Wednesday Notes: Training Camp Eve Edition
by Sean Yuille
on Jul 23, 2008 2:55 AM EDT
in Notes
- Lions players report to Allen Park today to signal the beginning of training camp. It doesn't officially start until tomorrow morning when the Lions have their first practice, but to compare it to Christmas, the presents are under the tree waiting to be unwrapped. Once the pads start popping, we'll know football is finally back.
- Four players may start training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Those players are tight end Dan Campbell, linebacker Ernie Sims, safety Daniel Bullocks, and wide receiver Shaun McDonald, who are all dealing with injuries.
The reason for a player being on the PUP list is because he doesn't count against the active roster. If he's injured and can't practice, then the Lions (or any team) can use his absence as a way to bring in another player to occupy the void. Once the player is healthy enough to get back on the football field, he is simply taken off the PUP list and that's that. The whole deal with the PUP list gets much more complicated once the season rolls around as the rules change a bit, but for now we won't worry about that. - The Lions will not sign a fourth quarterback for training camp. Why? Well, Lions coaches want Dan Orlovsky and Drew Stanton to get as many reps as possible, and Detroit wants to fill up roster spots at other positions.
- Mike O'Hara took a look at some issues the Lions will face when training camp begins. The last one he mentioned is that Detroit is having trouble selling tickets, meaning that blackouts are a real possibility for home games this season. There were a few home games last year that were nearly blacked out, but the Lions always ended up getting all of their tickets sold one way or another. This year, though, could prove to be much different as it is already evident that tickets aren't selling.
If the Lions don't have a sellout at some point this season, not only would it mean that the game would be blacked out locally, but it would be the first non-sellout since Ford Field opened in 2002. Maybe that will send a message to William Clay Ford that it's time for some changes. - Dan Orlovsky is ready to battle Drew Stanton for the right to be Jon Kitna's backup.
- Yahoo! Sports' Michael Silver ranked all 32 NFL owners, and William Clay Ford came in at 24th. That is way, way too high as WCF is one of the worst owners in the league. I mean, seriously, the man has kept Matt Millen around for this long. He should be near the bottom of this list if not at the very bottom.
- The Sporting News continued to rank NFL players based on position, and the latest list was for defensive backs. Leigh Bodden, a corner the Lions acquired in the Shaun Rogers deal, was 18th on the list.
- Former Lion Lomas Brown is excited to work with rookie offensive tackle Gosder Cherilus during training camp.
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Monday Notes: According to Madden 09, Smith > Bell
by Sean Yuille
on Jun 2, 2008 2:08 AM EDT
in Notes
- ESPN's John Clayton took a look at what teams would be fine and what teams would struggle in the event of an uncapped year in 2010. That will only happen if a new CBA isn't agreed to by then, but it is a realistic possibility. According to Clayton, the Lions would be one of five teams that would have "concerns" should an uncapped year become a reality.
Teams with older starting quarterbacks could be in trouble in the next couple of years because no top quarterback will hit the free-agent market. Jon Kitna will be 37 and unsigned in 2010 and the Lions have done very little to find their long-term starter. Drew Stanton is the best hope for the future.
Even if there isn't an uncapped year Detroit will be in trouble if they don't start planning ahead. Nobody knows how much longer Kitna will be a starter, and even beyond that, nobody knows how much longer he should be a starter. At the same time, Drew Stanton has never taken a snap in this league before, leaving a countless number of question marks around him. My opinion on Stanton has been made many times before, and it is that he isn't an NFL-caliber starting QB. That leaves the Lions without a starter, and if they want to even think about being decent in the coming years, some planning will have to go on.
Getting back to Clayton's article really quickly, he goes on to talk about how many of the Lions' current starters will have their contracts expire in the near future. It is scary to think about, but Detroit could have trouble finding a decent starting lineup if they lost all of the players mentioned. - According to the Detroit Free Press, Roy Williams, Ernie Sims, George Foster, Artose Pinner, and Tatum Bell were not at a voluntary OTA last Thursday. Why? I have no idea. Rod Marinelli said "he knew where everyone was," so I'm not too concerned.
- Rookie Army linebacker Caleb Campbell has been greatly (and in my opinion unfairly) criticized for his decision to try and make it in the NFL.
- Running back Kevin Smith, a rookie out of Central Florida, is already impressing Rod Marinelli. He seems to have a great attitude and solid work ethic, which are two things Marinelli values very much. I believe he will be the starter fairly early on next season as he seems to have so much more potential than Tatum Bell or any other RB on the Lions roster.
- Madden 09 seems to agree with that assessment of the Lions running back situation as Smith is rated a 79 and Bell is only a 78. That is fairly accurate I guess. What's not, though, is Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson being rated a 92. On top of that, Shaun McDonald got an 87 and Brian Calhoun a 95 as the third-down running back. The defense isn't too bad as Ernie Sims got a 94. Then again, they gave Chuck Darby an 83, weakening the credibility of the ratings even more.
- MLive's Philip Zaroo interviewed former Lion Lomas Brown.
- Former Lions bust Charles Rogers was supposed to make an attempt at resurrecting his football career in the CFL, but as of right now he still is unemployed. He verbally agreed to a contract with the team in Montreal a few weeks back, making most assume he was getting ready to head north of the border. For some reason, though, in true Charles Rogers form, he hasn't sent the contract back yet and his representatives haven't returned phone calls from the team. That sounds about right for someone like Rogers.
- Speaking of former Lions busts, Mike Williams finally may be getting serious about losing weight. Maybe he just needed a change of scenery. And no, his stint in Oakland doesn't count.
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Thursday Notes: Campbell Returns from West Point
by Sean Yuille
on May 22, 2008 5:31 PM EDT
in Notes
- Though he is still learning, quarterback Drew Stanton showed some signs that he was reverting back to his old habits during yesterday's minicamp practice.
- Ernie Sims had to have offseason surgery to repair an injured shoulder. He didn't divulge too many details, but did say that he played with it "probably about half the season."
- Mike O'Hara posted some great notes on the practice in his Lions' blog.
- Caleb Campbell finished exams at Army on Tuesday and then got on the football field for practice on Wednesday.
- Slot receivers Shaun McDonald and Mike Furrey both had breakout seasons when playing in the Mike Martz offense these last two seasons. Since the Martz offense uses slot receivers so much, it should come as no surprise that both did so well. Now that the Lions are shifting their focus to running the ball more, though, one has to wonder what happens to guys like McDonald and Furrey. Although there were trade rumors involving McDonald possibly being shipped to San Francisco to join Martz, nothing ever really materialized.
When asked about his role in the new offense, McDonald did say that he doesn't expect to be used as much anymore. Colletto basically said the same thing as he mentioned that their numbers likely will diminish in 2008. - IGN went hands-on with Madden 09, and I have to say, this year's game looks like it is going to be amazing. The look inside the stadium is greatly improved, there are new features and a better atmosphere, and there are actually good announcers this year. Although the game doesn't hit stores until mid-August, the anticipation already is building.
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