combined.  Part of that was due to a groin injury robbing him of 10 games in 2008, but as I said before: production is production.

Was Vanden Bosch just a beneficiary of the Titans’ great DT play?  Is he a shadow of his former self?  Will he be a teacher’s pet, a "system guy” whose skills have left him?  According to Tom Kowalski, the answer to those questions is “no”.

Obviously, we’ll find that all out soon enough.  For now, what matters is that the Lions have addressed three of their most important needs: DT, DE, and WR, with veterans who aren’t perfect—but are perfect fits for what the Lions want to do.

The Lions can’t—shouldn’t, anyway—be done.  With the release of Philip Buchanon, the Lions have exactly zero legitimate starting cornerbacks.  The free-agent pickings are somewhat slim there, with only Lito Sheppard catching the eye as a possible step-in-and-start UFA.  There are, however, a few interesting safeties available, and the Lions may yet make a move at left guard.

The National Football Post is reporting that the Lions are in the running for Houston G Chester Pitts, who's a huge, experienced veteran coming off of knee surgery.  Pitts has played both left guard and left tackle, making his versatility a bonus. 

Regardless of who else the Lions pick up--or who else they acquire by trade--today was a huge, huge win for the Lions.  They were selective, they were aggressive, and they made their football team much, much better.  Here’s to more of the same—and a sold out home opener.

Technorati Tags: detroit lions,2010 free agency,2010 offseason,nfl free agency,nfl,kyle vanden bosch,nate burleson,corey williams,cleveland browns,seattle seahawks,jim schwartz

Read more...

three cups deep: resignation

Icon SMI

No, I don’t mean that I’m resigning.  I mean we’ve reached—honestly, passed—the point in the season where we have an thorough understanding of what this team is and what this team is capable of.  They can give any team on any day a pretty good ballgame.  Sometimes, they can pass like a really good passing team.  Sometimes, they can run like a good running team.  Sometimes, they can bottle up the run.  Sometimes, they can rush the passer.  Coverage?  . . . well, sometimes other teams’ quarterbacks throw bad passes.

Unfortunately, it never all happens in the same game.  That’s just not good enough to beat anybody but the dregs of the league, and it’s certainly not good enough to go on the road and take out the #2 team in the AFC.  The offensive line, finally, got some decent push in the middle of the line—and what do you know, Kevin Smith had 12 carries for 54 yards in the first half.  With Stafford and Megatron both mostly healthy, they proved they’re too talented to contain.  The run defense was pretty stout, too; Cedric Benson carried the ball 36 times, but gained only 110 yards (3.06 YpC).

However, Stafford was simply off his game.  Almost all of his 26 throws were high and behind; most of the eleven completions required heroic effort by his targets.  The lack of offensive consistency simply killed the Lions on Sunday.  They were doing all the right things, getting breaks, and playing well, but just couldn’t complete drives.

The whole game turned on one of those drives.  Just before the second half, the Lions stalled in Bengal territory.  Schwartz sent Jason Hanson out to try a 55-yarder, outside, in December, in Ohio . . . and he hit the crossbar.  The Bengals came back the other way in a heartbeat, and hit a 39-yarder of their own.  Instead of going into the half down by only four, the Lions were looking up from the bottom of a 10-point hole.  They put the game on Matthew Stafford's shoulders, and that proved to be their undoing.

Pass defense was as good it’s been all year, with Julian Peterson bringing heat, and Buchanon, James, Delmas, and Henry making plays in the secondary.  Unfortunately, they couldn’t stop Chad Ochocinco forever, and in the second half he blew the game “open”.  At that point, the Lions abandoned the run, and . . . well, you’ve heard this story before.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: there's simply not enough ability on this roster.  There is some: a few incredible young talents, a few cagey veterans who are defying their age, and an impressive amount of heart.  These guys can feel how close they are—you can tell they came out of the locker room thinking they had a real chance to win.  They didn’t stop fighting, all the way to the end, and that tells you something about these Lions; even if we’re resigned to the notion that they’ll go 2-14, they sure as hell aren’t.

