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A CoupleThings About The Lions...
Not only is Daunte Culpepper done in this town, but so is Drew Stanton. There is no way the Lions go into next season with him as their No.2 quarterback. By coming out publicly and saying he didn't want to be No. 3, Stanton now will certainly be cut. At least he made the decision easy for the Lions. That means the Lions sign a veteran quarterback to backup Matthew Stafford. It also means they will likely take a QB in the late rounds of the draft.
- Louis Delmas is pretty good, but he is not the second coming of Ronnie Lott. He only looks so good because the Lions have little else around him.
- If Reggie Bush is cut loose by the Saints in an uncapped season, the Lions should pounce on him. They need playmakers.
- Potential running back for the Lions next season: LenDale White. He is a big, physical back who wants out in Tennessee.
- I don't know what Zack Follett's 40-yard dash time is, but he does have functional football speed. It was impressive the way he closed on Devin Hester to make an open field tackle on a kickoff return Sunday. You have to hit with late-round draft picks like that sometimes to be a contending team. The Lions just might have hit with that kid. He played well when given a chance.
My column in Monday's Oakland Press about the Lions http://tinyurl.com/ya4qj8m
- Louis Delmas is pretty good, but he is not the second coming of Ronnie Lott. He only looks so good because the Lions have little else around him.
- If Reggie Bush is cut loose by the Saints in an uncapped season, the Lions should pounce on him. They need playmakers.
- Potential running back for the Lions next season: LenDale White. He is a big, physical back who wants out in Tennessee.
- I don't know what Zack Follett's 40-yard dash time is, but he does have functional football speed. It was impressive the way he closed on Devin Hester to make an open field tackle on a kickoff return Sunday. You have to hit with late-round draft picks like that sometimes to be a contending team. The Lions just might have hit with that kid. He played well when given a chance.
My column in Monday's Oakland Press about the Lions http://tinyurl.com/ya4qj8m
Labels: Drew Stanton Duante Culpepper Matthew Stafford LenDale White Reggie Bush Ronnie Lott Detroit Lions
posted by Pat Caputo at
2:46 PM
9 Comments:
The Lions have a chance to dramatically improve their team next season. We can only hope.
Pat, I completely agree on LenDale White. I have been saying the same thing since Smith was injured. I think a highly drafted RB should be one of the last pieces since they have such a short shelf life compared to other positions.
Steve J
Some good points on the Lions. I like the idea of us picking up a functional backup. I also like the idea if we can nab that kid out of Western or even Lefever(if he falls far) in the 6th or 7th round to be a 3rd stringer. I think Stantons Durability or lack there of got the better of him. Culpepper isn't the same QB he was in Minnesota it was evident in Oakland/Miami, and now here. At the same time These quarterbacks had no help.
I don't think Calvin was utilized properly. We couldn't block a marshmellow. The run game was dreadful. Kevin Smith who is ok is by far anything great. People 4-get that Marshall Faulk wasn't the greatest of backs in Indy when they cut him loose to the time lowly Rams where he exploded. Maybe Reggie Bush could be that for the Lions.
I like Delmas and I really think he was probably one of the best picks the lions drafted in a long time personally. I think he will only get better. Now I am not putting him in the Ronnie Lott category just yet. But i think he is good. Speaking of the draft you mention Follet.
He was drafted in the 7th round and he turned out to be a very valuable special teams guy and effective I thought. People talk about hill, levy, stafford, delmas, pettigrout... Its the Follet picks late i nteh round that are as equaly important if we are going to get better.
We not only need to draft a dominant defensive player, probably a very solid guard and hit on them, but we also need to hit on the late round guys and have them contribute. Cause lets face it special teams is a big part of the game and even that was awful for us..
So year 1 I give Mayhew a B+ cause he found solid contributors. Lets see what happens year 2?
Pat,
I can't agree with you on Reggie Bush and Lendale White. I don't see either as a good fit for the Lions. Neither style would really mesh with the offensive scheme of the Lions.
Louis Delmas does seem pretty good, although he had a pretty bad game against the Bears on Sunday. He missed a bunch of tackles, and took wrong angles on many plays. He was subsequently benched for a quarter or so, so it wasn't lost on the coaching staff. I was rather disappointed in his game, and I think he was more injured than anyone let on, since I have never seen him tackle so poorly before.
Deandre Levy was far and away the best player on the defense on Sunday, however. He made a slew of big-play saving tackles, and was always around the ball. It was funny listening to the announcers give credit to the wrong players when Levy was the actual player who got the tackle in key situations. If he continues to play like that at MLB, I hope he starts over Larry Foote. He was the one bright spot on the game for me. Seeing him play made me happy everytime he got a hit (which was often).
Follett also really impressed me in this game. He appears to be the equal of Kelvin Pearson in Special Teams. In fact, his ability as a gunner appears to really help Pearson as the other gunner, and the two seem to work really well together. It seemed like they could both get to the returner at around the same time, and took turns being the first one there to tackle.
-Marty
Maddog,
Marshall Faulk was the offense in Indy. Maybe you didn't hear about him, because the team stunk, but he was getting 2000 yards combined even in Indianapolis. He didn't get better in St. Louis, but the team played much better so he got more publication. Marshall Faulk was never a disappointment, and he only was traded because Indianapolis didn't want to pay him (which backfired since Edgerin James demanded even more money than Faulk.)
That doesn't mean that Reggie Bush won't play better in Detroit than NO, but I sincerely doubt it. He does exactly what he was projected to do in the NFL. It is amazing that such a specialized player was drafted so high, but sometimes teams make mistakes like that. He is a good 3rd down back, and slot reciever who has very good return skills. He was projected to be that when he came out, so I don't see his play as disappointing at all.
I have said this a bunch of times about the draft, but I am not so sure anymore. My line was "I would draft the best available Defensive Back in the first round. The best available Defensive back in the second round, the best available defensive back in the third round, ..." all with idfferent inflections in my voice so it would sound like I was picking a different type of player. And while I think that could be succesful (see Greenbay when they did that, very successful), I just don't see any Defensivebacks who are worth the #2 overall pick. McCoy and Suh, however, look very worthwhile of the pick, and would help us out immensely.
-Marty
levittmike,
The expectation for the Lions next season should be 6-to-8 victories. Anything less would be spinning their wheels.
Caputo
Steve J,
White has some attitude things in the past, but seems to have them under control. Schwartz obviously knows him.
Caputo
Maddog52,
I agree with you about a dominant defensive player. They need somebody who makes plays, sacke, forces fumbles, intercepts passes, etc. Those are things that change games.
Caputo
Marty,
Levy is a really good player. I criticized the Lions for that draft choice. I couldn't have been more wrong.
Caputo
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