Youth Will be Served

by NorthLeft12 on Sep 11, 2009 11:57 AM EDT Comment 23 comments

Looking at the Lions 2009 depth chart that Sean has posted the offence has five starters with less than three years experience; Matt Stafford, Kevin Smith, Jerome Felton, Calvin Johnson, and Gosder Cherilus. Brandon Pettigrew will soon be added to that list.

On defence, we have three young starters; Sammie Lee Hill, Cliff Avril, and Louis Delmas. The second string front seven were all drafted in 2006 or later. The secondary is mostly a veteran group, both starters and back ups.

I am very happy that Detroit has finally taken this approach. We need to see what the young players have and figure out if they can contribute or be able to raise their play with coaching or if they need to replace them. I was very happy when they hired Schwartz as the head coach and so far he has not disappointed.

Comments?

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pride of Detroit's main writer, Sean, or the site in general. FanPosts are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable fans.

0 recs | Comment 23 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

DefenCe

lol

by CLF on Sep 11, 2009 12:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Despite the rookies which will be Starting/contributing

We still have a very aged roster due to the poor drafting, and relying on FA pick ups we had this year. BUT we are a much improved roster, just filled with band aids.

4-12, but a good 4-12. P. Manning went 3-13 his rookie year.

Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain. Lily Tomlin

by Leapin Lion on Sep 11, 2009 12:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Hopefully the 2010 draft and offseason will move some of those stop gaps out.

I will be very surprised if most of Grady Jackson, Ephraim Salaam, Daunte, Terrelle Smith, Dennis Northcutt, Anthony Henry, and Casey Fitzsimmons are not with the team to start the 2010 season. Hopefully to be replaced with younger players from the draft or our practice squad.

by NorthLeft12 on Sep 11, 2009 2:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Fitz is still young....

I agree with the rest.

My hope is for those 7th round Practice squad picks turn into contributors next year… Similar to Cohen.

by CLF on Sep 11, 2009 3:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I was thinking of Gronkowski or Butler for his spot.

I thought both of those guys looked like they had some potential this preseason. I don’t hate Fitzsimmons, but he does have injury issues.

I will be very interested in how those guys develop.

by NorthLeft12 on Sep 11, 2009 3:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

gronk will be in yet this season

fitz cant stay healthy

"If your not with us...
you're with the terrorists!!"

by alpha lion on Sep 11, 2009 4:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hope the secondary gets a big upgrade.

by ATL Lion on Sep 11, 2009 3:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hope

That our front office does the exact same thing next year, take the best player on the board,(safety from either Tenn or USC) and so far this approach has wow’d us. Can any of us say we arn’t overly excited about any of our top 3 picks? Other than Grew being hurt most of preseson he has looked like a beast out there.

by davis0169 on Sep 11, 2009 10:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I want Mays or Berry (if Berry comes out)

http://cmufootball.blogspot.com/

by CapitolLions on Sep 12, 2009 11:59 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yep, I agree

I know what you mean. A good 4-12. Four more wins than last year, but the improvement is more than what can be measured by just those 4 wins.

What? He can’t block a dead gopher? Humph, details.

by GRLion on Sep 12, 2009 3:52 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I did not realize that Manny Ramirez was drafted in 2007.

He is also going into his third season. While not a starter, he is our back up Guard.

by NorthLeft12 on Sep 11, 2009 3:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Don't forget Levy

and Dizon. From the sounds of things, these two guys are going to be solid. That’s the whole LB core if they pan out. Maybe not All Pro, but solid. Then we draft another Big F-in DT (which I will abbreviate from now on as BFDT) or a BFLT in the upcoming draft and mebbe things start to look up even more.

by WBL on Sep 11, 2009 5:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Youth is good..

But as long as their apparant potential can become realised. There’s a reason why veterens are valued, mainly because they’ve proved they can at least be competitive in the NFL. In saying that though, I’m excited by the youth we have on this team and look forward to seeing what they can bring us.

2009 = The start of the Lions Golden Age (We hope).

by Hyperion Ecta on Sep 11, 2009 7:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Same here brother from down under

WBL, If a real Tackle emerges this year I am with you, but look at all the guys we passed on this year and look how they are all doing. I almost think that our front office might actually know what they are doing finally.If no (Jake Longs) are out there I think that 1 of the 2 safeties would be the smartest move cause they are both going to be studs and put him next to Delmas. Think about it! USC and Tenn both have top 10 draftable guys coming out next year as seniors, they are both headhunters and have freekish speed.

by davis0169 on Sep 11, 2009 10:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

davis, I am hoping that we can get one of the elite linemen that will be out in 2010

Okung at LT, McCoy or Suh at DT, or Dunlap at DE will all be potential picks. The only way we could miss out on any of these guys is if the Lions “screw up” and win too many games.

I would be a very happy man if the Lions record was too good to have a very early draft pick.

by NorthLeft12 on Sep 11, 2009 11:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

+1

you know it. it would be a pleasant surprise if we could not draft in the top 10. Something we are all forgetting about for this year. We are still #1 . . . .when it comes to the waiver wire. We may find a few diamonds in the rough this year in that area. Hopefully we could draft in the 10-15 range and those D-men will still be there.

by davis0169 on Sep 11, 2009 11:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

There are going to be good DE's and DT availible in the late 1st and 2nd rounds

Jerry Hughes TCU DE
Corey Wooten Northwestern DE
CJ Wilson ECU DE
Jan Jorgenson BYU DE
Greg Hardy Ole Miss DE
Brandon Lang Troy DE
George Selive USF DE

Those guys will all go after Suh and Dunlap and be good.

I think we can take our pick of a few of these dudes in the 2nd. I say we get Taylor Mays or Eric Berry to play along side Delmas if we get the chance at say 1.8 or 1.9

http://cmufootball.blogspot.com/

by CapitolLions on Sep 12, 2009 12:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I've got my eyes on a few D-Lineman coming out next year

McCoy and Dunlap intrigue me the most, although Okung would be a positive addition. But like you guys said, I hope we’re picking around 10-15 instead of 1-5.

2009 = The start of the Lions Golden Age (We hope).

by Hyperion Ecta on Sep 12, 2009 1:27 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

All good possibilities......

DE Dunlap, DT McCoy, DT Suh, LT Okung (6-5, 300), S Taylor Mays, S Eric Berry all look pretty good right now. If we are good enough that all those guys are off the board, my sleeper pick is Iowa LT Brian Bulaga (6-6, 312), if he’s worthy of a top-15 pick next April (and maybe 2nd Round if he’s not). He’s super agile just like Okung, but more of a mauler, less of a technician. My one fear with Okung is maybe we’d be replacing an older Backus with a younger Backus. I’d love a “dancing bear” type of LT like Ryan Clady in this draft, but don’t see one. Bulaga might be the closest thing.

What? He can’t block a dead gopher? Humph, details.

by GRLion on Sep 12, 2009 4:20 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Here is a scouting report on Okung. A good read.

Link: http://walterfootball.com/scoutingreport2010rokung.php

This site has Bulaga ranked as the second LT to be taken.

The only thing I did not like in your description of Bulaga is the mauler part. I recall Backus’ descriptions and mauler, nasty, and durable seemed to be his strengths. I think Backus was a good pick for #17 in the first round. The Lions have done a lot worse.

by NorthLeft12 on Sep 12, 2009 6:41 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't really want a mauler for a LT

Gos is a mauler. I’d rather a technician who knows where to place his hands, how to use leverage and his strength and is blessed with nice footwork. That’s what I want in a Lions LT. Will it happen? Probably not.

2009 = The start of the Lions Golden Age (We hope).

by Hyperion Ecta on Sep 12, 2009 7:01 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs