Watch out: Lions slowly building depth across the board

[cruzer1]

ProFootballWeekly.com Watch out: Lions slowly building depth across the board

Watch out: Lions slowly building depth across the board

Posted June 29, 2009 @ 1:07 p.m.
Updated June 29, 2009 @ 1:37 p.m.
By Eric Edholm

It's easy to dismiss the Lions' trade of Gerald Alexander for Dennis Northcutt as a minor deal, but they are slowly building depth on a team that seriously lacked it last season.

Northcutt will battle for the slot position and can return punts. Both spots needed depth. Now you have Northcutt competing with rookie Derrick Williams, Ronald Curry and others for the third and fourth WR spots, and Northcutt, Williams, Aveion Cason and rookie Aaron Brown could be your returners.

Look at the variety of moves they have made this offseason:

* Swapped CBs Leigh Bodden and Travis Fisher for Anthony Henry, Phillip Buchanon and Eric King. That's an improvement.
* Exchanged Dan Campbell and Michael Gaines for Brandon Pettigrew, Will Heller and Dan Gronkowski. Upgrade.
* Special teams should be better with the additions of the return guys we mentioned, professional coverage guys such as Cody Spencer, King and Terrelle Smith.
* There's more depth on the offensive line with Jon Jansen, Daniel Loper, Toniu Fonoti, Dylan Gandy, Kirk Barton and Lydon Murtha. None are great, but again, they add depth and competition.
* Made a big improvement by ditching Mike Furrey and signing Bryant Johnson and Curry, drafting Williams and trading for Northcutt.
* Of course, at quarterback, you now have Matthew Stafford competing for a starting spot. The Lions played five different quarterbacks in 2008. They hope that number is two this season: Stafford and Daunte Culpepper.
* And without question, the position they improved the most was at linebacker, also easily the worst position on the field in '08. Larry Foote, Julian Peterson, DeAndre Levy and Cody Spencer could make up four of their top five linebackers along with Ernie Sims. Huge improvement over last year's lot.

Lots of depth. It's a big upgrade. The easiest bet in Vegas is that the Lions will win at least 3-4 games this season, even though it might take them a few weeks to get on track.

The one position I would like to see more help is at defensive tackle. They might have to wait until next offseason to get any real assistance there, but it would not surprise me at all if they scour the wires -- as they have done all season, with the first crack at unvested veterans -- to add a D-tackle to their rotation.

Very intriguing team down the road, these Lions.

[thewave84]

I'm sorry but I had to laugh at the "watch out". Sure, the Lions might have improved a little over last year but I don't think anyone is afraid of them.

[Deleterious]

Is this a warning to area high school teams?

[Todd]

watch out they might win a game!!!

[DTroppens]

It's good that there may be improvements, but I do want to address this a tiny bit with a small qualifier. They are improving off the worst team in NFL history. Really, they had nothing to do than improve their starters, improve their depth and improve on the direction that this franchise is headed.

So while it's nice they are improving based on some articles, let's remember that they should've never been in the depths that they were. And improving from flat out awful to reasonably respectable is the "easy" part. It's what you can do after getting reasonably respectable that will judge you as a franchise.

Probably the best aspect of all the changes is just getting rid of as many of the players that made 0-16 possible. The sooner you get rid of as many people that helped create that losing culture, the better from a mental standpoint. It's not like they were bringing something physically to the team that made it better and on top of that they have the bad mental baggage they bring. Cleaning house from as many of these players as possible is a general good situation.

[keystone]

One DT who may be available is Glen Dorsey. With KC going to the 3-4, Dorsey is being switched to RDE. If he doesn't fit there he may become available. The Lions actually have competition at RDE with White & Avril. Maybe something could be worked out.

[Euphdude]

They have nowhere to go but up -- anything they do now is an improvement over last year. This added depth will result in 3-4 wins instead of 0.

[MAROTH4MVP]

According to this article the Lions have "lots of depth".

Sure they have lots of new players but most of them aren't very good.

[Porcelain God]

Dorsey would be nice but he's just a year removed from being a top ten pick. Cost probably way too high. Nice to have a slice of cornbread with lunch.

[moonwatcher]

How could they possibly not have improved from last year?

This article is a monkey playing with a jack-in-the-box.

[djhutch]

[belcherboy]

Originally Posted by thewave84

I'm sorry but I had to laugh at the "watch out". Sure, the Lions might have improved a little over last year but I don't think anyone is afraid of them.

I do hope they do better this year (they can't do worse), but I too don't understand the "watch out". Really, are any of the NFL writers thinking the Lion are on anyone's radar right now? I don't think 5 wins is out of the question, and I can't believe many, if any, experts are going to pick them to win more than 5 games.

[84 Lives!!!]

Originally Posted by belcherboy

I do hope they do better this year (they can't do worse), but I too don't understand the "watch out". Really, are any of the NFL writers thinking the Lion are on anyone's radar right now? I don't think 5 wins is out of the question, and I can't believe many, if any, experts are going to pick them to win more than 5 games.

And... 5 wins doesn't exactly scream "watch out" either. I agree, an odd comment attached to the Lions.

And... I'll take the 3-5 wins, for now, too.

[lesgoblu02]

I think the "watch out" is more of a warning to other NFL teams that a Sunday vs. the Lions may not be a guaranteed W anymore.

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

Originally Posted by lesgoblu02

I think the "watch out" is more of a warning to other NFL teams that a Sunday vs. the Lions may not be a guaranteed W anymore.

I thought it meant:

'Watch out - avert your eyes - staring directly into the Lions can cause blindness and insanty'

[djhutch]

The last 2 teams that went 1-15 made the playoffs the next year. I think that's what the "watch out" is for.

[kajoreh]

they got to write something...nobody buys mags to hear this team sucks and has no chance so you should stay home, don't watch, and go spend your money on another product instead...

now on to the idea behind the article...they do appear "on paper" to have a deeper, slightly more talented group of players...who have so far shown a "desire" to improve on the embarassment that was last year...that is what he wrote...if this is all just fluff will be proven on the field this fall...not until then...

and defensive line would also be the area that probably could be made deeper...other than grady they are working with last years pieces...just rearranging and reworking them into a new scheme...but the budget will only allow what it will allow...realistically, the amount that they were able to turn over in a single season has been relatively impressive...

will it translate to wins and losses?...dunno yet...but it's is not the same "team"...they kept the best few they could identify...started cutting the worst...and are meeting somewhere in the middle...and that's a start...the key here is, and has always been, the ability to identify talent...

so please lord, let these guys be better than the guys who have been doing it so far for this team in my lifetime...just once...

[Shinzaki]

Fine...the article points out the position by position improvements that have been made (this team has seen more upgrades duringMayhew'sone offseason than it did under Millen's entire tenure) but people want to **** on them because they were so terrible with different players under a different coach and GM.

Frankly...I don't get this. And please, spare me the whining abnout the team's historic futility. I've been a fan since 1970...I've seen more crappy professional football than any five people should have to watch. I don't give a crap about last year...last decade or the last millenium. I look at the direction the team is taking now and I can''t help but be excited about the future!!!

[belcherboy]

Originally Posted by Shinzaki

Fine...the article points out the position by position improvements that have been made (this team has seen more upgrades duringMayhew'sone offseason than it did under Millen's entire tenure) but people want to **** on them because they were so terrible with different players under a different coach and GM.

Frankly...I don't get this. And please, spare me the whining abnout the team's historic futility. I've been a fan since 1970...I've seen more crappy professional football than any five people should have to watch. I don't give a crap about last year...last decade or the last millenium. I look at the direction the team is taking now and I can''t help but be excited about the future!!!

You honestly "don't get" why people are skeptical? They have a different coach and GM for sure. The GM served under that last Lion's GM, and was rewarded with a promotion after the worst season in NFL history. They also have the 4th coach in the past 8 seasons.

Again, I hope for the best, but what I "don't get" is how some on here feel like there is something wrong with those who look at the past and have formed a negative opinion about this team.

