I know it is pretty early in the season, and many of you guys do not like analysis of players when they have had so little time to get their feet wet. However, out of sheer boredom and pure personal interest, I am going to do an individual player based analysis of where our guys (the starters and maybe a few backups who play) stand so far this season. I will try to keep it simple, and I will keep in mind that it has only been three weeks. Please keep in mind that I will base my analysis on actual stats, and I will add my own personal opinion to it. I hope that this post will be enlightening and interesting to all of you, and I look forward to your comments and additions.  I will give each player a rating based on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being useless, 2 being poor, 3 being slightly useful, 4 being below average, 5 being average, 6 being above average, 7 being solid, 8 being very solid, 9 being amazing, and 10 being the picture of perfection.  The POD server seems to be having issues today, so I have no idea what happened to the jump....lol.

Offense:

QB - Matthew Stafford

I have to be very careful here, since this is a very touchy subject and I do not want to rekindle the QB debate.  Stafford is a rookie in this league, and he has only played for 3 weeks.  We have seen flashes of greatness out of the young gunslinger, and we have also seen him make some boneheaded decisions that make it obvious that he is a rookie.  Stafford has attempted 103 passes over 3 games, completing 55, for 598 yards.  His completion percentage is 53.4% and he has thrown 2 TD passes versus 5 interceptions thus far.  He has been sacked only 5 times and his QB rating is a weak 57.  Personally I think we would all like to see him completing over 60% of his passes, so he has work to do in that area as he needs to improve his accuracy.  He has a 2.5 to 1 interception to touchdown ratio currently, which is bad.  He also needs to work on making better reads (pre-snap and after the snap), and better decisions on when to throw the ball away or take the sack.  On the bright side, he has shown good mobility, rushing for 30 yards and a rushing TD on 5 rushing attempts.  All in all, he has shown steady improvement over the 3 weeks of the season, and because of the fact that he is a rookie playing in Detroit I would say he is doing an average job right now.  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give him a solid 6 for now (don't read too much into that number, but realize that at this point his stats are not that great and he has a ton of work to do).

RB - Kevin Smith

Gentlemen, I think we can all agree that Kevin Smith has been backing up his talk with solid performances.  He has had 55 rushing attempts in 3 games, for 204 yards and 1 TD, and has been an integral part of our offense.  He is averaging 3.7 yards per carry.  I think we would all like to see him averaging at least 4 yards per carry, but 3.7 is not far off from that mark and he has shown that he is the real deal.  He also has 12 catches for 80 yards, so he is getting it done on multiple levels.  If we project these stats over the remainder of the season, if Kevin Smith stays on the exact same pace he is at currently he will rush for roughly 1088 yards on 293 attempts, with approximately 6 rushing TDs.  He will also have 64 catches for 427 yards for a combined total of 1515 yards from scrimmage.  There is obviously room for improvement here, but I would say that these are conservative figures.  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give him a solid 7 for now.

RBs - Aaron Brown and Maurice Morris

As backups to Kevin Smith, these two guys have been nice change of pace backs when Kevin Smith needed a play or two of rest.  Aaron Brown has shown us great athletic ability outside the tackles, with 25 yards rushing on 10 attempts to go along with his 2 catches for 12 yards.  He has also been an outstanding kick returner with 314 return yards on 13 attempts for a 24.2 yard average, and this is where he has been the most valuable so far.  Morris has been a decent short yardage back, also rushing for 25 yards on 10 carries, with 1 rushing TD to go along with his 1 catch for 12 yards.  Morris has shown good blocking skills as well.  Again there is room for improvement here, and we may very well get a much more extended look of both backs with Kevin Smith being banged up a bit.  Ratings on a scale of 1-10, I give Brown a solid 7 and Morris a solid 6.

FB - Jerome Felton

I think we can all agree that Felton has been a beast as a blocker and a short yardage back so far.  He has been a 1.5 yards and a cloud of dust kind of guy for us so far, but by averaging 1.5 yards per carry it shows that we can count on him when we need a yard.  He also showed that he can catch a pass, as he caught 1 for 21 yards this season.  He has mainly been used as a blocker though, and as such he only has 9 yards on 6 rushing attempts.  As the season progresses, I hope that the Lions utilize him more in the offense.  He has done a great job so far in his role.  Rating on a scale of 1-10 (for his role), I give him a solid 8.

