Friday Notes: Reps Will Be Distributed Evenly Among QBs Early On

by Sean Yuille on May 15, 2009 12:21 PM EDT in Notes Comment 21 comments

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft, signals during drills at football minicamp at the team's practice facility in Allen Park, Mich., Friday, May 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

More photos » by Carlos Osorio - AP

6 months ago: Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft, signals during drills at football minicamp at the team's practice facility in Allen Park, Mich., Friday, May 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

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Daunte Culpepper, Matthew Stafford, and Drew Stanton are initially going to split reps evenly when the entire team works out together for the first time since the draft.
Stanton ended yesterday's OTA by throwing a touchdown pass to tight end Will Heller.
Jim Schwartz was asked about Kevin Smith's playoff prediction and basically said that the Lions need to worry about today, not making predictions about the playoffs or even the season opener, for that matter.
Part of the reason Jordon Dizon had such a tough time last year was because he just didn't feel comfortable in the system or with the coaches. That has changed now, though, so hopefully we will see how far he has come on the field this season.
There was an interesting interview with Jim Schwartz on NFL Total Access yesterday. You can watch it here, and make sure to look out for the picture of Schwartz from when he worked in Cleveland. It is pretty hilarious.
MLive has pictures from yesterday's OTA.
Via Tom Kowalski, here is the Lions' OTA schedule:

Thursday was the Lions fourth official Organized Team Activity. They also will have OTA's May 19-21, 27-28, June 1 and June 3-4 before the voluntary mini-camp June 23-25.
Rookies will report to Allen Park on Monday and can begin working out with the rest of the team. On Tuesday, the Lions will hold their first OTA with both rookies and veterans.
The 49ers have started to sign late-round draft picks already.

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I heard good things....

about Jordan Dizon coming out of school, hopefully Larry Foote can mentor him.

by CardsDefense on May 15, 2009 2:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Dizon is an OLB

Pride of Detroit, SB Nation's Lions Blog

by Sean Yuille on May 15, 2009 2:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Linebacker rotation and combinations will be fun to watch this year.

Somehow I get the feeling Lewis will be getting released in the near future.

by Runnin' Rebel on May 15, 2009 2:51 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

WOW Sean....

Just noticed that SI has been linking some of your stories on POD.

Congrats on the attention.

by CLF on May 15, 2009 2:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Let us know when you make the move to SI Sean

It has to be good when you can use their site in your resume as a referral.
Congratulations.

by Runnin' Rebel on May 15, 2009 3:05 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

And take me with you

I can sweep floors…

by Nate D. on May 15, 2009 3:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think Ford wants Matthew StafFORD to start.

by cincyboy on May 15, 2009 6:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Maybe I’m gullible, but I believe Coach Schwartz when he says over and over, that the consensus of the scouts and themselves, was that Stafford was #1 on the board.

by BIGWalt2990 on May 15, 2009 8:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Just heard on NFL Network.

Roderick Hood is going to visit us on Monday…They said next Monday, so I’m assuming its this coming Monday

He’s got plenty of solo tackles, 7 years experience, and has only missed one game in the last two seasons.

This guy a feasible option for Detroit?

by BIGWalt2990 on May 16, 2009 11:22 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Sweet

Pride of Detroit, SB Nation's Lions Blog

by Sean Yuille on May 16, 2009 11:28 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Definetly

This young team needs leadership.

by cincyboy on May 16, 2009 11:39 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

More negativity, I mean facts from NorthLeft

In 2008, Detroit was the FOURTH OLDEST team in the NFL. Average age of 27.33 years. The Saints were the oldest at 27.8 years and Green Bay and KC were the youngest at 25.57. Surprisingly, the Colts were the third youngest team.

I looked at the potential starters for Detroit in 2009 and came up with an average age of 27.8 years, just for the starters on offence and defence. Eight [potential starters will be over 30 by October 2009 [White, Darby, Jackson, Peterson, Backus, Cook, Rioala, and Daunte] I left Henry on the bench for the defence along with Terrelle Smith for the offence or there is two more +30 year old starters.

We will see once the rosters are finalized, but Detroit has a long way to go before we can consider this team as young.

But I believe that Mayhew and Schwartz are committed to making this team younger. It will just take a few years [three] to do it.

by NorthLeft12 on May 16, 2009 1:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

When you listen to Schwartz in interviews he puts a lot of emphasis on the importance of acquiring players that have Superbowl rings, pro bowls, veteran experience. He says that’s what the Titans did after they hit “bottom” a couple years ago. Having the experience and leadership in the locker room is just as important as the player’s ability on the field.

I think this team will be getting older before it gets younger.

by BIGWalt2990 on May 16, 2009 3:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Geez Walt, I hope you are wrong about this.

I always thought the standard template for rebuilding and long term success is to get young guys to mold into the defence/offence/team that you want. I always equated teams that went older with teams that were trying to hang onto a spot in the playoffs. Those teams usually have a complete collapse and have to rebuild from scratch.

I’ll pay attention to Schwartz’s comments in the future and see if he and Mayhew go with that strategy.
Thanks for the heads up.

by NorthLeft12 on May 16, 2009 3:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, But

First I hope I don’t get banned for saying ‘but’. But the Lions do have a lot of young players. They have added Super Bowl rings and Pro Bowlers to their defense. What would a smart team do to help it grow for the long term?

by dylan415 on May 16, 2009 9:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Banned, this isn’t Nazi Germany, you are allowed to express your opinion(excluding Ralph).

If I were a smart team…I would try to have my roster be a 50/50 mix between rookies and “battle tested” veterans. And I think Schwartz is doing a good thing bringing in guys with winning attitudes and leadership, how can it hurt unless their ego’s collide…how do ego’s collide when the team was 0-16.

This is the perfect time to bring older and younger players together, working for the same cause.

by BIGWalt2990 on May 16, 2009 10:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I say but all the time......

dylan, In this case though the Lions don’t appear to be adding younger players. We will see once the roster is finalized but BIGWalt may well be right and the Lions get older in 2009 rather than younger.

For the long term, I would like to see the Lions promote younger players over marginal veterans. This year the best [maybe only] unit to do that with is the defensive line. Its a pretty poor unit to begin with, why not give Fluellen, Alma-Francis, and Hill a fair bit of playing time to show what they have? At least then they will know what they have to do in 2010.

by NorthLeft12 on May 17, 2009 9:04 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think Avril will play a big part on the D line this year. They’re gonna run that hybrid 4-3. Lining DEs up over the 8 and 9 position to try and force plays to the middle. Avril’s speed will definitely help with that.

by BIGWalt2990 on May 17, 2009 10:22 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Mayhew said he wants to get younger...

But right now I think a youth movement will have to wait. In a transition like this, veterans have to build the foundation, allowing the younger players to eventually take over.

Pride of Detroit, SB Nation's Lions Blog

by Sean Yuille on May 17, 2009 11:44 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think that

the Lions will be about the same age as last year. Maybe alittle younger overall. Yes some of the FA’s bought in are older. But alot of players released were older too. The team last years was 27.5 ave age. Kitna was 36. Kelly was 32. McCollum was 38.

by JCruize on May 17, 2009 2:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs