Where Do The Lions Go From Here?
by James L on Apr 28, 2009 6:23 PM EDT
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PrintAfter absorbing what happened during this year’s draft, I still have mixed emotions. Like all of you (I’m assuming), I have never been, nor am I, nor will I ever likely be a member of the Detroit Lions staff. That said, the Lions are my team. As fans we have a vested interest in their success. We become our own analysts, draft experts, and armchair coaches. We get passionate about our opinions, and rightly so. We educate ourselves with football as best as possible and I believe that fans can be knowledgeable to the level of many who get paid to offer their opinions on television, radio, or the Internet. I think the majority of us felt like the Lions made several mistakes in this year’s draft. Whether or not they really were mistakes will take a couple of years to judge correctly. What’s done is done. What I find myself asking is "Where do the Lions go from here?"
Quarterback: This has been set. Culpepper will start. Stafford will develop. Stanton or another as-of-yet-unsigned veteran back up will back up. Henson, as we now know, is the odd man out. I was a Curry supporter right up until the Lions announced they would draft Stafford. I felt Mayhew did not win the game of "Chicken" with Tom Condon. To me, the amount of money paid to Stafford doesn’t reflect any take-it-or-leave-it stance by the Lions. If drafting Curry cheaper was a real threat, Condon would have accepted less. It looked as though Condon called the Lions’ bluff. Personally, I really wanted to see the Lions, or any team for that matter, stick it to these greedy agents. It didn’t happen. As for the money itself, I’m hoping the Lions managed to structure the contract in such a way that a lot of the guaranteed money can come off the books during 2010’s uncapped season.
Running Back: Solid for now. Kevin Smith looks to be the Lions starter for a few years. Morris will be a nice change-of-pace back. Aaron Brown should be a decent 3rd down back and a solid contributor on Special Teams.
Wide Receiver: Two words, "Calvin Johnson." After that, there really isn’t anyone of note. I thought Bryant Johnson was a solid pick up but he has yet to live up to his potential in my book. Ronald Curry can contribute to an extent. After my initial Lions’ fan reflex of being disgusted with the Derrick Williams pick, I settled down and thought, "We really only have Calvin Johnson." I think Williams can be a decent addition to the team. I hope he brings some excitement to the return game that we haven’t had since the days of Mel Gray.
Tight End: I was dumfounded by the Brandon Pettigrew pick. He has the potential to be a Pro-Bowl Tight End. I just thought it was the wrong point in the draft to get a Tight End. That said, the Lions haven’t had a decent Tight End since Charlie Sanders. The Lions always seem to get burned by great Tight Ends. I hope Pettigrew will help the Lions burn other teams. Dan Gronkowski seemed like a depth pick. He’ll have to fight to earn a spot on the roster. Still, picking two Tight Ends in this draft, along with the signing of Heller, tells me that Gaines and Fitzsimmons are likely finished as Lions.
Offensive Line: This is where I thought the Lions fell flat. Lydon Murtha has good size and I thought he would have gone before round seven. He’s a solid pick at the point where he was drafted. I just felt the Lions should have addressed the Offensive Line much earlier. Oher would have been nice at pick #20 yet I’m starting to think that a potentially great Tight End will be better than another potentially good Tackle. According to the Lions’ roster, there are now six Tackles, four Guards, and two Centers. That’s plenty of depth and we all know that not all of them will make the final roster. Still, there are no players that stand out as Pro-Bowl quality. As I said before, I am not a member of the Lions staff. Jim Schwartz and Scott Linehan bring a different mindset to the Lions than what had been here. If he feels that he can generate better results out of the personnel that we have on the Offensive Line, I have to trust that. What else can I do? I’m just another ranting blogger.
Defensive Line: There is a reason that the Lions allowed over twenty points a game before scoring their own during September, bad Defense. Sammie Lee Hill seems like another solid pick. Still, he was the only pick that addressed the Defensive Line. Grady Jackson is a nice stop-gap and will give Hill some time to develop. I’m still concerned about the center of the line. I think Avril might pan out as a solid player and I think the Lions will be okay at Defensive End until they can address things next year. All in all, I think the Defensive Line was, by far, the biggest weakness last year and I’m concerned about things moving forward.
Linebacker: The one thing I wanted more than any other was for Jim Schwartz to get his "Thumper" at Middle Linebacker. I have always agreed with the idea that the Middle Linebacker is the Quarterback of the Defense. I wanted Curry badly, but I wasn’t fond of the idea of moving him out of his natural position. Being capable of playing multiple positions doesn’t mean that one is equally proficient at multiple positions. I couldn’t believe that the Lions passed on Maualuga and Laurinatus twice. However, after they both dropped to the second round, I began to wonder what everyone thought was wrong with them. Another observation I made was that pure Middle Linebackers across the board dropped significantly. Players like Ellerbe, McKillop, Brinkley, and Beckwith that I thought would go in round three didn’t go until later or didn’t get drafted altogether. Looking at the NFL.com Draft Tracker, I see that only seven pure Middle Linebackers were drafted. DeAndre Levy was a solid pick and the Lions have stated that they plan on seeing how he does in the middle. I also like the Zack Follett pick and thought he was a steal that late in the draft. Still, I don’t like the idea of moving players out of their natural position. But, like I said, I’m not a coach or a member of the Lions staff. I hope they can coach these kids to do whatever they need. If Larry Foote does indeed enter the picture, I’ll breathe a little easier. Outside Linebacker is solid with Sims and Peterson. I figure Levy or Follett could see some occasional time on the outside.
Defensive Backs: I liked the Delmas pick. I didn’t like that it was at the expense of Maualuga and Laurinatus. Still, I like the off season moves to shore up the secondary. Buchanon was a nice pick up. With Louis Delmas, I’m assuming that Anthony Henry will be staying out at Cornerback. I hope that Gerald Alexander won’t be gun shy after his spinal injury. All in all, I feel like the Lions have done a good job retooling a disaster area.
Final thoughts: The Lions are fresh off an 0-16 season. I’m not expecting much from them this year but I do hope that they win a few games and keep the losses close. As I question the moves made during the offseason and the draft, I keep telling myself that this is a new coaching staff with a new system. I hope that they can help the current personnel on the roster reach their potential better than the previous regime. I know that some of the draft picks were more than questionable. Yet Jim Schwartz has mentioned that he wants multi-dimensional players that can play multiple positions. Even though I’m uncomfortable with players out of position, I have to trust that he and Mayhew picked the right set of kids that can do just that. So back to my question, "Where do the Lions go from here?" It’s hard not to go somewhere positive after the worst season in NFL history. The draft wasn’t what I had expected but I do sense a different air about the Lions direction. It will be a while before we can actually say if this year’s draft was good or bad. I hope we can look back someday and say that this was the year that it all started to turn around.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pride of Detroit or its writers. FanPosts are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable fans.
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This Draft Was Weak....
….On defensive players…..next years draft is suposed to be one of the best in years for defesive players…..I think they went for best available players this year knowing about next years draft……that beaing said DELMAS will be a future pro bowler…..Mini Bennie Blades……DELMAS will be Schwartz Cortland Finigan in Detroit…..The line will play better simply becasue the defense will be lower…What Do I mean….Well we drafted depth players at LB and thiose guys will play special teams and they will becasue THEY ARE KNOWN AS GOOD TACKELRS!!!!…..Last year the opposition seemed to be starting at midfield everytime and gave the defense no chance….This year I see better depth and better special teams and maybe stoping them at maybe the 30 and giving the defense a chance to stop them…..this in turn helps the line becasue they onwt be down 14 – 0 afetr ome quarter off football and the opposition wont be able to pin there ears back and rush the passer 80% off the time becasue detroit is behind and throwing….This will cut down o the sacks and the pressure that was on the OLINe last season
by BennieBladesFan on Apr 28, 2009 6:59 PM EDT reply actions
I wouldn't say weak
they are building up for future seasons. These young men( Stafford, Pettigrew and Delmas) should be around for years to come. Hey 1 win and Detroit has improved. I’m not saying play offs but Detroit has the ability to do some great things this year.
Excellent Post James
And Rec’d.
I agree on most of your points. The analysis was deep and you accurately identified the situation in every postion. Runningback is a bit of a darkhorse however. You have to believe in future drafts if the best available player is a runningback, Mayhew will jump on it. The consideration of Beanie Wells at #33 confirms this. Had the Cards not drafted him at #31, they would’ve drafted him (I’m pretty happy he didn’t, that would’ve made the draft completely offensive)
As far as O-Line goes, I can’t justify Schwartz and Mayhew taking no O-Linemen until rd 7. It’s completely ridiculous and the worst decision Mayhew’s made since he’s been in the big chair (which isn’t bad considering Millen’s faults). Guard and Center were very deep positions (record number of Cs taken in rd 1) and the Lions could’ve jumped on the bandwagon, even taken a chance on Duke Robinson (who I know has his faults but cmon, it’s round 6!)
Our D-Line and O-Line remain the biggest holes in an otherwise solid team considering we went 0-16 last year. Free Agency will have to be pretty big if we are to patch up the holes in this porous line You can bet next year’s draft, one of our first selections will be an Albert Haynsworth type, a staple of a defense. Many say our ends are solid, but to that I disagree. We have good players in place, but we haven’t been known as a team that causes havoc to opposing quarterbacks and we lack a pass rusher that teams are actually afraid of. This will do wonders against the pass as teams will often have to employ two blockers to one end, causing a mismatch elsewhere. A speedy pass rusher who gives O-Coordinators headaches will be a valuable asset as the Lions climb their way back up.
I agree completely with the Linebacker assessment, all of a sudden I don’t want Maualuga now that every other team passed on him at least once. I’ve entertained the idea of going to a 3-4, and it still seems possible considering Levy’s size and Foote’s potential signing (he played ILB in a 3-4). If this is the route the Lions wish to go, I approve the Linebacker choices, if not the Levy pick was the worst of the draft (Aaron Brown would get consideration, but it was the 6th rd)
Secondary looks to be the strongest area of our defense (other than OLB) we have an above average safety rotation with Delmas, Alexander and Bullocks switching in, it’ll give us a fresh guy at the safety each possession. I disagree with Laurinaitis/Maualuga being a better pick than Delmas. Both LBs had question marks (Maualuga smarts, Laurinaitis strength/athleticism) but Delmas appears to be safer.
I also agree the Lions shouldn’t get blown out anymore, with a stronger secondary and a great tool at TE, they should keep em close. But let’s not win too many games, we still have a long road ahead of us.
With Foote, it makes sense
If the Lions were thinking they had w good shot at landing Foote, This draft makes a lot more sense. By not having to draft a MLB, they landed some great talent at other positions of need. Pettigrew helps the OL, Delmas helps the DBs, they get their QB of the future, added some depthfor injurys sake, and, provided they land Foote, get some leadership at MLB. I least I hope I am reading it right.
Nice Post James
I think that you have captured almost exactly how I feel about this draft. I am not as excited about the Delmas pick [funny, my first FanPost on this site was about picking Delmas at #33] but I understand what a great Free Safety [see Ed Reed] can do for a defence.
From the free agents that may be picked up shortly and given a shot I think the Lions can fill a few more holes. Hopefully this will be another step forward.
Agree about Delmas
Another thing, he’s exceptional at stopping the run, something this team wasn’t very good at at all. He can be a huge impact player if he develops correctly, and we have many weapons at Safety that can be subbed in for fresh legs
The problem with stating that a safety is great a stopping the run
Is that if our DT’s and LB’s were doing their jobs properly, the safety would never be needed to stop the run. The “safety” is the last resort, thus the name. If the RB gets into the secondary in the middle of the field, then we have “safeties” in place to hopefully stop them. If a corner gets beat over the top, or a linebacker gets beat over the middle, we have “safeties” in place to hopefully stop them. Having a safety that is excellent in “run support” is great. However, having a safety that is great at “stopping the run” should not be necessary.
Didn't our Safeties lead our team in tackling in 2008?
Once they are that far downfield you are already in big trouble. We all saw a lot of that last year.
It was not pretty.
I think it also depends how you play them
If you play a safety further in the box, he can virtually become a mini-LB. Someone with his speed and physicality can be a danger in the box. Safeties have been known to make TFL. Also, I know his college game tape won’t collerate greatly to the NFL, but from what I seen, Delmas was making a lot of tackles within the 3-5 yd range from the scrimmage line on run plays. That ain’t bad for a safety.
2009 = The start of the Lions Golden Age (We hope).
by Hyperion Ecta on Apr 29, 2009 8:55 PM EDT up reply actions
correllate* (I wish there was an edit button)
2009 = The start of the Lions Golden Age (We hope).
by Hyperion Ecta on Apr 29, 2009 8:55 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree
But, the problem is if you blitz a safety too often in the NFL, it opens up the defense to get beat long over the middle. SImply put, you can not play a safety in the box on every play in NFL, nor can you have him blitzing on every play. If you do, your defense becomes as one dimensional as it is with no pass rush, or easily beatable corners.
Totally Agree
We can’t always have Delmas in the box, but when a run play is on, which you can predict sometimes, Delmas can be a dangerous figure (possibly).
2009 = The start of the Lions Golden Age (We hope).
by Hyperion Ecta on Apr 30, 2009 7:48 PM EDT up reply actions
Ha
I recall posting a mock draft that had us taking Derrick Williams in the third, but it was my joke-ALLWR mock.
Who knew it would come true.
That aside, if the plan was to get Foote all along, then they went from idiots to geniuses in my book. If Foote asking to be let go is just random, then I hope they keep ther mouth shut and let me believe in the first thing.
Well-spoken, thoughtful article
I have to say I agree on most points. This was a thinking-man’s draft. What I mean by that is you had to reflect and think about each pick and the sum of haul after the adrenaline wore off. I, like most others that spent their draft days blogging here, was initially shocked at nearly every pick. But as I looked into each of the picks, heard Schwartz and Mayhew’s comments and took a macro view of the entire draft, I did realize that the underlying theme of the ’09 draft was “talent”. Just find a good value and talent at each position.
Even if picks 2-9 all end up playing special teams… which could likely happen, guess what… our special teams will be a massive upgrade. That is something. Our special teams were absolutely dreadful last year and this will help build that foundation. “Sweep the corners”, is a phrase I heard during an interview of Herm Edwards. I know that Herm is out of work, but the phrase was a good analogy of not forgetting to pay attention to the details. Don’t forget about all the little things that make teams great… not good, but great.
I think the Lions built a little something this past weekend. If they can pick up a free agent LG and MLB and maybe even another CB, this team will most certainly be better than last year and there is plenty of room for optimism. Fans just need to temper their expectations a little and allow the process to work. If it doesn’t, than we just roll with it. In three or four years, another staff will be doing the same thing. Nothing we can do.
Really, no one knows what kind of draft this will turn out to be. I remember the ‘04 draft when we got K.J. and Roy… I was ecstatic! But time changes those draft day grades quite extensively. Now, that draft doesn’t look so good. So, we have two choices… to be hopeful and optimistic that our front office knows what they are doing or to be pessimistic and complain that they didn’t do what you wanted them to do, even though you don’t know if what they did was right or wrong. It’s a conundrum. Fans deserve every right to be opinionated, but I thought your article had a very even temperament. Nice job.
by DrewsLions on Apr 28, 2009 11:26 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Rec'd
I agree this draft took awhile before everyone could take it in, it wasn’t like the Jet’s draft where everyone was screaming “We got Sanchez!!”. There was no player I was especially happy about getting immediately (Now, however, I am convinced Pettigrew and Delmas will be stars). I believe this team is already significantly better (as in 3 wins signiificant) than last years. I like the Herm Edwards reference. It’s accurate. If you’re going to make a team great, shouldn’t you make every aspect great? Not just the most important parts? I think to truly get the thinking of the Lions draft this year, we have to observe the type of draft they have next year (if we get more special teamers, I will riot).
That's the best part of watching the draft.......the fans of the Jets, Giants and Eagles.
Those guys are passionate and really get into it. They should skip the draft gurus and just leave some open mikes and a camera on the fans.
Whoops
What I meant by citing the Jets is that there was no clear cut reaction, it was all a bit wishy-washy, with Sanchez, the fans were either ecstatic or repulsed. With the Lions the pick could’ve went either way
Excellent Thread
I would like to begin by thanking James L for a wonderfully thought out and insightful post. Your writing is better than most of the beat writers work that I have read, so kudos to you, JamesL. Also, it was a pleasure to read an entire thread where nobody attacked anyone for their opinion. You all did a fantastic job of explaining your opinions in a well thought out, mature, and intelligent way, and I want to thank everyone who contributed for that. This was by far the most enjoyable thread to read of any ever posted in my opinion here at POD. Having said all that, I think that this draft holds promise for the future much more than it does with next season. I think that the first three picks in this draft have future pro bowl possibilities written all over them. I really liked the Pettigrew pick, as JamesL pointed out, we haven’t had a pro bowl tight end since Charlie Sanders. We could have used some more O-line and MLB help, but maybe Mayhew and company have a plan that we don’t know about yet. Anyway, I’ll still support them, and love them no matter what. GO LIONS!!!!
Thanks for the compliments, alleycat
2009 = The start of the Lions Golden Age (We hope).
by Hyperion Ecta on Apr 29, 2009 8:57 PM EDT up reply actions
THE ANSWER
Unlike the Pistons’ mistake by trading for AI, MLB Larry Foote would greatly improve the Lions’ defense. He would be “THE ANSWER.” I ’ve watched Larry progress from high school to 2 Super Bowl Championships. He would be a better fit [less risk] than Aaron Curry..
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