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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Monday Notes: Mandatory Minicamp Begins Tomorrow
by Sean Yuille
on May 19, 2008 2:13 PM EDT
in Notes
- Detroit will open a three-day long mandatory minicamp tomorrow, giving rookies their first shot at lining up against the veterans, and Kevin Smith is excited.
- Speaking of that minicamp, Army linebacker Caleb Campbell will not miss it as he was able to reschedule his final exams to get them done early. It was originally thought that he would be busy with school, but he will be in Allen Park later tomorrow. Ohio defensive tackle Landon Cohen, on the other hand, will be absent as he is finishing up school.
- The Lions are ranked 29th in ESPN's first power rankings for the 2008 season.
- An undrafted free agent from East Carolina got into a fight with third-round pick Cliff Avril during the rookie minicamp two weekends ago.
- Tatum Bell is coming into the offseason program weighing 213 pounds.
- Barry Sanders unsurprisingly made a list of the top five athletes to retire early.
- Mike Williams recently talked about how the year away from football before joining the Lions hurt his career so much. You think Matt Millen would have seen that before wasting a first-round pick on him.
- The Patriots hosted running back Kevin Jones for a visit. Jones still hasn't signed with a team since being released by the Lions in March.
- The Texans recently put together a video and an article about the zone blocking scheme. What does this have to do with the Lions? Well, Detroit is switching to a zone blocking scheme this season, so it may be good to read up and learn about the philosophy.
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