Detroit Lions Look to Buffalo To End Safety Battle

by VoiceoftheLions on Sep 5, 2009 3:06 PM EDT Comment 16 comments

Jim Schwartz must have seen something he liked Thursday night.

One day after playing against him in a Bills uniform, the Detroit Lions engineered a trade to bring safety Ko Simpson to Detroit for an undisclosed 2010 draft pick.

When not watching the quarterback battle, the Lions have been trying to figure out all preseason who they could start at safety. Louis Delmas was one starter, but who was the other?

Gerald Alexander? Traded.

Daniel Bullocks? Injured.

Kalvin Pearson? A decent player, but had a miserable preseason.

Stuart Schweigert? Showing well, but inconsistent and coming off an offseason calf injury.

Marquand Manuel? Had an okay preseason, but nobody cares (apparently).

Simpson just leap-frogged the field by showing up in Detroit. He is entering his fourth season, and has been a solid contributor in Buffalo since his rookie season in 2006.

Better yet, if Simpson performs well, he could, at age 25, be a long-term answer for the Lions at the safety position.

The darker side of this trade is that it means the Lions’ coaching staff didn’t see enough from any of the prospective safeties on the squad to start them comfortably. So any strong preseason performances you thought you saw are irrelevant.

As it stands, the Lions just added a player the day before final cuts, which means an extra safety will be packing his bags. Manuel and Schweigert are the obvious choices (though probably not both), but even former projected starter Kalvin Pearson should be looking over his shoulder.

In fact, everyone should. Even the guys who survive Saturday’s cuts.

For days now, the Lions have been saying they were going to scour the waiver wire for every last shred of talent, using that No. 1 waiver priority to full advantage. Apparently that applies to trades, as well.

It is increasingly obvious that the coaching staff is not really happy with the roster they have in place, even after turning over half of it. They still want to - and frankly, need to - improve.

It’s safe to assume we’ll see a lot of front office activity in the week leading up to the regular season. That may or may not be smart, since at some point they should be able to tell their players to stop worrying about getting sent away and go play football.

The way things look now, that point might be the trade deadline.

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.

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Comments

I really think Manuel

Has been getting the shaft.

I barely saw anything out of him, and for all intensive purposes was a qualified starter on the Hawks.

Does he play FS? If so, I can understand, since Delmas has that locked.

by Nate D. on Sep 5, 2009 3:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

He is a liability in pass coverage

I’ve been saying that since they got him…..and it is true.

by KDawg on Sep 5, 2009 4:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I didn't catch that

He’s definitely better than Kalvin Pearson, and he’s starting.

Kalvin Pearson is a NOBODY. It drives me nuts that this guy has clung on.

by Nate D. on Sep 6, 2009 2:23 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Neither one of them give me a good feeling inside

So I agree…..Pearson sucks, but so does Manuel and I am not sure which one sucks more…..they both pretty much suck equally and Pearson is younger.

by KDawg on Sep 6, 2009 2:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree,

cut Pearson. That guy is proficient at just stinking up the joint. I hated him last year and hate him more this year. Sign Schwegert again and keep him over captain fat face.

by Usmarine0341 on Sep 7, 2009 12:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I honestly felt

That the play of our safeties in the preseason was marginal at best. Not even the touted King Louis was very good. I believe that the safeties did a good job in run support, and our defense looked much improved in stopping the run as a whole, but in pass coverage I thought that our safeties were plain and simply horrible.

by KDawg on Sep 5, 2009 4:34 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

i like the trade

i think he has talent lets see him use it

Kevin Smith let em kno, Ernie Sims Break em, Calvin Johnson you already Kno
2009 Detroit Lions 6-10 to 8-8

by DetroitLions 4 life on Sep 5, 2009 5:25 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I like Schwartz keeping players lookin over their shoulder.

Maybe that will make them play that much harder and not sit back taking their starting positions for granted. The message I see being sent is if you don’t want to play and give 110 percent effort, you can be replaced.
I also agree with KDawg. The DBs haven’t played great. Some have had a good pre season but there are still to many big play and completed deep passes being made. I hope whatever Schwartz saw in Ko Simpson translates to a starter for the other saftey position.

by Lead Hunter on Sep 5, 2009 6:37 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

What he is....

is a sure tackler. He will make guys drop the ball because they hear footsteps….which is what Delmas is supposed to bring to the table too.

by KDawg on Sep 5, 2009 7:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I didn't see most of the Buffalo game

to see what Simpson played like. It would be great to have a sure tackler in the back field. I didn’t see a ton of solid tackling from the backfield during the pre-season.

by Lead Hunter on Sep 6, 2009 9:16 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Ko Simpson

Gets beat deep from time to time, but he is a good player who works hard and has good ball skills for the most part. One thing is for sure, he does not make arm tackles like Kalvin Pearson. If the Lions do not trade him, I expect him to start over Pearson.

by KDawg on Sep 6, 2009 2:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

sounds like a decent pickup.

I know we need help in the backfield and I too am not a fan of Pearson. If he is a good tackler I like him already.

by Lead Hunter on Sep 6, 2009 4:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Outside of some off field "character issues"

where Simpson was arrested for obstructing police, who were attempting to break up an altercation at a night club (I believe), and was quoted as saying “I’m Ko Simpson with the Buffalo Bills. I am worth millions!”, he was a starter for the Bills in 08 and 06 (a broken foot kept him out of action in 07) and he was a 2 time All American (2 time all SEC as well) coming out of college. He is going into his 4th year and he has a big upside. Schwartz and Co are aware of all of this, and this is what the coach had to say about Ko:

I think he fits what we want to do," coach Jim Schwartz said. "He’s multidimensional. He’s got the size we want. He’s got good range, can also tackle. He’s also been a pretty good contributor on special teams.

I’ve seen him play too, and I think he is definitely and upgrade over Pearson and Manuel. At least he will make tackles.

by KDawg on Sep 6, 2009 4:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs