Detroit Lions Weblog

Kalimba Edwards aggressive?June 1st cuts Mike Williams

Can it be true? Kalimba Edwards was recently stopped by the police and arrested for resisting arrest. Does “Kalimba the Ghost” have an aggressive bone in his body? The disappointing Edwards, who will be playing for his NFL life this season, can ill afford any negative publicity at this point. I realize we know very little about the events of his arrest, but it would seem his already shaky standing within the Lions organization will be strongly effected by this turn of events. Maybe ‘Limba should imagine that opposing Qb’s are Michigan State Patrol officers during passing situations?

June 1st cut-downs are upon us. The season will start to gather steam from here on out as training camp enters the horizon. The Lions are pretty well set personnel wise but will have to strongly consider signing players at these positions of need: Defensive End/Pass Rushing Specialist, Safety, Defensive Tackle, Offensive Tackle. It would not surprise me if the team chose to stand pat and not sign anyone at all. They are in the enviable position of being able to target positions which demand upgrade and make an impact with one or two more moves for the right players. With the Larry Brown/Pistons morass, the inevitability of Roger Clemens becoming a Yankee and the Tigers struggling to maintain mediocrity, I can hardly wait for the football’s return to the fore.

I was very encouraged by reports that Mike Williams has chose not to participate in an ESPN reality TV show which follows NFL players as they get acclimated to NFL life. Williams focus and drive are already of note, but he continues to impress with the single-mindedness by which he strives to become an NFL success. I sure the hope the Lions offensive coaches find ways to utilize Williams in advantageous situations early and often. Williams also has his own website “Big” Mike Williams

“Horse Collar’ Tackling, Red Zone a focus this offseason for Lions coaches…

One of the primary rule changes the NFL wants to enact this offseason is to penalize players who use the “horse collar’ tackle. One might ask, what is the “horse collar” tackle and why is it so dubious? Well, anyone who watches Sports Center saw the replays ad infinitum of the tackle made by the Cowboys safety Roy Williams upon Terrell Owens which snapped Owens’ leg like a twig. This rule will also be forever more be referred to as the Roy Williams rule. First the NFL penalizes helmet to helmet contact. Then, they implement the five yard contact rule. Now this ruling, which will further hinder the aggressiveness of defensive secondaries throughout the league. I am all for keeping the players safe and healthy. Still, one has to wonder if the league is intentionally disabling defensive secondaries to produce a desired effect akin to that of which the long ball did for baseball. Not that the league necessarily is crying out for more success, they are incredibly successful. Still, if the game is more opened up and more points go onto the board many novice, attention deficit infused fans can derive more enjoyment. Next the league will demand that the defensive linemen wait to rush the passer until they have counted off to apples (one apple-two apple-GO!)

Scout.Com has recently produced an article Red Zone Production A Focus..which mentions that the Lions coaching staff has placed an emphasis on increasing “Red Zone” production. Well, yeah, their “red zone” performance last year is directly attributable to them losing several games. Most responsible are the dropped passes by the Lions undependable receivers. Still, the play-calling was atrocious. Their needs a total philosophical change in the play package that is used near the goal-line. Furthermore, as a lifelong Lion fan, it is apparent that when a drive has gained any momentum whatsoever that is when it is most likely that an offensive lineman will get a holding penalty or lift up their arm to early and get an offsides penalty. Even more problematic may have been the team’s inability to make large gains with big plays, eliminating the need for more much efficiency in the “red zone” I think that again, any red zone deficiencies are more of a philosophical issue, coupled with failed execution. This may be reduced with the addition of Tollner to offset the more conservative Mariucci. If there is one place the team has made improvements personnel wise this offseason, they will have several dependable targets inside the 20 yard line with the additions of Kevin Johnson, Marcus Pollard, and Mike Williams.

Mea Culpa

Preceding the 2004 NFL draft, I was very vocal about whom I believed the Lions should select with their first draft pick. I went to message boards, pontificated to friends, spent long hard nights reciting incantions, and rendered many sacrifices in order to ensure that the Lions might select Kellen Winslow, Jr. Winslow, Jr., offered a startling combination of pedigree (father is a Hall of Famer/Miami is a football factory), athleticism, and playmaking ability from a position where it is very difficult to find any of these qualities. I was convinced that the Lions would benefit greatly by selecting Winslow, Jr.

When the Lions selected Roy Williams, I was excited. When they were able to do so by trading down with Cleveland, so that they would get an additional second round draft pick which enabled the Lions to in turn make a selection of Kevin Jones, it eased the pain tremendously of the team not selecting Winslow, Jr. I was still a little concerned, I believed Winslow was an electrifying player and both Williams and Jones had come to the team with nowhere near the hype built up around their abilities.

Winslow did give cause for reservations with his outspoken attitude, his foolish and immature comments about being a “Sol-jah”, and the fact that he was a product of the “U”, the University of Miami, a school that produces an incredible amount of NFL talent which is parcelled with a great deal of organizational headaches such as contract squabbles, off-the-field miscues, and a brashness that does not necessarily align with the type of players normally found on the Lion’s roster.

Still the surreal turn of events have unraveled are startling. Roy Williams is an exciting young talent whose demeanor exudes class. Kevin Jones appears to be a major building block upon which the organization can rest. This upcoming season has generated a healthy dose of optimism (still grounded in the realism that this franchise has not one a championship in nearly 50 years) among Lion fans. To invert things a bit, imagine if the Lions had drafted Winslow, Jr. last season. Would the Lions have been able to endure losing both Winslow, Jr. and Charles Rogers for nearly the entire season (how much worse would the 2004 6-10 team have been?). Could Winslow, Jr. have been able to remain patient and keep his brashness in check while the Lions languished in game after game down the stretch and Joey Harrington continued to disappoint while throwing passes in the dirt to his receivers. With the unanswered questions entering this season about Joey Harrington’s ability to lead the franchise to success and the health issues surrounding Charles Rogers and Boss Bailey, what state would the Lions organization currently be in after the Winslow, Jr. motorcyle accident, had they selected him? The accident has apparently ended his season and may in fact have destroyed his budding NFL career. How would we feel about this team entering the 2005 season?

In the truest sense of the word, you have to be careful what you wish for. I don’t know what the long term effects of Winslow, Jr.’s indiscretions will be for the Cleveland Browns, but I am certainly glad we as Lion fans will not be finding out the hard way as Matt Millen and Steve Mariucci continue to edge the team towards NFL respectability. I certainly am proud this organization does not posess a “Ron Mexico” or “Evel Kellnievel” on it’s roster and the team can continue to focus what is most important: Winning a Super Bowl. Mea Culpa.

Ty Law visits; Lions offseason remains encouraging.

Ty Law visited the Lions Allen Park headquarters recently and was submitted to some physical tests. It is surprising, but encouraging, that the Lions would be exploring their options at the corner position. The Lions secondary may be lacking in quality depth, but it would appear that the team would have a more immediate need at either of the safety spots before the cornerback position. It does makes sense to explore what Law’s contract expectations might be and check upon his health recovery if they are considering shifting one of their corners to safety or if they feel that the leadership and playmaking ability that Law posesses would be the final piece in improving the overall quality of their defense.

Law would provide capable leadership, and if he returns healthy with the same skills he has recently exhibited, exceptional playmaking ability. Law would also contribute to the roster as a multiple Super Bowl winner. One would hope that a signing of Law would have more success than past Matt Millen free agent signings of players like Todd Lyght, Robert “Beetle” Bailey, and Eric Davis. Law is a player with a lot of interest on the open market from other teams and his contract demands would potentially be very high, so it would be quite a surprise if the Lions were able to close this deal. Frankly, I would be concerned about a signing of Law unless the contract were loaded heavily with incentives clauses as opposed to upfront money due to his age and the fact that he will be returning from serious injury. Yet, I am very impressed by the message that the organization is sending to the rest of the league’s potentially available players that it is very serious about winning and will continue make upgrades if the right players are available and can be signed at the right price.

Mini-Camps Over, the Quiet Time begins

For about a month, the NFL will be reasonably quiet. Until the June 1st salary cap cuts, there will be little player movement of note. After the mini-camps, there are a few more organized team activities but until the July pre-season camps the NFL will be relatively quiet.

In regards to the Lions, they may still be looking for additional help at TE, Free Safety, and Defensive End. That being said, the fact that they released Brock Marion and Az Hakim before June 1st means that the team is in reasonably good cap shape and may be content with the roster as is. I know that early reports indicate that the team was very excited with the performance of undrafted free agent Tight End Jason Randall. Steve Mariucci also spoke quite highly of Bill Swancutt. I would personally be excited if the Lions were able to add a reliable pass rusher and more secondary help. Yet, if the team’s development continues and they are relatively free of major injury, their roster has a much quality depth and talent as they have had in the last ten years.

Some other impressions of the minicamps came from Mike O’Hara on local sports talk 92.1/92.7 WQTX. O’Hara stated that Kevin Johnson looked great. He had the best hands and appears to be a good team player. He said that Jeff Garcia looked a little rusty and didn’t perform well in drills. O’Hara believes that Garcia is a better game day player than what he exhibited in camp. O’Hara also stated that Charles Rogers looked very tentative in camps and that it may take a while for him to reach the point where he will be effective.

One element of the off-season that will continue to emerge will be the constant monitoring of the performance of the Lion Quarterbacks. Any sort of signs who may be performing best will be reported in minutae. The Soap Opera around this situation will rival any in recent Lion history and will provide constant talk radio fodder. At this point, regardless of any Jeff Garcia declarations to the contrary, the team is Harrington’s and any highs or lows it will experience will be heavily reliant upon his performance. This is the most critical season of his career.