WR - Calvin Johnson

I am pretty confident that we all agree that Megatron is our best player on offense.  He is the heart and soul of the offense, and without him the rest of our offense would probably struggle mightily.  Just the threat of him being on the field forces teams to game plan for him specifically, and opens up the rest of the offense by taking some of the pressure off of the other players.  CJ has 13 catches for 190 yards and a TD over three games so far, and he has added 25 yards rushing on 3 rushing attempts.  We have all witnessed a few TDs that he could have (and probably should have) had, so his numbers are not entirely indicative of his play.  He is averaging 14.6 yards per catch.  If he were to stay on this same pace, he would have 69 catches for 1013 yards, with approximately 6 TDs.  I think we all believe he will have more than 70 catches, more than 6 TDs, and more than 1013 yards this season.  However, if he doesn't, these numbers are not terrible to say the least.  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give him a solid 9 (10 being perfection).

WR - Bryant Johnson

Bryant Johnson has been a pleasant surprise in his emergence this season so far.  He has 8 catches for 118 yards and a TD, with a 14.8 yard per catch average as a compliment to Calvin Johnson.  He is showing that he can take pressure off of CJ and our other receivers, which makes him a valuable #2 WR.  Projecting his current stats over the rest of the season, BJ would have approximately 43 catches for 629 yards and 6 TDs if he remained on this same pace.  I would love for him and CJ to take us back to the days of old, when Herman Moore and Bret Perriman set the tandem receiving record with over 100 catches each, but for now the above projected numbers would make me more than happy.  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give him a solid 7 so far.

WR - Dennis Northcutt

Northcutt has not really impressed me so far.  As a punt returner he has had 64 yards on 4 returns, with 6 fair catches.  His punt return average is 16 yards per attempt, but I have only seen him make one great return and that is it.  He has 5 catches for 38 yards and a 7.6 yard per catch average.  I sincerely think that we need to improve in this area.  Northcutt is a crafty veteran who has been good in the past, but so far he has not shown me much that leads to my being impressed.  We need him over the middle, and we need him to get us solid field position on punt returns.  If he can't get it done, there is a rookie waiting for another chance.  I'm not sure if he is just not getting open, or what the deal is, but I feel that he needs to step up his game.  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give him a shaky 5 (average, but leaning toward slightly below).

TE - Brandon Pettigrew

Another rookie who is staring in his first year, Pettigrew has been an excellent blocker and has shown that he can get open in space and catch the ball.  Once again, being a rookie there is obvious room for improvement.  However, I feel that he is doing a pretty good job for being a first year player at TE.  He has 6 catches for 67 yards, with an 11.2 yard per catch average.  I would like to see him get open more in the red zone, or at least have his large frame utilized in such a role.  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give him a solid 6 for now.

TE - Will Heller

Heller has also been a decent blocker who has gotten open a few times and made some nice catches.  He has 4 catches for 40 yards, with a 10 yard per catch average.  As a TE2 I would say he is doing an average job, not bad but not outstanding either.  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give him a solid 5.

TE - Casey Fitzsimmons

Fitzsimmons has been a disappointing player in my opinion for several years now.  While he has shown the ability to stretch the field and make some nice catches, his durability has been a major concern.  He has been relegated to TE3 because of his constant nagging injuries, and as such he has only garnered 2 catches for 13 yards this season.  I sincerely think that Gronkowski is the better option at TE3 at this point, and if the Lions insist on keeping Fitz around I think it is solely for special teams needs.  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give him a shaky 4 (below average, but leaning toward only slightly useful).

K - Jason Hanson

Ok guys.....here is where I give my highest rating.  This man is near 40 years old, and he is still banging FGs right down the middle of the uprights, like clockwork, from 50+.  Hanson is a perfect 6 for 6 so far this season on FG attempts, and perfect on XPs.  Even after a minor knee surgery, he is still kicking balls close to (if not into) the goal line on kickoffs.  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give Jason Hanson a 10 (he has been perfect so far).

P - Nick Harris

There is not much to say about Nick Harris, other than the fact that he has been there when we needed him for a long time now.  He has punted the ball 15 times so far this season, pinning 6 of them inside the 20.  He is averaging 39.9 yards per punt and has a long of 55 this season.  He is not the picture of perfection, but he is getting the job done.  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give him a solid 8.

Defense:

MLB - Larry Foote

Larry Foote has been great so far this season.  He is a force against the run and he has shown that he can cover guys over the middle.  He is leading the team in tackles with 28 and he has 1 sack over three games.  He impressed me with his desire to play for the Lions, and so far he has not disappointed.  I love his addition to our team, and I hope they sign him to at least a 4 year deal after this season (barring career ending injury....knock on wood).  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give him a solid 8.

OLB - Julian Peterson

Peterson seemed to step up his play over the last two games, and I was also impressed with his desire to play for the Lions.  However, I think he has far more potential than he has shown thus far.  He only has 7 tackles so far, and zero sacks (he had 5 sacks last year in Seattle, and that mark is still easily within reach).  What he has done well is play in coverage, as I have not seen him get beat or blow a coverage assignment yet.  I think we would all like to see the pro bowl caliber LB that he can be, so I continue to hope for improvement from him this season.  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give him a solid 6 (above average, but not good enough to be solid so far).

