Detroit Lions Weblog

GRRNHHH!!!!!

For any of you who are wondering about the title of this entry, it is the collective gasp for air heard emanating from Lion’s fans everywhere who again witnessed the team and organization miss an excellent opportunity to take a step forward instead of a step backwards.

I, fortunately for my blood pressure, was working last evening and saw none of the game. I can assure you, that if a friend comes through, that I will eventually watch a tape of last night’s horrendous performance. The third pre-season game is annually the game in which you are supposed to be able, with confidence, gauge where a team is located on their current developmental curve. If last night was any sort of indicator of the state of the team, Lion fans can at least boast about the team having really spiffy new uniforms. (I already miss the throwbacks!)

Throughout the entire pre-season, the tantamount issue was whether or not Joey Harrington or Jeff Garcia would helm the team as they emerged as playoff contenders. Heck, I even fell prey to being a little optimistic. I basically figured the Lions were on track for 8 wins (+/- 2 wins depending injuries, luck, etc.). At this point, I have to say that we all need to drop our expectations quite significantly. I can’t honestly mention one aspect of the game where the Lions have appeared to improve from last season.

Many Honolulu Blue Kool-Aid (and Black, too) drinkers will urge us to calm down and not overreact. It is only the pre-season, after all. I wish it were that simple. The team was offered a rare opportunity to show what it is made of in front of a national television audience, in a year where they will have the good fortune of being Super Bowl hosts, and they collectively shit their pants. The Lions don’t have recent successes to bank upon, either. It is imperative that this team start to build towards some tangible success. Their pre-season opportunity to flourish is gone now. The fourth game is not the time to over-expose your first team offense and defense. Last night was the only dry run they get.

What has emerged from last night’s game is not a QB controversy. What has emerged, is the harsh reality that the hourglass has been flipped on Steve Mariucci’s coaching tenure with the Lions.(Isn’t it fun to watch those grains of sand as they slowly take gravity’s course!) William Clay Ford HAS to be growing restless. Last Night was not an acceptable performance and there are no indicators currently accessible to think there will not be more games like this to come. SAME OLD LIONS!!!!

The Lions will have to reduce their roster today. They will be playing the Buffalo Bills in four short days. They open against the Green Bay Packers on September 11th.

Monday Night Football, More Red Zone etc.

Tonight is a huge football game for the Detroit Lions organization. It is an opportunity to post a good showing in front of a national television audience. It is an opportunity to establish the team’s ability to compete against a middle to upper-tier quality NFL team in the St. Louis Rams. It is also a great opportunity to gain a measure of revenge against a team who smoked the Lions in their last nationally televised appearance for Monday Night Football. The “Greatest Show on Turf” Rams beat the Lions around as if they were a division 1-AA school facing a Top 5 ranked powerhouse. I was at the game, which had to be one of the all-time low points of this organization (who have unfortunately experienced many).

This is also an opportunity for the first-string offense to live up to it’s much-hyped billing. Many analysts believe that this offense has the weapons to be a real threat to beat anyone they face. That potential has yet to translate towards any successful on-field performance. The Rams, who will field a decent front seven for their defense, have a average-to-less than average secondary. It would sure be nice to see the Lions light this secondary up with some big plays and utilize some of the mismatches that may come about with the Rams relative lack of secondary depth.

One of the major topics of concern this pre-season has been the Lions continued inability to score when entering the opponent’s red zone. The Lions have casually shrugged this lack of scoring off. They chalk up their inability to score to not fully implementing their red zone package of plays, fearing that they would tip their hand to opposing defensive coordinators. Anyone who is willing to accept this ready-made excuse must also own a great deal of lush swamp land in Florida. It is patently ridiculous that this team not place on impetus upon scoring points in the pre-season, especially when considering last season’s red zone performance. The Lions were the third worst red zone offense in the NFL last season. Jacksonville, who scored the same number of TD’s and FG’s as the Lions in more red zone possessions, and the awful Chicago Bears offense were the only two teams who performed worse in the red zone last season. Here is what the Lions performance looked like

LIONs
Poss.—-TD—-FG—-Scor%—-TD%—-PT/Poss(RZ)
43——-19—–18—-.860——.442—–3.91

LG AVG
48.7—-26.2

The Pro Football Prospectus, written by the editors of Football Outsiders , features a season preview for each team. In it’s Lions feature(pgs.174-177,Aaron Schatz) , the authors discuss the Lions inability to convert short-yardage downs. They believe that the team’s inability to convert in short-yardage situations is predicated on the offensive coaching staff’s apparent philosophy to throw more than it runs in short-yardage situations. What I find most intriguing about this analysis, is the fact that the Lions featured one of the more undependable cadre’s of receivers in all of football in recent seasons. Although it took 8 weeks to establish, the Lions had a very potent ground game last season with Kevin Jones’ emergence. Still, the Lions coaching staff clung stubbornly to throwing in these situations.

Schatz states “…the passes were emblematic of how the Lions kick away offensive chances with bad play calls on short-yardage downs. Every single year Detroit is one of the teams that most often calls a pass in short-yardage situations, and every single year, runs are far more likely to gain the necessary yardage than passes are.”

The Lions also utilized this questionable philosophy in the red zone. They average 1.02 rushes per red zone drive (players other the QB) and this seems to be a case of a philosophical stubborness that has hurt the Lions more than it has helped them. Obviously, any offense should try to be balanced and mix up their plays so that they are unpredictable. It is interesting to note, that the Lions in their attempts to out scheme their opponents, have utilized poor judgement and have hampered their on-field success at least as much as a general lack of execution by their skill players in recent seasons. Hopefully, in tonight’s game the team will seize the opportunities it is given and establish that it is capable of performing at a higher level during the regular season.

Lions-related Guests on local Sports Talk 92.1/92.7 WQTX

On August 19th Greg Landry, Robert Porcher and Oakland Press Sportswriter, Keith Langlois were each guests on the Fred Heuman show. Heuman and Landry each discussed the fact that it has been over 30 years since the Lions last had a Pro Bowl Qb-Landry in 1971. Landry stated that it was very important to consider the fact that a QB’s success is very reliant upon his supporting cast. He believes that Harrington may have the offensive weapons around him to take another step forward this season. Landry and Heuman also discussed how much of a travesty it is that Charlie Sanders has yet to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Landry said that Sanders was the best player he had played with and the only other player that was close was RB Steve Owens, who career was shortened by a knee injury.

Landry commented that even though he had been engaged in a similar QB competition to the one Harrington is currently engaged in with Jeff Garcia (Landry’s with Bill Munson), he was able to maintain an amiable relationship even with the added pressure. Landry seemed optimistic and upbeat about the Lions future chances.

Robert Porcher was also a guest. He said he feels good to be retired. He doesn’t miss the aches and pains and that he is spending more time at Ford Field now working for the Super Bowl Host Committee than he ever did as a player. He has learned a lot in the process as he begins to enter a new life as a businessman. Heuman asked Porcher if he was financially set up so that he could live comfortably for the rest of his life? Porcher stated that stability depends upon an individual’s motivation. He doesn’t want to be complacent, that is why he has endeavored in opportunities like being involved in the annual Traditional Black College Football game at Ford Field, opening of a restaurant and getting involved in “development”. Porcher also made it clear that he was through with football as a player but still a big fan of football, especially the Lions, but he has no problems adjusting to the end of his career unlike some of his former colleagues. He said he is very proud of the development and success of players like Shaun Rogers and James Hall.

Keith Langlois pointed out that this would first time in quite a while that players whom the Lions have cut at the end of camp will be desirable for other teams to sign and fill roster needs. Langlois feels that the Lions posess the depth to be a competitor for the division title but it will depend on how quickly the young players mature. Langlois also commented on Joey Harrington’s inability to connect with the Lion’s fan base. He said that Tony Siragusa’s comments pointed the obvious differences between Harrington and the more “meat and potatoes” fan base.

This is where I have to call B.S.. How can there be a “meat and potatoes” fan base for the Lions if they can still afford to pay $50 or more for tickets, expensive parking and concessions, and other money that one might devote to their full enjoyment of a Sunday in Detroit. I think this supposed blue-collar fan base is a nice fallacy, that reinforces some long dead stereotypes of midwestern football fans. I will agree with Langlois that Harrington comes across as aloof, a little arrogant, and sometimes a little clueless when he tries to defend his and the team’s performance when the team has been lousy. Langlois believes that the fans want to believe that Harington is as engaged in and has some emotional investment into the team’s success as they feel that they have. Langlois also states some of Harrington’s troubles with fans and media should be placed squarely upon the backs of the Lions organization. They have done little to support him or justify his being a starter since he was drafted. Mornihnweg didn’t want to draft Harrington, Mariucci seems barely able to accept Harrington’s performance and Millen hasn’t done the greatest job of giving him a quality supporting cast. Even after Harrington’s 9 for 9 passing performance against the Jets, Mariucci was still quoted as saying that Harrington could still play better. Mariucci is right, but it may do some good to support Harrington when he does a good job, too. After a couple of pre-season games, it is obvious that Harrington has to be the player that they can depend on. Garcia looks like a decent backup, at best.

Former Lions LB Mike Lucci was also a guest on the Fred Heuman show on August 21st. Lucci said that he doesn’t attend too many Lion’s games, especially pre-season games. Lucci said that he and his teammates always considered the pre-season as a necessary evil (since the owners make a lot of money on pre-season games) that wouldn’t disappoint them if they didn’t have to participate in. Lucci said he believed during his playing days that even though pre-season games meant little, that they were important to establish a winning feeling and the accomplishements that are made can carryover into success during the season, too.

Lucci commented on Joey Harrington and his lack of popularity with the fans stating that changing his name to “Joe” may go along ways. He also said that Lion fans would probably like to see him be more fiery and do more things that the fans can identify with. Lucci did say that football was the greatest game in the world and he was very fortunate to have played. He said that whenever he sees Lem Barney that Barney will say ” Hey Lucc, think we have one more in us?” Lucci said that they would be able to give one more lick then they subsequently would fall apart. He also said that it was better to have people saying “Why did you leave” at the end of your career as opposed to “Why in the hell don’t you leave.”

Mariucci Confirms that Joey Harrington is the Starter at QB

“He’s been our starter, he is our starter, and he will be our starter. I don’t know how else to explain it.” These words likely may have been spat out of Coach Steve Mariucci’s mouth. It is no secret that after three seasons Steve Mariucci doesn’t rank among Joey Harrington’s biggest fans. Still, the confirmation of Harrington, regardless of how empty an endorsment it may be, indicates that the Lions coaching staff realizes that the team will face long odds if it has to rely on Jeff Garcia as it’s starting QB.

Even with the team’s inability to score touchdowns in it’s first two pre-season games, Harrington’s passing accuracy thus far is encouraging (14-15 passes completed). Whether you subscribe to the belief that the Lions are using a vanilla red zone package currently is another story, altogether. The team needs to establish now that it can score TD’s and win games. The first two pre-season games may mean little to MOST teams, but for a team with the recent track record of the Lions it is eminently important that they do not lose games to teams like Cleveland, if they are ever going to emerge from the NFL basement.

Garcia will prove to be a capable and confident backup, who if necessary, could be depended upon to replace Joey Harrington. Judging by his recent pre-season performances, though any Lion fan who thinks he is capable of leading the team to NFL prominence (or even 8-8) must not be watching the same QB that I have seen.

With Steve Mariucci’s vote of confidence, it is very important that Joey Harrington doubles his efforts to establish himself as a starting QB and team leader. Everyone has always believed that he lacks the killer instinct, an essential quality, to lead the team to success. Now that Harrington has been awarded the opportunity to step on the throats of his doubters, he must finish the job. The third pre-season game is his opportunity to make a major step towards pushing the Lions forward.

Preview:Cleveland Pre-season Game 2

Tommorrow is the Lion’s first home pre-season game. It is against the Cleveland Browns in what has now become a traditional meeting for the Great Lakes trophy. The Lions have a lot of room to improve from last week’s performance. Here are some things I hope we are able to see:

–The team has to perform better in the red zone. Cleveland has installed a new 3-4 defensive set and has experienced a lot of turnover in their personnel. If the Lions first team offense helmed by either Joey Harrington or Jeff Garcia are unable to put a few TD’s on the board early, it will be time to elevate from cautiously optimistic to unfortunately concerned over the team’s ability to capitalize when it has an opportunity.

–The defense needs to generate a more consistent pass rush. Jay Fiedler had a lot of time to operate in the pocket in the drives he lead against the Lions defense. It was encouraging that the defense and special teams were able to create some turnovers against the Jets. This also needs to continue.

