cory redding goes sittin' by the dock of the . . . puget sound?

UPDATE: The Free Press has several quotes from Curry on the trade:

"Actually, I’m very excited about that (trade), being that he’s going to be a perfect Sam linebacker,” Curry said in a phone interview. “Ernie Sims is going to be a great Will (weak-side linebacker) and I just have the opportunity to play the Mike. That Mike position is always a position that I always looked at at Wake Forest that I wanted to play but just never was allowed to really just play it 400 snaps (a season)."

Yeah, that's a tortured Otis Redding pun in the title.

Earlier today, PFT reported rumors that the Lions and Seahawks were in talks to swap Cory Redding for Julian Peterson . . . now Killer is reporting that it's nearly a done deal, and Fox is reporting that it IS a done deal.

The knee-jerk reaction is "Oh, I guess no Curry then."  JP is a Sam 'backer, who happens to have a gift for pass rushing, much like Curry.  Theoretically, they would play similar roles in the defense.  However, IMO JP is more limited than Curry.  Peterson was a hybrid DE/OLB at State, a bit of a 'tweener who wreaked havoc from either spot.  However, he's played at the strong side mostly because of his size and speed; he's not that gifted in coverage.  Curry, however, can roam the field like a safety.  If the Lions are considering drafting Curry #1 overall, and having him center JP and Ernie . . . wow.  The Lions would boast a devastatingly fast, strong, and athletic linebacker corps.

Moreover, the Lions would get out from underneath a rotten contract . . . Redding is still one of the highest-paid defensive tackles in the game, yet he's been barely more than a placeholder without an impact nose tackle next to him.  I think we should expect big things from Andre Fluellen in 2009 (assuming the Lions don't draft a DT to start ahead of him).  With their new free-weight training program and an emphasis on maxxing out size and power, I believe Andre Fluellen's athletcism will make him a force to be reckoned with--especially with Grady Jackson occupying two blockers on most downs.

It's sad to see one of the last pieces of What Might Have Been shipped off . . . but it again reinforces a few points:

1) Martin Mayhew is a Real Live NFL GM who has a plan and is executing it like a pro
2) Mayhew and Schwartz are on exactly the same page when it comes to how to build this team
3) They're going to do it by getting bigger, faster, and stronger on defense, right away

I'm all for it.  Yes, yes, yes, today is a good day to be a Lions fan . . . and the blue flame burns a bit brighter yet.

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the lions congregation, part III

It's Lions Congregation time again over at the Church of Schwartz.  This week, the faithful discuss:

* the one remaining free agent we'd love to see inked

* if Jordon Dizon can start in the middle

* Bryant Johnson's possible role in the offense

Once again, this is a roundtable discussion by the Web's pre-eminent Lions bloggers (and me); you'll see just about every concievable defendable opinon on each topic.  It's always enlightening and entertaining.

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i'm getting sentimental over you

Last night, I started in on my way home from work, and turned the radio to the Huge Show, a Grand Rapids-based syndicated sports talk show. Almost immediately after I turned it on, who comes on as a guest? Aaron Curry. Go ahead and listen to the interview right here; believe me when I say it is worth the time.

When Simonson said "Aaron, I know that right now, Lions fans are crying in their cars, praying to God that the Lions draft you number one overall", I laughed out loud because that was nearly what I was doing. This kid sounds like a true gem: an intelligent, dedicated, hardworking young man who puts his family first, excellence second; little else rates at all. He speaks of leadership, of committment, of character. But moreover he speaks of tenacity, of relentlessness. What he said to elicit that quote out of Huge was naming one classic and one modern player whose game he patterns himself after: Lawrence Taylor and Ray Lewis.

Of course, talk is cheap, so I decided to go to the definitive criterion on whether or not a player is any good: YouTube highlight reels. There are several out there on Curry, some with better quality than others. This one is my favorite (make sure you enable high quality!).

The thing that dropped my jaw most was not the breathtaking pass rush ability, the big hits, the interceptions, the incredible awareness, or the great open field tackling. No, what dropped my jaw is that all of those things were on the same highlight reel. Normally with these things, you have (for example) the famous Sam McGuffie mixtape--where you get an unbroken string of Sanderseque run after Sandersesque run. You're not going to see McGuffie move the pile. You're not going to see him flex out to WR. You're not going to see him taking snaps at QB. You're going to see a kid doing the one thing he does really well, over and over and over and over.

Curry did EVERYTHING exceptionally well at Wake. He'd line up at the end of the line, put a hand down, and rush the passer like an end--and look like Freeney coming around the corner. He'd do the same on rushing downs, standing up tight ends, shedding blocks, and making tackles at the line. He'd play traditional on-ball SAM, blanketing the TE and breaking up passes. He'd drop deep into coverage, read the QBs eyes, break on the ball like a safety, pick passes off and motor past everyone on the field for the TD. He'd blitz from the outside and absolutely eat quarterbacks. I love his open-field tackling; after watching the Lions needing four or five guys to bring anybody down, having a guy who can square up, hit, wrap, and bring a guy down with no help would be heaven.  His read/recognition skills are unbelievable; on all of the highlights you'll see him sniff out screens (once on Mr. Popularity Darrius Heyward-Bey), recognize reverses, and fail to fall for fakes. There's one play against Navy where the QB does two fake handoffs, and Curry blows off the snap and goes right for the QB. He never flinches on either fake and drops the QB before he's even done with the second fake. The "Jacked Up"-worthy hit drove the QB into the turf, and he didn't get out of the turf until the trainers came for him.

I cannot explain to you how desperately we need this young man on our team.

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