Much discussion has been had in these parts as to whether or not the Detroit Lions selection of Ryan Broyles in the 2nd round was a reach. I will admit I thought it was at first even though I really liked him as a player coming out of college. He was a guy that I would have been very happy if we had drafted in the 3rd round but not higher than that. After doing much research on him as a player and reflecting on what a reach actually is in a draft I have come to a few conclusions and have a few questions that I would like answered. What is to follow is a series of thoughts about the Ryan Broyles pick which I hope will stimulate discussion.

- First and foremost we need to define our terms. What is a reach? In general a reach is a draft pick where a team selects a player too soon. This can take many forms.

Need reach/Slight Reach When team takes a player in a spot where there were more talented players available but the player fills a need and is talented. Often times when it seems like a team could have traded back and still got the same player that pick falls under this category of reaching.

Serious Reach - If it is likely that a team would have been able to draft the same player in the next round it is a serious reach. Most people think that was the case with both Seattle's pick of Bruce Irving and the Patriots 2nd round safety pick.

Crazy Reach This is where a player that wasn't supposed to be drafted at all or at least for another couple rounds is drafted.

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I know everybody will say it's way too early to be predicting this, but I'm bored so I'm going to do it anyway...

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Lets take a look at the 4 basic phases of team building to get an idea of what factors are most important in winning a Super Bowl. The most important phase for a playoff team and a winning playoff team are quite different. To win in the regular season and reach the playoffs the phases are ranked: 1. Pass Offense, 2. Pass Defense, 3. Run Defense, and 4. Run Offense.

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Per NFL.com & Detroit Free Press, Leshoure pleaded guilty for a second time to a Marijuana related charge today. We expect a suspension from the league in accordance with the personal conduct policy. Now that a trend has been established, what disciplinary actions do you suggest the team should take regarding Leshoure.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d829052e8/article/detroit-lions-mikel-leshoure-pleads-guilty-to-marijuana-charge?module=HP11_headline_stack

https://twitter.com/#!/freeplions/status/200946096741171204

Poll

Now that Mikel Leshoure has been involved in two marijuana related incidents in the same off-season, what actions do you suggest the Lions should take in handling this messy situation. I look forward to your comments

21%

Suspend Leshoure without Pay

25 votes

5%

Cut Leshoure from the team

6 votes

73%

Enroll Leshoure in Player Rehab

84 votes

115 votes | Poll has closed

yea, i know whats gonna be said, way too early to even consider what will happen that far in the future....but im doing it anyways..........this is my 2013 mock as i see it happening now, it will certainly change (probably alot) between now and next april..........

1 (pick 25) Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida state, (the situation @cb will still be shaky next year with houstons contract up and lacey probably gone....i see mayhew @ co finally making a move to get a true #1 in the back end of the D)

2(pick 50) Kenny Vaccaro, S, Texas (mayhew further strengthens the secondary by finally solidifying the other saftey spot)

3(pick 75) Dalton Freeman, C, Clemson (center of the future, finally)

4 (traded for tahir whitehead)

5 (pick125) Craig Roh, DE, Michigan

6( pick 150) Baker Steinkhuler, DT, Nebraska

7(pick 175) Rex Burkhead, RB, Nebraska

id like to think the first 3 picks would all be starters sometime in 2013, the rest would be quality depth.

feel free to rip it apart.

I'm optimistic that this year's D could be much better than last year's, and here's why:

1. The sophomore slump for Suh is over - I think he will re-establish himself as an All-Pro DT

2. Cliff Avril will continue his progression and become a super star DE

3. The depth the Lions have created thru this year's draft will prove to be a winning combination at CB - look for Berry to be very good, Lacey to be better than Wright, and Bentley to be a big contributor. Green and Greenwood will also make their presence known and show they have great long term potential

4. Delmas and Spievey with Coleman and a yet to be identified player will really shore up the secondary this year

5. Durant, Tullock, and Levy will show that playing a year together makes them even better than last, and Hogue, Lewis, Lewis, and Whitehead prove valuable additions to this squad

6. Willie Young, Nick Fairley, Everette Brown, Lawrence Jackson, and Sammie Hill progress well and show they can be real difference makers at times

7. Kyle Vanden Bosch and Corey Williams are steady and strong as time tested and proven veterans

8. I also think Chris Houston, playing in a contract year, will have a super year

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/cris-carter-said-put-bounties-defensive-players-played-133810265.html;_ylt=Au0jN5hocU2vdbkXnh1VWU05nYcB This reeks of desperation for attention. The guy tries so hard to make headlines because deep down inside he knows that he's about as forgettable a player as there ever was. He hasn't been voted into the Hall of Fame and probably won't any time soon, so he wants to make sure everybody still knows he exists. During his career, he was at best a good #2 reciever. Did he have 1000 career catches? Sure, but that was a product of playing consistently at an above average rate for a long period of time without injury. He's essentially the WR equivalent to Jeff Backus.

Stafford - 4600 Passing Yards 63% 37 TDs 16 INTs 125 Rush Yards 2 TDs

Hill - 600 Passsing Yard 64% 3 TDs 2 INTs

Leshoure - 875 Rush Yards 7 Rush TDs... 28 Rec 250 Rec Yards 1 Rec TD

Best - 450 Rush Yards 3 TDs..... 45 Rec 400 Red Yards 3 Rec TDs

K. Smith - 320 Rush Yards 5 TDs..... 15 Rec 120 Rec Yds

C.Johnson - 85 Rec 1400 14 TDs

Young - 65 Rec 800 7 TDs

Burleson - 40 Rec 500 6 TDs

Broyles - 55 Rec 650 4 TDs

Pettigrew - 70 Rec 650 Yds 5 TDs

Sheffler - 35 Red 250 Yds 5 TDs

Suh - 50 Tackles 9 Sacks 4 FF 1 INT

Fairley- 35 Tackles 6 Sacks 2 FF

Avril - 35 Tackles 12 Sack 4 FF 1 INT

KVB - 40 Tackles 4 Sacks 2 FF

C. Williams - 25 Tackles 4 Sacks

SLH - 20 Tackles 3 Sacks

Lojack - 20 Tackles 4 Sacks

Sweet Willie Young - 15 Tackels 3 Sacks

Houston - 60 Tackles 4 INTs 1 TD

Berry - 45 Tackles 6 INTs 1 TD

Bently - 30 Tackles 2 INTs

Lacey - 40 Tackels 2 INTs

Delmas - 70 Tackles 2 Sacks 1 INT 2 FF 1 TD

Spievey - 85 Tackles 1 INT

• Week 1, Rams at Lions - 45-15 lions
• Week 2, Lions at 49ers - 25-15 Lions/49ers 50/50 either team can win it
• Week 3, Lions at Titans- 35-10 Lions
• Week 4, Vikings at Lions, 36-14 Lions
• Week 5, BYE
• Week 6, Lions at Eagles, 28-24, Eagles
• Week 7, Lions at SHITCAGO, 33-18 , Lions, lions were injured plagued last year with injuries to stafford and best
• Week 8, Seahawks at Lions, Lions
• Week 9, Lions at Jags, Lions
• Week 10, Lions at Vikings, 28-10 Lions
• Week 11 Packers at Lions, 33-30 Lions
• Week 12 Texans at Lions, 24-20 Lions
• Week 13, Colts at Lions, 55-3, remember the beating saints gave to colts last year
• Week 14 Lions at Packers, 19-21 , packers
• Week 15 Lions at Cards, 42-18 , lions
• Week 16 Lions at Falcons, 32-28, lions
• Week 17, Bears at Lions, 24-21 lions

We are looking at wins anywhere from 11-5 to 13-3, I'd like to say we end up 12-4 .
Thoughs ??

Okay now you guys are probably going whiskey tango foxtrot is this rookie Allocation number. Well here is the jest the NFL sets the amount of money a team can sign all of their draft picks along with the signing bonus for undrafted free agents. They have two numbers teams have to deal with however the main number to deal with is the 1st year allocation number. That number for the Lions is 4,838,811 with 8 draft picks and the 50,000 dollars for the UDFAs. Now lets take a peak further into the numbers.

All eight draft picks will cost us 3,120,000 in base salaries. Subtract that and the 50,000 for the UDFAs and we get 1,668,811 for signing bonus money for the 1st year which we can also times it by 4 and get the total signing bonus money we can give out which just happens to be 6,675,244. I would like to see what our total rookie allocation dollars are however that number so far has not been found by me. I am looking for it as it provides how much additional compensation our 1st and 2nd rounder will get in years 2, 3, and 4. In any case enjoy the fast pace of rookie signings now. BTW for a list of all of the numbers here is the link I used, All 32 teams numbers.