[number20]

They'll win NFL most improved team of the year with their 2-14 record. Watch out

[djhutch]

Originally Posted by kajoreh

they got to write something...nobody buys mags to hear this team sucks and has no chance so you should stay home, don't watch, and go spend your money on another product instead...

now on to the idea behind the article...they do appear "on paper" to have a deeper, slightly more talented group of players...who have so far shown a "desire" to improve on the embarassment that was last year...that is what he wrote...if this is all just fluff will be proven on the field this fall...not until then...

and defensive line would also be the area that probably could be made deeper...other than grady they are working with last years pieces...just rearranging and reworking them into a new scheme...but the budget will only allow what it will allow...realistically, the amount that they were able to turn over in a single season has been relatively impressive...

will it translate to wins and losses?...dunno yet...but it's is not the same "team"...they kept the best few they could identify...started cutting the worst...and are meeting somewhere in the middle...and that's a start...the key here is, and has always been, the ability to identify talent...

so please lord, let these guys be better than the guys who have been doing it so far for this team in my lifetime...just once...

Originally Posted by Shinzaki

Fine...the article points out the position by position improvements that have been made (this team has seen more upgrades duringMayhew'sone offseason than it did under Millen's entire tenure) but people want to **** on them because they were so terrible with different players under a different coach and GM.

Frankly...I don't get this. And please, spare me the whining abnout the team's historic futility. I've been a fan since 1970...I've seen more crappy professional football than any five people should have to watch. I don't give a crap about last year...last decade or the last millenium. I look at the direction the team is taking now and I can''t help but be excited about the future!!!

Originally Posted by belcherboy

You honestly "don't get" why people are skeptical? They have a different coach and GM for sure. The GM served under that last Lion's GM, and was rewarded with a promotion after the worst season in NFL history. They also have the 4th coach in the past 8 seasons.

Again, I hope for the best, but what I "don't get" is how some on here feel like there is something wrong with those who look at the past and have formed a negative opinion about this team.

It seems to be more than just a "negative opinion" based on the team's history. Maybe it's just a bandwagon thing - putting them down is en vogue right now (0-16 will do that to ya). But a lot of the complaining seems more than "I'll believe it when I see it" or "I'm skeptical." A lot of it is pure hatred. It's the constant whining about Matt Millen, a change is made, & they still whine about him. It's over. The record speaks for itself. Let's move on.

[belcherboy]

Originally Posted by djhutch

It seems to be more than just a "negative opinion" based on the team's history. Maybe it's just a bandwagon thing - putting them down is en vogue right now (0-16 will do that to ya). But a lot of the complaining seems more than "I'll believe it when I see it" or "I'm skeptical." A lot of it is pure hatred. It's the constant whining about Matt Millen, a change is made, & they still whine about him. It's over. The record speaks for itself. Let's move on.

That's a fair assessment. I don't want to come off as having "pure hatred", because of all the sports I would like to see succeed in Detroit, it is the Lions. The problem I have is that we have been the WORST franchise over the past decade. I'm not sure there is any other team even close to how bad we have been, the past 10 years, in the history of the NFL. I get frustrated when a guy like Parcells tells us he is interested in coming to Detroit, and we choose a guy from inside the organization of the worst team in NFL history. I also get frustrated when most the critics give the Lions high draft grades over the past 7-8 years, only to see us have a winless season. That tells me we needed a complete change, and I'm not sure we got that. I do wish the best for Mayhew, and would LOVE to be wrong, but I am skeptical. Hopefully Schwartz develops players better than our other coaches, and creates a system that can turn us into a playoff contender.

Personally, I don't think anyone who is critical of the Detroit Lions right now should be criticized for their opinion, or considered to be Lion haters. I feel like the Lions organization has earned nothing but criticism. I actually feel like criticizing those who are optimistic about their future, because I was that guy the last 10 years, but am trying hard not to do that. I have now become the guy who gets tired of hearing how much improved the Lions will be this year. I'll believe it when it happens, and praise them then. Until then, I believe most these reports are simply a way of selling a bad team to skeptical fans.

I am excited for the NFL season, and hope I'm not giving up on the Lions by mid October again this year!

[djhutch]

Originally Posted by belcherboy

That's a fair assessment. I don't want to come off as having "pure hatred", because of all the sports I would like to see succeed in Detroit, it is the Lions. The problem I have is that we have been the WORST franchise over the past decade. I'm not sure there is any other team even close to how bad we have been, the past 10 years, in the history of the NFL. I get frustrated when a guy like Parcells tells us he is interested in coming to Detroit, and we choose a guy from inside the organization of the worst team in NFL history. I also get frustrated when most the critics give the Lions high draft grades over the past 7-8 years, only to see us have a winless season. That tells me we needed a complete change, and I'm not sure we got that. I do wish the best for Mayhew, and would LOVE to be wrong, but I am skeptical. Hopefully Schwartz develops players better than our other coaches, and creates a system that can turn us into a playoff contender.

Personally, I don't think anyone who is critical of the Detroit Lions right now should be criticized for their opinion, or considered to be Lion haters. I feel like the Lions organization has earned nothing but criticism. I actually feel like criticizing those who are optimistic about their future, because I was that guy the last 10 years, but am trying hard not to do that. I have now become the guy who gets tired of hearing how much improved the Lions will be this year. I'll believe it when it happens, and praise them then. Until then, I believe most these reports are simply a way of selling a bad team to skeptical fans.

I am excited for the NFL season, and hope I'm not giving up on the Lions by mid October again this year!

I wasn't pointing you out specifically when I said "pure hatred", & I can completely understand being skeptical of the new regime, given Mayhew's previous ties to the organization - but I'm trying to judge him based on what he does, not what his predecessor did.

I bought into the Millen regime from the get go. I was behind getting rid of the players he got rid of, Herman Moore/Johnny Morton, et al. I bought into the draft choices, with the exception of Charles Rogers, and even went so far as to say the Lions would win a Super Bowl under Matt Millen. Nobody was drinking the Kool-Aid more than I was. I could not have been more wrong, but it just gets old every time the organization makes a roster decision hearing about how bad they are, how bad they've been, how bad they'll be. I get it. I just want to judge them based on what happens on the field, not before.

[Jason_R]

Originally Posted by djhutch

...it just gets old every time the organization makes a roster decision hearing about how bad they are, how bad they've been, how bad they'll be. I get it. I just want to judge them based on what happens on the field, not before.

What he said.

Other than the poorly chosen headline, the article made good points about the team's depth. In particular, the LB corps and the secondary are completely remade, and there is reason to expect that the QB play will be much improved. This is a much different team than last year's team. (And I don't think it makes sense to try to project their record this year based on their record last year, any more than it does to say you don't think your car will run even though you got a new transmission and had the engine overhauled.)

We also finally have a Head Coach, as opposed to a positional coach who handled head coaching responsibilities. We appear to have at least a competent front office, as opposed to a jock and blowhard who made impulsive decisions based, apparently, solely on the smell of testosterone. This is a much different management.

The constant is WCF, of course, and I'm more than happy to join with others in bashing his mismanagement of the franchise. I think the team and the management deserve to be evaluated on their own performance.

[mtutiger]

Originally Posted by djhutch

The last 2 teams that went 1-15 made the playoffs the next year. I think that's what the "watch out" is for.

Were the Lions 1-15 last year?

[djhutch]

Originally Posted by mtutiger

Were the Lions 1-15 last year?

It's 1 game difference. 1 game.

[cruzer1]

Originally Posted by djhutch

It's 1 game difference. 1 game.

1 point...a safety.

[sagnam]

Originally Posted by djhutch

It's 1 game difference. 1 game.

If that's the case, then how did the last few 2-14 teams do the next season? Watch out for St Louis and KC!

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

Originally Posted by djhutch

I wasn't pointing you out specifically when I said "pure hatred", & I can completely understand being skeptical of the new regime, given Mayhew's previous ties to the organization - but I'm trying to judge him based on what he does, not what his predecessor did.

I bought into the Millen regime from the get go. I was behind getting rid of the players he got rid of, Herman Moore/Johnny Morton, et al. I bought into the draft choices, with the exception of Charles Rogers, and even went so far as to say the Lions would win a Super Bowl under Matt Millen. Nobody was drinking the Kool-Aid more than I was. I could not have been more wrong, but it just gets old every time the organization makes a roster decision hearing about how bad they are, how bad they've been, how bad they'll be. I get it. I just want to judge them based on what happens on the field, not before.

The Lions have been a historically horrible team over a long period of time. It might get tiresome to hear how bad the Lions are, but if ever a team earned skepticism from its fan base, this is the team. I frankly don't see how one can be surprised or disappointed if another is either critical or skeptical at this point.

[djhutch]

Originally Posted by Mr. Bigglesworth

The Lions have been a historically horrible team over a long period of time. It might get tiresome to hear how bad the Lions are, but if ever a team earned skepticism from its fan base, this is the team. I frankly don't see how one can be surprised or disappointed if another is either critical or skeptical at this point.

I'm not surprised or disappointed that anyone is critical or skeptical. I guess I'm just trying to embrace a fresh start with a new regime.

[slfairless]

I like what they have done so far. The team was terrible and someone needed to tear it down and rebuild from the ground up, which is just about what they have done. Only time will tell whether the moves will pay off or if they have done enough to have a good season.

[cruzer1]

From Ross Tucker (SI) via Twitter...

Ross Tucker (SI_RossTucker) on Twitter

# Thornton said Detroit wanted him to gain 20 pounds. He also said the Bengals offered him a contract as well but he may elect to retire.about 1 hour ago from web

#
Free Agent DT John Thornton said he had come to a verbal agreement with the Lions but backed out because he wasn't comfortable with deal.

[jonjd]

I started thinking about the Lions today and I came to a few conclusions. First, both our offensive and defensive lines look atrocious. Is it assumed that both Cook and Peterman will start at left and right guard respectively? That needs to change if it's the case. Easier said, I know. Our defensive line is equally bad. I just don't know what to expect out of Jackson and Darby in the middle, but it's without a doubt a step down from last year, which was also brutal.

The good? I love our LB corps and think that they'll be able to steal a game or two by themselves. Our secondary has improved and hopefully will develop an identity on their own. I think Delmas will develop into a solid SS and one of the better one's we've seen for a long time. Another thing I like is the depth we've built at WR. B. Johnson has always impressed me as has Curry. Both have good hands and capable speed. Both great compiments to Calvin.

What do you like? What don't you like?

[GuitarGod19]

Originally Posted by jonjd

I started thinking about the Lions today and I came to a few conclusions. First, both our offensive and defensive lines look atrocious. Is it assumed that both Cook and Peterman will start at left and right guard respectively? That needs to change if it's the case.

Loper will most likely start at LG

Easier said, I know. Our defensive line is equally bad. I just don't know what to expect out of Jackson and Darby in the middle, but it's without a doubt a step down from last year, which was also brutal.

A lot of youth on the line...could be good...could be bad, we really don't know

The good? I love our LB corps and think that they'll be able to steal a game or two by themselves. Our secondary has improved and hopefully will develop an identity on their own.

Improved? I think Bodden is better than Buchannon...and Henry is probably too slow to still play CB...don't know if I'd say improved.

I think Delmas will develop into a solid SS and one of the better one's we've seen for a long time.

Except he's playing FS...

Another thing I like is the depth we've built at WR. B. Johnson has always impressed me as has Curry. Both have good hands and capable speed. Both great compiments to Calvin.

I don't like Curry...Johnson has had a rough career, being in the shadow of Fitz and the blow up of Boldin and then he was in SF with all the QB drama and that huge playbook...he's a wild card for us. Don't really know what to expect from him. I think Curry will be fighting to make the roster personally...with the Northcutt trade and Williams being drafted in the 3rd...

What do you like? What don't you like?

I like the offense...a lot...if our line plays together I think we have a real good chance of at least staying in games instead of being blown out of them.

D-Line scares the crap out of me. I'm so happy that next year is DEEP there. Should be a good year for OT too if Backus plays just average I don't see us keeping him around at his cost.

[Chopper]

Lions will be the most improved 0-16 in the history of football. Book it!