OLB - Ernie Sims

Ernie Sims, on the other hand, has played pretty well up until his injury last weekend.  He has not lit the world on fire by any means in the sack department (0), but he has 14 tackles.  It was recently pointed out to me that Sims has never really been expected to get a ton of sacks, and he was expected to be more of a coverage linebacker.  I believe he has done a good job in this role, as well as being solid in run support so far this season.  He has been very durable in his 3 seasons thus far, and I hope that his injury is minor enough that he can continue his consecutive starts streak.  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give him a solid 7 for what he has done so far this year.

OLBs - Jordan Dizon and DeAndre Levy

Dizon has come in to spell Sims on multiple occasions this season, and he has played pretty admirably.  He has 9 tackles and has been solid against the run when he has played.  His size and durability are my main concerns, and it is yet to be seen if he could play every game for an entire season.  As a backup, in a backup and situational role, I think he has played well.  Levy has also played at an unexpectedly high level so far, even as a rookie.  He has 8 tackles in a role similar to that of Dizon's.  I like Levy's size and upside more than I like Dizon's however, and if Sims is not going to play I would like to see Levy take a majority of the snaps as a replacement.  In my opinion both men could improve on their coverage skills, but both have shown pretty good tackling skills against the run.  Ratings on a scale of 1-10, I give Dizon and Levy both a solid 6.

DT - Grady Jackson

Grady Jackson is a big man.  He is a space eater and a gap plugger.  I think his purpose has been well served and made evident in our defense's improvement against the run this year.  Grady Jackson was never expected to be a great pass rusher in Detroit, but rather he was expected to do what he has done so far, which is take up space and be hard to move.  He has 4 tackles.  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give him a solid 6 for his expected role (if I were rating him on his overall ability to generate a pass rush as well as stop the run, I would say he is a 4 (below avg)).

DT - Sammie Lee Hill

Contrary to Grady Jackson, I believe that Hill is expected to utilize his size and athletic ability to generate a pass rush in the middle of the defensive line, as well as to eat up space and stop the run in his respective gaps.  Hill has not gotten a sack yet, but he is a rookie who is still learning.  He has a huge upside, and being a raw talent who was thrust into a starting role as a rookie I think he is doing admirably well.  He has 3 tackles so far.  He has a long way to go before he will be the dominating force that the coaching staff wants him to be, but he is getting valuable experience which will hopefully translate into improvement quicker than not (my same hope goes out to Matt Stafford).  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give him a 5.

DT - Landon Cohen

In a backup role in a D-line rotation, Cohen has not really done too much to write home about.  He has 2 tackles and has not shown a strong pass rushing ability considering his amazing strength.  I can't help but think that his arms and upper body are amazingly strong, but his lower body must be weak.  He needs to work on his leg strength and utilizing leverage if he ever wants to be anything more than an afterthought.  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give him a 4 so far.

DT/DE - Andre Fluellen

Now here is a guy that continues to impress me.  He is big enough to play DT, but also versatile enough to play DE.  Not only has he played very well in his backup/rotational role, but he also has collected 6 tackles and a sack while playing both DT and DE.  I really like the fact that he can play both positions, and his versatility will likely keep him around longer than guys like Cohen who can only play one position.  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give him a solid 6 for the role he is playing so far.

DE - DeWayne White

None of our defensive ends have been spectacular, but one thing that can be said about them is that they are getting a good push on the outside.  I have seen them within arms reach of the QB on multiple occasions in all 3 games so far.  If our DTs could get a push in the middle, forcing the opposing QB to flush left or right, then I think our DEs would be getting a lot more sacks.  DeWayne White has not been an unstoppable force, but he has not done a bad job either, considering the circumstances.  He has 4 tackles, but no sacks.  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give him a solid 5 so far.

DE - Cliff Avril

Avril is another guy that I have been disappointed with this season.  He has 1 tackle, no sacks, and he has been injured.  I am starting to believe that he is too small to play DE in a 4-3 scheme.  If he is not moved to OLB, or if he does not have the ability to make that transition, I think he will be on his way out of Detroit sooner than later.  I like the guy, don't get me wrong, but he has yet to show us that he can consistently play at the level he did last season as a rookie.  I have hope that he can come back and significantly improve, but as of right now Jason Hunter is the far superior player.  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give him a 4 for now.

DE - Jason Hunter

The offseason free agent acquisition has been the best pass rusher we have had so far this season.  He has consistently been in the backfield, pressuring the QB and making plays.  I am very impressed with him thus far, and he has been the only bright spot on our DL in my opinion.  He has garnered 11 tackles and 2 sacks in relief of the injured Cliff Avril.  I think he has won the starting job, unless Avril comes back with a vengeance.  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give him a solid 7 so far.

CB - Anthony Henry

Anthony Henry is another player who has been a pleasant surprise on our defense this year so far.  Not only does he have one of our only 2 INTs, but also he has racked up 22 tackles (2nd only to Foote).  The fact that he has 22 tackles does not bode well for our defensive line and their ability to get to the QB, but it does show that Henry is a good tackler who is always around the ball.  Henry has been the best corner on our team this year, and I think he has played above and beyond many of our expectations (considering we all thought he had lost a step and should be playing safety).  I have not seen him get beat deep (however, I do not know who got beat by Santana Moss last sunday for that 57 yard TD....was it Will James?), and I do not think he has blown any coverage assignments (to the best of my knowledge).  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give him a solid 7 so far.

CB - Phillip Buchanon

Buchanon was supposed to be our play maker at CB this year.  So far he has been a bit lackluster.  This fact was made clear last Sunday when he was active, but benched in favor of William James.  On the season, so far, he has 5 tackles and no INTs.  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give him a 5 so far.

CBs - William James and Eric King

There isn't much to say about these two guys, but they have been average as backups and situational players.  Each man has 6 tackles on the season, and no INTs.  I am not overly impressed with either one, but it is my opinion that James has a slight edge over King (obviously as he got a start in place of Buchanon and not King).  However, I do not see either player as anything more than average at this point.  Ratings on a scale of 1-10, I give James a solid 5 and King a shaky 5.

S - Louis Delmas

The rookie out of WMU has been pretty impressive thus far, earning defensive rookie of the month honors for the month of September.  He has accumulated 17 tackles and no INTs.  Again, his tackle totals could indicate that too many running backs are making it into the secondary, but all in all Delmas has been solid.  I think it is obvious that he has room to improve, being a rookie and all.  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give him a shaky 7 (meaning he has been mostly solid, but until he improves he is leaning toward only above average....however, he is certainly above average for a rookie).

S - Marquand Manuel

Marquand Manuel has been a pleasant surprise to me as well.  I had read that he was a liability in pass coverage, but so far I have seen little to support that claim.  He has accumulated 17 tackles (34 tackles over 3 games for the safeties combined....not a good sign), 1 fumble recovery, and no INTs.  I do not see Manuel as a ball hawking type of safety, but he has been good in run support and has proven to be a good tackler.  Durability is the only concern I can see at this point.  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give him a solid 6.

S - Kalvin Pearson

Pearson has seen limited play in a situational role as a backup so far this season.  He has garnered 6 tackles and no INTs.  I am not a big fan of Pearson, but he has not been the worst player I have seen.  On the other hand, he has not done anything that jumps out at me either.  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give him a shaky 5.

S - Ko Simpson and Darnell Bing

These two guys have done a decent job as backups as depth players.  Ko Simpson has the only other INT this season (other than Anthony Henry's) and he has made 2 tackles in a limited role.  Bing has made 3 tackles in his limited role.  Ratings on a scale of 1-10, I give both Simpson and Bing a solid 5 for their limited roles.

The Offensive Line:

I could break down the offensive line position by position, but I see them as one unit and so I am going to rate them as such.  The offensive line has shown vast improvement over last year's unit in both run blocking and pass protection.  So far, the Lion's offensive linemen have allowed only 5 sacks over 3 games.  There are only 11 teams in the league who have allowed less than 5 sacks, and there are 8 teams (including the Steelers and Packers) who have also allowed 5 sacks.  The Lion's are currently tied for 14th in the league in sacks (the middle of the pack....isn't it great!).  The guys up front have also shown that the new agressive, downhill blocking scheme is far superior (at least for them) to the zone blocking scheme that was used last year.  Kevin Smith has gotten off to a pretty nice start against 2 very good run defenses (Washington and Minnesota).  The offensive line can be credited for that.  While some of us still have our concerns with Jeff Backus and Dominic Raiola, the reality of the situation is that Raiola, Ramirez (not so much Loper), Peterman, and Cherilus have been relatively solid (minus some stupid penalties here and there).  Backus is still the weakest link, whether he is the most durable or not.  That said, even Backus has done a relatively decent job on all but one play that I can think of this year (the phantom block on Jared Allen).  All in all, I have been extremely pleased with the play of our offensive line so far this season.  Rating on a scale of 1-10, I give the unit a solid 6 so far as a whole....much improved over last year.

And there you have it guys.....let's hear it, what you got?