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So for the first time in a long time, the annual ‘offseason moves’ speculation has come late. For good reason too. The Lions were in the playoffs, and for once, no one was looking towards next year as another year the Lions get a chance to improve. This offseason is going to be much different from the ones the past few years. The Lions have some holes, but nothing like what they were looking at in years past. This year, the Lions don’t have to jump into free agency both feet first, and look to solidify a lot of starting positions.
While I am not completely sure of the Lions cap situation, I am sure of two things. Extending Calvin Johnson will reduce his cap number. Franchising Cliff Avril won’t be as big of a hit to the cap figure as years past, with the new CBA rules in place. When it comes to the Lions pending free agents, there are a few I would bring back as starters, and a few I would bring back for excellent depth. Bringing back Cliff Avril and Stephen Tulloch are musts. After extending Calvin Johnson to get some cap relief, bringing back two impact players on the defense has to be the next goal. After that, I look to bring back Eric Wright, Shaun Hill, Andre Fluellen, Sammie Lee Hill, Corey Hilliard, Stefan Logan, Don Muhlback, Bobby Carpenter, and Kevin Smith.
I would target VandenBosch to rework his deal. He's getting old, and I'm not sure you couldn't find a better left defensive end to groom through the draft (see Willie Young.) Stephen Peterman and Gosder Cherilus would get cut. I would try to bring back Jeff Backus for 2 more years, if possible. The goal here is to keep some stability on the offensive line, but allow a rookie tackle to grow into the starting left tackle.
Here's the trick to free agency this year; free agency should be about depth, and the draft should be the starters. None of these guys I am about to mention would command high dollar money, but would alleviate some of the depth issues, and help on ST in the worst case scenario. While guys like Carl Nicks and Ben Grubbs are tempting, I would rather target guys like:
FB Le'Ron McClain
FB Mike Tolbert
HB Tim Hightower
Guys like McClain and Tolbert can play FB, but if injuries hit the RB slot again, they are both powerful runners, and can carry the load of a full time back if needed. Hightower can be nice depth too (not sure about playin FB.) You don't really know how Leshoure is going to be after his injury, and Best, AT BEST, would be a 50/50 shot to finish the year (concussions HAS to be a concern.) The Lions need a better back up RB then Mo Morris and Keiland Williams. I would bring back Kevin Smith, but in the limited time with the Lions this year, he has been banged up too. It's not like you can place all of your trust in him. I think the reason you target a strong inside runner, is so that when you run a draw play, or you spread teams out with the four wide receiver set ups, a bigger back can run through the middle, break na arm tackle, and net you some good yardage.
OT Jared Gaither
OT Vernon Carey
OT Khalif Barnes
Jared Gaither, Vernon Carey, and Khalif Barnes, as the worst possible scenario, are good depth for the offensive line at the tackle position. The best case scenario is that they become starters at right tackle. All would be an improvement over Gosder Cherilus. Maybe not long time solutions, but in the short term would come kind of cheap, and be an upgrade.
S Chris Hope
S Gerald Sensabaugh
S Bob Sanders
S Jim Leonhard
S Tom Zbikowski
The safeties are much like the offensive lineman. The worst case scenario is that they prove solid depth. Best case scenario is that they replace Amari Spievey as the starter. Again, maybe not long time solutions, but in the short term will not command a lot of money, and would still be an improvement if they start.
CB Terrell Thomas
CB Tracy Porter
CB Aaron Ross
I like Eric Wright, but he has not been super dependable this year. He is by no means a weakness, but he’s not a strength either. Guys like Terrell Thomas and Tracy Porter could push him for a starting spot, and Porter, Thomas or Wright would be nice as a nickel corner either way. The question is, how has Terrell Thomas’s rehab been going? He was a solid corner for the Giants before his preseason ACL tear. Porter has durability issues, but would those concerns stick if he takes a dip in playing time as a nickel back? Aaron Ross provides depth, and would be a solid nickel or dime player. After seeing how Alphonso Smith reacted to Gunther Cunningham against the Packers in week seventeen, you have to wonder if his place on the team is secure. While Aaron Berry has looked good this year, and shows some pretty steady improvement, adding a good veteran to push him, or even back him up in the nickel and dime formations, would only strengthen the defense,
Goff and Groves are listed mainly for special teams help. Kirk Morrison is getting older, but would still be a good starter if injuries, Rocky McIntosh is in the same boat, Morrison has bounced around the last two years, and Rocky McIntosh is a bad fit as a 3-4 linebacker. Both would come cheap and improve the depth at linebacker.
When it comes to the draft, well, that's where it gets tricky. Draft positions are still up in the air when you get closer to the bottom, and it’s difficult to predict who will fall where. With the new rookie cap in place, there might be more positioning through trades then before. I think the Lions will go ’Best Player Available’ again, and that they would just hope that the best player available ends up being an OL, or a DB.
Guys like OL Cody Glenn, OL Peter Konz (who can play G or C,) OL Kevin Zeitler, OL Mike Adams, S Markelle Martin, CB Stephen Gilmore, CB Janoirs Jenkins all could be targets in the first.
In the second, guys like CB Chase Minnifield, OL Levy Adcock, OL Keleci Osemele, OL Lucas Nix could all be targets. Just don't be surprised if the Lions opt for guys like DL Bruce Irvin, DL Fletcher Cox, or a RB.
If I had my way, and for all intents and purposes in this article I do have my way, I’m signing as free agents FB Le’Ron McClain, OT Jared Gaither, S Chris Hope, CB Tracy Porter, and LB Rocky McIntosh. I think these group of guys have the best chance to come in and push for playing time (Porter and McIntosh) or flat out start (Gaither, Hope, McClain) for a relatively cheap cost. For the draft, I am looking right at Peter Konz in the first. That allows the Lions to start him at right guard, and slide him to center the following year to replace Raiola. Then in the second round, I would target Levy Adcock. Of everything progresses the way I hope they would, then I could move Konz to center in year two, Adcock to right guard in year two.
These moves would accomplish three things; make the offense even more powerful, make the defense more reliable, and not destroy the Lions salary cap figure. The biggest problems for the Lions this year was a glaringly weak running game (partly due to injuries) and sporadic play from the secondary. Half of the problems running the ball can be solved by adding better depth at running back (Le‘Ron McClain,) the other half is getting better offensive linemen (Jared Gaither, Peter Konz, Levy Adcock.) To fix the secondary, you only need a little more reliability, and guys like Chris Hope (who is familiar with the defensive scheme from Jim Schwartz’s time in Tennessee,) and Tracy Porter can both solve those problems. Look at the Lions offense this year, what if you had a corps of running backs that contributed a total of 1900 rushing yards? That marks puts them dead center at 15 overall in rushing offense. That makes the defense infinitely better, because now the Lions can chew the clock up, and convert short yardage downs without throwing the ball. How much better would the Lions defense be when they could pin their ears back and go, because opposing offenses are forced to become one dimensional? With a handful of moves in the offseason, the Lions could go from the sixth seed in the playoffs, to fighting for a top seed.
» Lions redzone Original- From Bad to Dirty
From Bad To Dirty: The Lions New Reputation Is Undeserved
By Ryan ‘K-Dawg’ Kohler http://www.LionsRedZone.com
November 28, 2011
All around the country, people are solidifying their thoughts about the Detroit Lions being dirty, zeroing in on Ndamakong Suh’s ejection on a bad judgment call from the ref. The stigma placed on the Lions used to be that they’re just not good enough to make plays, so they never got the benefit of the doubt, in any facet of the game or offseason maneuvers. Now the stigma placed on the Lions is that the only reason they have won games, and been doing well is because they were getting away with dirty and cheap shots earlier in the season. This isn’t going to be one of those ‘woe is me’ kind of articles, this is going to point out a bad stereotype being placed on the Detroit Lions.
First off, while I was driving home from my mom’s place from Thanksgiving dinner, I was listening to ESPN radio. Ryan Ruscillo was on there talking about how he doesn’t buy into Ndamakong Suh’s explanation of what happened. This isn’t the first time I have heard this, as when I had to run home to grab the wife and kid to come over for dinner, other announcers on ESPN were saying the same thing. Here’s the deal. They see what Suh did. Only what Suh did. They’re not looking at how Suh was held down by Evan Dietrich-Smith. They’re not seeing how Suh is getting shoved around as he is trying to get off the ground. They see Suh, clearly agitated over the last play getting abused, and getting flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, and are viewing a stomping ‘get off of me’ motion as a blatant kick looking to injure another opponent. Their biggest reason for making this case? ‘We all saw the replay.’ Yes, we did. But were you watching anything else that was going on? Clearly not, the mindset all season has been Ndamakong Suh is a dirty player. So people are starting to solidify their opinion of the guy, and ignoring anything else that could be involved with any particular incident. What I see when I see the replay is a guy who is pissed off he got a flag thrown on him (Suh,) when the guy who was blocking him literally tackled him to the ground, held him on the ground, while his teammates rush in to break up something that was started by their own teammate. Now you got Green Bay offensive lineman TJ Lang telling people Suh had a hold of Dietrich-Smith’s facemask, and was trying to twist it with intent to injure. Really? Check the replay. Dietrich-Smith has his arm wrapped around Suh in a Greco-Roman arm lock and refusing to let go. Suh has his hand on the back of Dietrich-Smith’s helmet trying to push himself off the ground, not grind Dietrich-Smith’s head into the ground. Where was the grasping of the facemask? The twisting around with intent to injure? It’s not there. Because TJ Lang said it, and he was close to the play, it’s considered Gospel. TJ Lang blatantly lying about the incident is the same as Roddy White, nowhere near Ndamakong Suh when Matt Ryan got hurt, saying that Suh was mocking Ryan for being hurt.
Of course the referees view the Lions in the same light as the rest of country. Why else would Clay Matthews get away with a roughing the passer penalty from his hit on Stafford, when a series later Kyle Vanden Bosch collides with Rodgers just barely after the ball is released, and is flagged for roughing the passer? Because Detroit is viewed in a negative light. If it’s not the ‘Lovable Loser’ label it’s the ‘Dirty’ label. Why can’t they be seen as a hard working team instead? Earlier in the game Ndamakong Suh was flagged for hands to the face. How many times did BJ Raji do the same thing from the nose position and not get flagged? How about when Cliff Avril forced a fumble on Aaron Rodgers? The only reason it was a forced fumble and not a sack is because Brian Bulaga had a handful of Cliff Avril’s right shoulder pads. No holding call. Why not? Because somehow, whatever Cliff Avril did to get past Brian Bulaga was probably dirty. No one should be able to speed rush past an offensive tackle like that, without committing a dirty play to do it! Please. This specific game was called in a specific way. Green Bay is known for being a good team, they are on a big winning streak, and Aaron Rodgers is one of the best quarterbacks in the league. It would be very bad publicity if the Detroit Dirty Lions beat the Green Bay Golden Boy Packers. The NFL does not reward dirty play at all, the referees follow that to a T and they make judgment calls from a biased perspective. Why else would everybody be raving about the Packers saying ‘that’s what they do’ when there were more plays involving Packer players tackling Detroit players by their heads, then vice versa?
I’m not going to sit here and say that the Detroit Lions play one of the cleanest games in the league. I am going to say, however, this ‘Dirty’ label is uncalled for. The city of Detroit has a bad reputation to begin with. The Detroit Lions have had a losing reputation for a long time. It’s very clear that now, when the Lions are trying to emerge as a good team, not an easy win any more, that they’re being called dirty because they shouldn’t be that good. They are the Detroit Lions. They went 0-16. There is no way they should be able to win more then 6 games in a season and be fighting for a playoff spot. The games are being called that way. The media is looking for specific plays, and calling out the Lions players, disregarding any other interaction from the other team that might have instigated the entire incident. How about pulling back and admitting that football is an emotional game, and people get emotional, and sometimes get carried away? It’s not like Ndamakong Suh is lining up over center on the first play of the game, pushing up the guy’s helmet and punching him in the throat. It’s not like Stephen Tulloch is cracking guys in the testicles every time he gets a tackle. It’s not like Dominic Raiola is gouging the defensive tackle’s eyes at the start of the game to get them to back off. There’s a difference between being dirty, and being stupid. Suh should have reigned himself in, absolutely. At the same time, he did not, at all, try to kick Evan Dietrich-Smith. Because it’s Suh, it’s the Detroit Dirty Lions, and it’s against Aaron Rodgers, it’s against the Green Bay Golden Boy Packers, it’s a blatant Chuck Norris style roundhouse kick to the face that deserved ejection. Roger Goodell would be wise to levy a fine against Dietrich-Smith for escalating a situation, a fine to Suh as a warning, and not suspend anyone.
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