In the wacky, nonsensical world of the NFL, the Lions allowing Dre Bly to seek a trade makes perfect sense. It would also make sense if they were to cut him. There are plenty of reasons. It’s the last year of his contract and he will count $5.4 million against the cap. He is getting older and is not the same player he used to be. He never has been the great player he acts like he is (remember his rant about Joey Harrington that was incredibly disruptive to the franchise when Steve Mariucci was fired). And he does his best work in man-to-man coverage and the Lions play mostly a zone. But to me, keeping Bly trumps all the above for one simple reason: He is the Lions best cornerback - and maybe their best player on defense. It does not matter what kind of coverage they are playing. There are some free agent cornerbacks available - Nate Clements, Asante Samuel, Nick Harper. But are any of those players actually better than Bly? And they would cost a lot on the open market. Filling that spot with a rookie from the draft would not be good. Oh, and please, spare us the Stanley Wilson and Keith Smith are so good lines. This is where the NFL - and the Lions in particular - are confusing. On one hand, they retain a number of veteran players as if they expect to win now. The most notable example of that is quarterback Jon Kitna. On the other, they are looking to move a solid player for cap reasons with no better alternative - as if they are rebuilding. The Lions of Matt Millen have constantly been in this state of flux. It points to a lack of a plan. Fine. Get rid of Dre Bly. But what is the option? The Lions never seem to have an answer for that one.

Random Thoughts

- Sometimes I want to scream when I hear, over and over, that Jeremy Bonderman’s main issue is developing a third pitch. It is not his main problem. First of all, Bonderman has thrown a changeup and a forkball in the past - and both are OK pitches. Not as good as his fastball and slider, but OK. Secondly, with his slider and fastball, it shouldn’t matter that much. He has two problems. One is struggling in the opening inning. The other is avoiding a big inning. It is not unusual for him to pitch five or six scoreless innings, but allow four or five runs in just one inning. That is a mental barrier he must breakdown. You don’t want him throwing changeups in those tight situations anyway. Not with his fastball and slider. He just has to make better pitches when he is in a jam. Other than about a 10-start span late last season, he did make progress in that area. I know people want a simple explanation for Bonderman’s flaws, and that the third pitch one falls into that category in a nice, neat package that sounds good. But his biggest issue is getting too fine in those situations, falling behind in the count and reducing the effectiveness of his slider, which just might be the best pitch of its kind in baseball.

- Credible media are reporting Kevin Jones will miss the first half of next season. The Lions are reporting Jones should be ready for training camp. Who do you believe?

- It took him awhile to get heated up, but Henrik Zetterberg has been brilliant lately. I just have a feeling he is on the verge of becoming the Red Wings next great player and will prove it during the playoffs.