Defensive backs - Is it really as big an issue like it is made to be?

our DBs looked good when our line made them look good. And if your suggesting that instead of drafting a db, we should draft a better D line… Well lets just say i will go ballistic if we pass on another sweet cb (Cough Prince Cough) and draft a rotational DT.

Wright, Houston, and Berry are as good as most NFL teams have. When they were healthy the secondary played pretty well. The problems came when they got hurt and we had to play Brandon McDonald and Alphonzo Smith.

Brandon McDonald looked very good in training camp and had seemingly won one of the top three spots. Then Berry jumped him on the depth chart and he said some things online that got him in trouble. Everything seemed to go downhill between him and the Lions after that. He was eventually released and the only reason he is back is because of injuries. I do not expect the Lions to keep him over the long term.

It is clear that Alphonzo Smith is a one trick pony. If he doesn’t make the pick, he becomes a big liability. It is clear that the Lions coaches have talked to him about aspects of his game that they want him to work on and he is not taking the coaching well. His battles with Gunny and Jim Schwartz are going to put him out of the picture for next season, I believe. Just as an aside, Alphonzo Smith gave up five touchdowns in the games against the Chargers, Packers, and Saints at the end of the season. That is more than any other Lions cornerback.

I expect the Lions to replace those two corner positions for next season. It is clear that they must upgrade the talent coming off the bench. That may also extend to Chris Harris at safety, since he did not play as well as the coached probably expected when Delmas was out

I do not have a clear read on the Chris Harris situation. I like Harris personally, but he seems to have lost a step as a player. Of course, that could just be a slight delay from his not being familiar with the Lions system. I expect that he will be in camp because he has a cap friendly contract, but he may not be able to hold his roster spot if the Lions are looking to upgrade the position.

I think our smaller but quick CBs work. The issue is when we put 5-11 Delmas or Spievey on a 6-5 TE. That is the issue. I know I been harping on this issue for a while but it bears repeating we need a bigger Safety to deal with those type of players. Outside of that one issue I am satisfied with our DBs for the starters. Our roatational and backups well they can and should be replaced.

TB, KC, Minn, Dallas, Chicago, SF, Atl, Denver. Five of those teams are very poor passing teams. Dallas shredded the Lions through the air until Romo threw three picks in the second half. Cutler kept his team in a game they had no business being in, and Ryan had some big passing plays when he needed them.

The last eight games were a different story; Chicago, Carolina, Green Bay, New Orleans, Minnesota, Oakland, San Diego, and Green Bay, then New Orleans again. Everyone of those QBs torched us. Even the Minnesota QBs had numerous big plays in the air and on the ground before the Lions pulled it out. Rivers moved the ball very well through the air against us too.

And the performance had nothing to do with D Line pressure [which was sub par all year] but with the quality of the QBs we faced.

and I am generally the optimist. I even told people that I thought we were going to upset the Saints. But I remember an ex-GM that once said “If you think you are one or two players away, you are most likely 4-5 players away.” So if a Lions fan thinks we are 3-4 players away from a title, they probably need to adjust to the idea that we are 8-9 players away. In my opinion, the true answer to your question is that if Houston is the biggest db on our roster and we don’t have two cb’s on the roster better than him or Wright, our D will not be able to take a front tier offense off the field consistently. Like wise, If Dom and Backus are our cornerstones of the line, we will not be able to keep a top tier offense off the field enough.

This, IMO, is why Bellicheck stockpiles 2nd round picks all the time. With aging of players and cap issues you simply must bring in way more talent than average teams do to be a consistent winner. As a side note, I love Houston and Wright but they are simply not big enough to be effective through 16-19 games. They can’t take the beatings and a db can’t cover anyone when they are all banged up.

Subtract Wright and Add a true #1 and our DB’s are okay.

I really want a bigger center and RG.

The biggest thing for this team is staying healthy and adding quality depth.

As the NFL keeps moving towards passing… the Offenses do so by having taller/bigger WRs.

Defenses will and should start moving to a 3 safety Defense… Tampa 2 already uses the MLBer in the deep zone. Furthermore, the upcoming drafted CornerBacks will need to be Taller and bigger, 40 times won’t be as important. (See Seattle’s secondary for an example of large cornerbacks).

You can never have enough DBs. Particularly not in this pass happy league. While I agree that it’s not a great need to the level of our OL, it’s a big enough deal that spending a first rounder on a CB (via BPA) isn’t out of the question.

Unfortunately the way the draft works, if you’re just spending your picks sequentially by need, you’re going to wind up reaching on most of your choices. A top tier talent CB + a second round talent OG or OC is way better than a high second round worthy OG/OC and a high third round CB, basically.

Is our secondary “good enough”? Yeah, when everyone’s healthy on defense and having a good day, sure. Can it get better? Absolutely! Honestly, I see us drafting a DB in perpetuity from this point on (provided we have the picks to do so), because you really can never have enough; even if they’re late round picks or just ST aces.

Also, regarding the whole fast/tall thing, the unfortunate issue is those kinds of players are scouted on offense at a premium, even if they have stone hands (see also: Bryant Johnson). While they’d make great DBs, players of that ilk are always point scorers, which poses an interesting dilemma. That is, of course, outside of the rare Revis-types who play a lot bigger than they are.

in the second. hes a strong corner who reminds me of a mix of houston and wright. extremely fast

I’m of the opinion that we need a true no. 1 CB, and that’s about it. Wright is more suited to play Nickelback, and Houston has always been a no. 2 masquerading as a no. 1 out of to necessity. Berry and Phonz could be solid depth at fourth and fifth on the depth chart.

I thought for sure we’d be able to get that guy with Cortland Finnegan, thinking that he would want to follow Schwartz, KVB and Tully over here from Tennessee, and seeing as the Titans seem to have little to no interest in bringing him back, but this possibly not reputable source makes it sound as though he would be more inclined to follow Jeff Fisher over to the Rams. I can’t for the life of me picture him wanting to join the lowly Rams over the playoff Lions, but it is what it is.

I really don’t see Safety as an issue. Delmas is, of course, a motherfucking beast, and while Spievey can be inconsistent as hell, he still looked much better this year then he did last season, and I don’t see why he won’t continue to improve, particularly when you consider that he’s still trying to learn the Safety position after converting from CB.

So… yeah. We need a true number one CB, which I’m hoping we can do with Finnegan. If we can’t, and if he does follow Fisher to St. Louis, then maybe we spend an early pick on a CB… if the value is right.