Okay our back seven look.

retarded you can’t stop watching it

The tweet I was referring to is the one where he tells Killer that the outside linebacker positions are identical and it is between the players to decide which side they want to play, that is is just about playing where you are more comfortable. That response was because Killer asked him which outside spot he would play because there was some question about his suitability to play on the “strong” side.

His gambles are more about using a selection of blitzes in different situations in order to pressure the QB and force them to make bad decisions. That results in more picks because the QB tosses the ball up for grabs. He doesn’t do that as much since last season because the Lions are successfully getting pressure with the front four. There is no need to gamble by blitzing under those circumstances. Jim Schwartz addressed this issue in the final press conference after the Lions 2010 season ended.

Taking chances as a cornerback are an entirely different issue. It is great if you get the tirnovers and DO NOT surrender big plays. Then your gambles are a net positive and they help the team on the scoreboard and in field position. Once of the best examples of that type of CB is Asante Samuel. He will play back off the receiver then jump up on him when the QB thinks he has room. His quickness and instincts allow him to make plays.

There is no possible way we can compare Alpho9nso Smith to Asante Samuel. Smith lets guys get behind him when he gambles and Samuel does not. Samuel has much better instincts to know when it is the right time to jump a route or whether he should continue to keep the receiver in front of him so that he can avoid the big play. Smith tries to jump every route he can and later in the season the offensive coordinators learned how to victimize him for it., please see Patriots/Brady. Once the OCs got wise to Phonz he became ineffective and actually a net negative on the field.

At this point of his career, Alphonso Smith needs to learn how to make better decisions and also needs to improve his pure cover ability. Sorry, but he will never get much bigger so he will always be a small CB. I do not believe that Smith is going to learn how to do that any time soon. Because of that, I feel that guys like Berry and Leggett will surpass him relatively quickly.

If you accept the idea that Smith will fall behind Berry and Leggett, and maybe even one or two other guys, then you can see why I want to trade him. His value will only go down as time goes on and he cannot get on the field. So my CB lineup would look like this…

CB1 – Wright
CB2 – Houston
Nickel – Vasher/Berry
Dime – Berry/Vasher
Reserve – Leggett

PS – Pratt, Miller

With this situation you get the best value return that you are ever likely to get for Phonz. Even if the Lions get a fifth round pick for him that is essentially trading a seventh rounder (Gronkowsi) for a fifth rounder. While that don’t sound as sexy as the seventh for the Phonz who was a first round pick, that first round pick doesn’t mean squat if you are not getting what you want from them. This isn’t about keeping score on how badly Mayhew ripped off another team. it is about the score on the scoreboard at the end of games.

I am just pointing out what I see. Like many of the guys that Mayhew has traded for, we like to think of him as being the next best thing since sliced bread. But Phonz was really not all that good last year once you take away the picks. Interceptions are fickle things. It is possible, probably even likely, that Smith will never get that many picks again in his entire NFL career.

What I am saying is don’t fall in love with one stat because it is sexy, look at the whole package. When you are buying into Phonz it is like buying into the girl with the great bustline, but she is a pig and had a horrible personality.

So tell me what Phonz has shown beside some ability to jump routes and get picks? Tell me what happened to that ability after the Jets game last season. Did his ability to make an interception and break up passes just disappear? Because you need to go look at the stats. After week 9 Phonz was a non-factor for the Lions.

After week 9, Phonz was a net negative for the Lions. Isn’t it funny how he rarely seen the field in the Lions four game winning streak? I think if you go bakc and look at the plays that Phonz was involved in over the season you will se3e that he gave up more touchdowns than he got interceptions. That is a net negative in my book. If he can’t bring something else to the table then he is not helping the team with his picks if he surrenders so many TDs as well.