Read more...

three cups deep: the roster is set

After an especially lazy Labor Day morning, I have yet to sip even a single drop of coffee, let alone three cups.  Rather than attempt to rehash everything that happened last weekend, I’ll simply crib from Adam Caplan’s excellent Transaction Blog:

Claimed CB Cletis Gordon off of waivers from the Texans, waived WR Eric Fowler, released CB Keith Smith, waived WR Glenn Holt, released CB Dexter Wynn with injury waiver, signed QB Brooks Bollinger, claimed QB Kevin O'Connell off of waivers from New England, released G Terrence Metcalf, waived WR D.J. Boldin, waived LB Rob Francois, waived CB LaMarcus Hicks, waived DE Ryan Kees, acquired S Ko Simpson for an undisclosed 2010 draft choice, waived DE Orion Martin, released DT Chuck Darby, waived OT Lydon Murtha, placed CB Chris Roberson on IR, released DT Shaun Smith, waived LB Rufus Alexander, released QB Brooks Bollinger, released G Milford Brown, waived TE Carson Butler, released RB Aveion Cason, released WR Keary Colbert, waived DE Sean Conover, released K Billy Cundiff,  waived RB Tristan Davis, waived LB Zack Follett, waived C Dan Gerberry, waived TE Dan Gronkowski, released WR Dane Looker, released S Calvin Lowry, waived CB Ramzee Robinson, released S Stuart Schweigert, waived LB Spenser Smith, waived WR John Standeford, waived: DE Ikaika Alama-Francis, CB Cletis Gordon, WR Adam Jennings, traded QB Kevin O'Connell to New York Jets for future draft pick, claimed DE Copeland Bryan off waivers from Buffalo Bills, claimed WR Yamon Figurs off waivers from Baltimore Ravens, claimed CB Marcus McCauley off waivers from Minnesota Vikings, claimed CB Kevin Hobbs off waivers from Seattle Seahawks.

Signed to practice squad: WR John Broussard, TE Carson Butler, RB Tristan Davis, LB Zack Follett, C Dan Gerberry, TE Dan Gronkowski, OT Lydon Murtha.

Whew, got all that?  Really, there aren’t too many surprises here.  Mayhew flipped O’Connell, though faster than I anticipated; Cletis Gordon, Five-O, and Adam Jennings un-made the final roster; then a DR, KR, and two CBs  were claimed off of the waiver wire.  My guess is that McCauley and Hobbs will be given a chance to compete for a spot at nickel corner, and the loser will be shipped off as soon as another DT is acquired.  Why a DT?  Well, with Orien Harris (CORRECTION: several sharp-eyes readers noted that I got the wrong "Orion"; Orien Harris is still on the roster--though that hardly eliminates the concerns I expressed below), Chuck Darby, Shaun Smith, and Five-O all sent packing, the Lions are down to Grady Jackson, Landon Cohen, Sammie Hill, and Andre Fluellen at DT.  

Carrying only four DTs doesn’t sound dire—but Jackson is going to be  15-20 snap situational guy, Cohen’s a seventh-rounder in his second year, Hill was playing 3-4 DE in the NAIA like nine months ago, and Fluellen has been working primarily at DE.  There isn’t a single proven, reliable starter to play DT--though Cohen certainly read well for the role, when he auditioned against Atlanta.  In order to stop the run, this defense is going to need outstanding---both explosive AND disciplined—linebacker play, as well as help from the DBs.

New (presumptive) starting safety, Ko Simpson brings both size and speed to the position; one can only hope his athleticism leads to more plays made back there.  I’ve been sweating bullets about the cornerbacks since the day they let Leigh Bodden walk, and the addition of two waiver-wire scrubs doesn’t assuage my fears—especially given the physical-but-lackluster play of Eric King this preseason.  Even if this unit miraculously stays healthy, both skill and depth are going to remain a problem.

On the other hand, the addition of Yamon Figurs is one I’m excited about.  A 2007 third-round pick of the Ravens, Figurs exploded in his rookie season in relief of the injured B. J. Sams.  Figurs became the primary returner in 2008, but didn’t build upon his initial success.  The Ravens signed former Titans CB/KR Chris Carr—remember him?—and Carr edged out Figurs for the returner gig.  As Figurs couldn’t crack the WR depth chart, he was released. 

I still think Figurs has the explosiveness to be a primary returner for the Lions—and with Cason gone, the Lions have only one player with actual experience as an NFL returner: #1 CB Philip Buchanon.  Figurs should have the leg up on the punt returner gig, and should push Williams and Brown for looks at kick returner, too.

When you take a step back and look at how incredibly different this team is from the 0-16 squad, especially on defense, it’s impressive.  Barring any further miracle transactions—and without knowing the compensation given for Ko Simpson, or received for Kevin O’Connell—the Lions have very well in turning the roster over this season.  However, there’s still a long way to go before this roster matches up, on paper, with the better squads in the NFL.

Read more...

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!

Read more...

every dog has his day

Unlike when a new executive is brought in from another team, when Martin Mayhew was promoted to GM, he was already intimately familiar with his roster: a group of 53 players, plus a host of players on IR, plus practice-squadders, that had completed the NFL’s only 0-16 season just the day before.  He knew the strengths and weaknesses of all of them; he’d presumably argued either for or against the acquisition of almost every one.  Therefore, when he was handed that roster and told to make a winning football team, he knew he had a long, hard road in front of him.

First, of course, he had to establish a long-term vision for the kind of team they want to build—both with his front officemate, President Tom Lewand, and then his head coach, Jim Schwartz.  Then, he could go to work: subtracting players who didn’t fit that vision, and adding players who did.  Unfortunately, you can’t turn over an entire roster in one offseason; it’s just not possible.  Moreover, even between the draft and free agency, all of the players needed to fill the long-term vision almost certainly won’t be available the year you establish that vision.  That means that when Martin Mayhew went roster-building, he had to continually keep in mind that the point wasn’t to do whatever it took to maximize the Lions’ win total in 2009—it was to actually build the roster.

There’s been a bit of handwringing over how most of these changes have left the Lions--theoretically a youthful team starting from the ground up--actually quite old.  I’ve commented before that between Grady Jackson, (possibly) Kevin Carter, Larry Foote, Julian Peterson, Anthony Henry, and Philip Buchanon, the Lions’ defense would be the best in the league if it was 2004 now.   However, this is where you have to keep in mind the above.  The Lions were acquiring the kinds of players they need to win, because they couldn't possibly acquire all the specifc players they need to win in one spring.  However, pay close attention, because from here on out, the rookies that the Lions draft, and the young veterans they sign to long contracts, will fill those same roles.  DeAndre Levy could become quickly become young Larry Foote.  Sammie Lee Hill could develop into young Grady Jackson.  Louis Delmas could quickly become young Ed Reed or Troy Polamalu—and believe me, if Troy Polamalu had been past his prime and available as an affordable free agent, the Lions would have done everything they could to get him in here.

The key here is remembering that the older stopgaps are just that—stopgaps.  They might work out beautifully, giving the Lions a couple of very productive years, like Dan Wilkinson did earlier this decade.  They might already be out of gas, and barely see the field.  The beautiful part is that none of these “graybeards” have been signed to extensive deals.  Beyond Julian Peterson and Philip Buchanon—both on the right side of 32—the veteran acquisitions are all on one- or two-year deals.  Mayhew and the Lions could easily wash their hands of any of them.

As oft as Matt Millen is excoriated for his awful drafting, I think that has more to do with the visibility that comes with being in the top ten every year—the Eagles have been just as prolific and putrid as the Lions in taking first-round wideouts.  I really think it’s his free agent signings that sunk the team.  Over and over again, he’d make a huge splash by giving all the money in the world to the best available guy who played the position he wanted to address.  As one example, he backed up the Brinks truck for Dre’ Bly—an undersized speed-and-coverage cornerback—while his defensive coordinator was Kurt Schottenheimer, who preferred very physical press coverage.  Why?  The Lions were desperate for cornerback help, and Bly was the best one available.  To Millen, it didn’t matter that Bly didn’t fit the vision, it didn’t matter that Bly’s mouth was even bigger than his sizable talent, and it didn’t matter that the enormous money would chain the Lions to Bly for the next several years--he just needed to fill that hole.

Come next spring, the veterans that didn’t work out—or were eclipsed by younger players—will be let go, and another big infusion of players who fit the vision will be brought in.  This time next season, I really believe that we will see a Detroit Lions roster that is very young, very talented, and very close to the kind of team that Mayhew, Lewand, and Schwartz have meant to build.

As for now . . . well, let these old dogs have their day.  We might be surprised.

Read more...

the secondary is dead, long live the secondary

Ever since the brutal injuries to cornerback Bryant Westbrook and safety Kurt Schultz during the 2000 season, the Lions have been absolutely desperate for help in the secondary.  With the possible exception of the offensive line, the defensive backfield has been the most consistently disappointing Lions unit on the field over the past decade.  However, unlike the offensive line, disappointment has been the only thing consistent about the Lions' secondary.  While the offensive line has had the same left tackle and center for nearly a decade, it seems as though every year brings a new "secondary overhaul" . . . and every year brings more disappointment.

2001: Signed CB Todd Lyght, CB/S Robert Bailey, and S Chidi Iwouma.  Subtracted S Corwin Brown, CB Darnell Walker, and CB Marquis Walker.

2002: Drafted CB Andre Goodman and CB Chris Cash; signed S Corey Harris, S Brian Walker, CB Eric Davis, and S Bracey Walker.  Subtracted Terry Fair, Ron Rice, Kurt Schultz,  Robert Bailey, and Chidi Iwouma.

2003: Signed CB Dre' Bly, CB Otis Smith, and drafted S Terry Holt.  Subtracted Todd Lyght and Eric Davis.

2004: Signed CB Fernando Bryant, S Brock Marion, S Vernon Fox, and drafted CB Keith Smith.  Subtracted Brian Walker and Corey Harris.

2005: Signed S Kennoy Kennedy, CB R.W. McQuarters, and S Jon McGraw; drafted CB Stanley Wilson.  Subtracted Brock Marion and Chris Cash.

2006: Drafted S Daniel Bullocks and signed CB Jamar Fletcher.  Subtracted Andre Goodman, R.W. McQuarters, Bracey Walker, and Vernon Fox.

2007: Drafted S Gerald Alexander, CB A.J. Davis, and CB Ramzee Robinson; signed CB Travis Fisher.  Subtracted Dre Bly, Terry Holt, Jamar Fletcher, and Jon McGraw.

2008: Traded for CB Leigh Bodden, and signed S Dwight Smith, S Kalvin Person, and CB Brian Kelly.  Subtracted Fernando Bryant, Kennoy Kennedy, and Stanley Wilson . . . and Brian Kelly.

2009: Drafted S Louis Delmas, and signed CB Philip Buchanon, CB/S Anthony Henry, CB Eric King, and S Marquand Manuel.  Subtracted Leigh Bodden, Travis Fisher, and Dwight Smith.

That is an extraordinary amount of roster churn.  Lest you think these are mostly bottom-feeders, I made sure not to mention any player that didn't play at least 10 games in a season for the Lions.  If you look closely, the Lions brought in two or more new starters in the backfield almost every single year since Millen took over.  There was absolutely zero consistency.  Outside of Dre' Bly and Fernando Bryant, I don't think any player on this list started more than two consecutive years . . . and thanks to injuries, Bly and Bryant were almost never on the field at the same time in four seasons!

Unfortunately, it looks like this year's overhaul is D.O.A.  After jettisoning most of the depth chart at cornerback, the Lions traded Jon Kitna to Dallas for Anthony Henry, signed Philip Buchanon from Tampa Bay, and signed Titans nickel/dime guy Eric King.  The Lions then drafted Louis Delmas in the second round to make a very talented young trio of Daniel Bullocks and Gerald Alexander.  Veterans Kalvin Pearson and Stu Schweigart made for solid depth.  Then, oddly, the Lions added journeyman safety Marquand Manuel . . . it seemed to make no sense.  Wasn't there already a logjam at safety?  Bullocks should be pencilled in next to Delmas, Alexander is allegedly healthy, Pearson is an adequate SS, and Schweigart is a talented enigma . . . where would Manuel fit?  Even if Pearson's too limited to play in Schwartz/Cunningham's symmetrical defense,  and Schwiegart is strictly depth, shouldn't Manuel be trapped firmly beneath Bullocks and Alexander?

Apparently not.  According to Tom Kowalski, Bullocks regressed badly throughout the season, "missed even more time during this off-season" (?!?), and is "way behind the rest of the veterans".  This is dismaying, to say the least.  If Bullocks is not only not reminding people of 2006, but way behind guys like Manuel, Pearson, and Schweigart?  He'll honestly have a fight to make the team.  In fact, he almost surely will, because Killer then went and penned another major bummer of an article . . .

If Henry slides back to safety, that means that he, Alexander, Bullocks, Manuel, Pearson, and Schweigart are all fighting for one starting spot, and maybe two reserve positions.  Pearson, the most obvious cut, is a special teams ace, so maybe not.  Schweigart's a local-ish product and a fan favorite, but unless he returns to his '05 form, I don't see him escaping the axe.  That leaves Henry and Alexander as the most likely prospects to start next to Delmas, with the loser of that battle fighting Manuel and Bullocks for the third-safety spot.  That's a nice mix of youth, talent, experience, skill, and depth at the two safety spots, then.  But, what about the corners?

Oh my stars and garters.

If Henry slides back to safety, the #1 corner is Philip Buchanon.  My take on him at the time of the signing included a fair bit of optimism--as a young veteran, he possessed all the talent in the world--tempered with a good bit of realism: his production in Tampa made him a legit NFL starter, but little more.  There's no doubt that at his best, in a man-to-man scheme, he'd be a top 20, top 15 corner in this league.  However, he's never consistently played at his best, and he's always had a bit of at attitude problem, whining his way out of first Oakland, and then Houston.  That appeared to be a non-issue for the past two seasons, but attitude-problem leopards seldom change their spots.  Combine that factor with the uncertainty that is evaluating a cornerback in the Tampa Two, and you have a complete mystery as your #1 corner.

The #2 at that point would be either Eric King, or Keith Smith.  King was a sort of Plan C for the Lions.  It had been noted, almost from the day Schwartz took over, that Titans nickel corner/return specialist Chris Carr would be an ideal fit, and a priority target.  When the Lions feared missing out on Carr, they signed Eric King as insurance--another Titans corner, and also a nickel back, depending on what you read.  Titans HC Jeff Fisher:

"He played real well for us as a special teamer, he played corner for us at times and was a nickel back. He's a tough guy and a good locker room guy and a good person. Those are the kinds of players you want on your team. Eric will be successful there with whatever they ask him to do. Eric, coming in, can get the job done as a starter if that's what Jim wants to do."

I kind of find it difficult to believe that the Titans had two young corners that were good enough to start for other teams on their bench, so I kind of find it difficult to believe that the Lions are going to be okay if they're starting this King guy and Philip Buchanon at corner when toe meets leather in New Orleans.  Then there's Keith Smith, 2004 draftee who flashed some promise initially, and then languished under Marinelli.  I am consistently advised that Smith is for real, has great talent, and was simply ruined by bad coaching.  Be that as it may, ruined by bad coaching is ruined by bad coaching, and I am taking a firm believe-it-as-I see it with both of these guys.  After that is former Mr. Irrelevant, Ramzee Robinson, and depth guys Chris Roberson, Antonio Smith, and Dexter Wynn.

Right now, things are looking extremely shaky back there.  I like the safety pair of Delmas and Henry a lot--but I'd much rather have Henry be able to stay at corner with Buchanon, and Alexander or Manuel starting next to Delmas.  No matter how things shake out, though, there's no doubt that the Lions are still in desperate need of true skill and talent in the defensive backfield--and nothing will be able to change that until the snow melts in 2010.  Don't forget, this is when things look their best--heaven help the Lions' defense once injuries, fatigue, and/or underperformance cut down the Lions' DBs like weeds once more.

Read more...

larry foote, finally home

As Dave Birkett reported--and I subsequently Tweeted--last night, Larry Foote is officially a Detroit Lion.

The subsequent celebration throughout the Lions blogosphere has been predictable.  From speculation that Mayhew and The Grandmaster had this move in mind throughout the draft, to joyous shouts of "Aaron Curry who?" on forums (yes, really), the verdict from Lions fans is in: the signing of Larry Foote is an unqualified home run.

It's not that I disagree.  Foote is a veteran inside linebacker, a proven run-stopper, and has been one of the leaders of the best defense in football--a defense which boasts two Super Bowl titles in the past three years.  In those same three years, the Lions' roster has been completely turned over; only a handful of players were even here for the Mariucci days.  At this point, the Lions' defense is a clean slate--player-wise, extremely young, and scheme-wise, they're starting from scratch.  A "thumper" DeAndre Levy might be, but he has no idea what day-to-day life in the NFL is like.  He's never had to take on a NFL fullback, get an NFL guard's hands off him, or square up and wrap up an NFL tailback.  Foote, however, has been to the mountaintop--twice.  His understanding of how to play, how to practice, how to expect victory, and how to execute under pressure, all of that will be absolutely invaluable to the young Lions linebackers.  In the locker room, in the film room, on the practice field, on the gridiron, and in the huddle, Larry Foote will not only be a leader of and example for the talented greenhorns this defense is being built around, he'll also provide legitimacy to the other veterans who've just been added.  Grady Jackson, Julian Peterson, Anthony Henry, and Philip Buchanon are not going to prick up their ears when DeAndre Levy speaks.  However, when Larry Foote flashes his rings, you can bet he'll have their undivided attention.

That all having been said, let's be realistic.  Foote is a very good player, but he has limitations.  He'll be strictly a two-down linebacker here; he's notoriously weak in pass coverage.  At 29, he's hardly over the hill, but the Steelers drafted Lawrence Timmons to replace him--and that's exactly what Timmons is doing.  Moreover, Foote is on a one-year deal, reportedly at his request.  This is a 'prove-it' deal, where Foote is going to try to make a big impact, and then get paid.  Will the Lions be the ones who give Larry Foote a lavish deal which he'll retire on--in what might possibly be an uncapped year?  Not if they stick to their plan of building through the draft and financial prudence, they won't.  No, this will almost certainly be DeAndre Levy's job in 2010.  Foote will enjoy being at home for a year, and with luck we'll get everything he has left while he pads out his free agent resume.  He has all the incentive in the world to have a career year . . . let's enjoy that fact, hope Levy and Sims and Dizon and Follett all learn everything they can from him, and move on.

Like Jackson, Henry, Buchanon, et. al., Foote is a stopgap; an older player who fits a need.  He's a smart, cheap, temporary acquistion.  The kind of player that he is, is the kind of player the Lions are trying to draft.  He was available, the price was right, he filled a need, and Mayhew pulled the trigger.  Today, we are not celebrating the cornerstone of the new Lions' defense being set--we're celebrating the raising of a really sharp-looking "Coming Soon" sign.

Read more...

ask and ye shall recieve -- the Mayhew giveth

PFT is reporting that the Lions have signed former Bucs CB Philip Buchanon to a two-year, $8.5 million-dollar deal.  Drafted 17th overall in the 2002 draft by the Oakland Raiders, Buchanon was to be the bookend to Charles Woodson, one-half of the next Great Pair of Raider Corners.  Meanwhile, he was expected to contribute in special teams, as he was a dangerous returner at Miami.  He saw a little playing time as a rookie, getting into six games, starting two, and picking off two passes--returning one for an 81-yard TD.  He saw some time at punt returner, too--in those same six games he returned 15 punts @ 11.9 yards per, including an 83-yard score.  In 2003 he broke into the starting lineup on defense, starting ten games, picking off six passes, and returning two of those for TDs.  He also became the primary punt returner, returning 36 punts @ 13.9 yards per, and breaking two for touchdowns.  Buchanon looked like he was ready to take his place as the one of the most explosive playmakers in the game.  However, frequent injuries to Woodson meant that Buchanon had to play the primary CB position more often, and therefore saw fewer passes thrown his way.  Moreover, he was getting fed up with life in Oakland, beyond frustrated at the way the franchise was falling apart.  He demanded a trade, and recieved his wish.  He was shipped to Houston for second- and third-round picsk, where with much fanfare he became part of the Texans' ongoing bid to build something from nothing.  Unfortunately, he pretty much went from something to nothing.  Nicked by a variety of injuries and put in the coaches' doghouse, Buchanon suffered through one whole season, plus four weeks into a second before the Texans cut him loose.  Tampa Bay immediately picked him up, and Buchanon's play picked up too, as he returned home to Florida.  Buchanon got two picks in the ten games he played for the Bucs in 2006, and over the past two years he's gotten some of that swagger back.  32 starts, 16 passes defensed, and five INTs in that time pretty much equal the statistical output of the Lions' entire secondary in the same period.  Buchanon's lost a step or two, and hasn't been a legit return threat for years--but then, he's put two healthy seasons together for the first time in years, too.

This means the Lions now have two real starting cornerbacks before the draft even begins.  What's more, note how the pieces fit together.  Mayhew didn't just acquire "two starting cornerbacks", he got one guy with good size and strength, who can come up and hit, and maybe even play safety in a nickel package--plus, a guy with good speed and natural coverage skills.  Henry and Buchanon should make a solid--and complementary--1-2 punch at corner.  These guys may not be All-Pros, and we may yet draft a corner high to groom them to be replaced down the road, but for now I'll call the two most critical holes filled.  Another tip o' the hat to Mister Mayhew.

Read more...