The Lions also experienced a couple of big injuries against the Jets. Corey Schlesinger, who will now be out for several weeks, is a major loss. It will be of major interest to the Lions success that one of the three potential replacements for “Sledge” begin to emerge as a capable performer, especially in the base rushing offense and short-yardage situations. The Lions will also likely be without Fernando Bryant who was kicked in the shin during a recent practice. It will be nice to see how R.W. McQuarters performs as a starting CB in the Lions defense. This also will provide opportunity for Keith Smith, Chris Cash and Andre Goodman to establish themselves as members of the team. I will also be excited to see Stanley Wilson, Jr. get more playing time. (Note:I just heard that Bryant will be starting, after all)

It is also very important that the receivers continue to not drop passes, irregardles of who is playing QB. The primary receivers are young and their dependability will really help the offense accelerate as they mature. Any impairment they suffer in the ground game due to Schlesinger’s absence must be compensated for in the passing game.

Hopefully Joey Harrington will continue to build upon his performance against the Jets. Personally, I would be very happy to see the “QB controversy” put to rest during the pre-season so that the Lions can set about continuing to mature as a young team and hopefully proving that they are viable as contenders in the NFL North. Anything less will be a disappointment.

First Pre-Season Game in the books.

Last Friday night the Lions lost to their first pre-season game to the New York Jets 10-3. The team’s performance was by no means earth shattering, yet, many players gave Lions fans cause for excitement. The offense appears to have the potential to generate a lot of yardage, but it remains to be seen if the team will become more effective inside their opponent’s twenty yard line than in recent years. They certainly were ineffective in the red zone on Friday night.

Two Red Zone sacks and a 5-yard loss on a rushing play on two red zone posessions absolutely will not cut it. Many of the Joey Harrington bashers will state that Harrington should have thrown the ball away rather than take those sacks. Fundametally, they are correct. Still, Harrington had a blink of an eye in which to get rid of the ball in those two plays. Custer stood a better chance of surviving in his last stand than Harrington finding a way to get rid of the ball. That is how poor the blocking was on those plays.

It was encouraging to see Harrington look sharp and composed delivering completions on all 9 of his attempts. Harrington’s performance really stood out in contrast to Jeff Garcia’s by comparison, mediocre performance. It was also very encouraging the Lions top 4 receivers and top 2 Tight Ends dropped zero passes. The last couple of years the team was severely hindered on offense by the rash of dropped passes by it’s receivers. It will be interesting to see how these receivers will perform if Jeff Garcia starts the next pre-season game versus the Browns as Steve Mariucci has intimated.(Mooch wants Garcia to get more reps with the first team) Hopefully, there will be no performance drop off. That would legitimize to me that in fact, the offensive skill players will perform well in spite of whomever is deemed starting QB throughout the season.

Unfortunately for the Lions, they had a starter suffer a serious injury. Corey Schlesinger, one of the premier blocking fullbacks in the NFL, will be lost for 6-8 wks. In the meantime, the three-headed monster of Paul Smith, Shawn Bryson, and rookie Will Matthews will attempt to fill the role. Smith is a special teams ace and more of a change-of-pace back than a legitimate FB. Bryson who plays in a lot of third down and single-back sets, is an excellent blocker and does a good job in blitz pick-up but it is a little undersized to play the role of primary fullback. Matthews has lot of potential and a reputation as a real thumper. Matt Millen said that by judging Friday’s performance that Matthews has to learn the difference between hitting and blocking. I would not be surprised to see the Lions troll the waiver wire for an experienced blocking fullback, especially if the Schlesinger takes any amount of time to rehab. The expectation is that “Sledge” will be back by the Tampa Bay game. Where Schlesinger’s absence may hurt the most will be in short yardage plays and in the fourth quarter when the Lions have a lead and trying to grind out the clock with runs.

Mike O’Hara was a guest today on local sports talk radio WQTX 92.1/92.7. O’Hara mentioned a valid point on the Lion’s QB situation and Joey Harrington’s role as scapegoat among Lion fans. He said that Harrington has to carry the baggage of all the losing the team has done over the last 47 years. Furthermore, the Lions are an organization with one Pro Bowler in that time. (Greg Landry) So the Lions fans have grown used for rooting for the backup QB to displace the starter in hopes of turning around their losing ways. O’Hara also mentioned that rather stating that the criticism and boos are part of the job, it wouldn’t hurt for Steve Mariucci and the front office to defend their starting QB in the media. I agree, right or wrong for better or for worse, Harrington is the guy. Even though he has started for three years, he has never received a full endorsement from the coaching staff. Joey has to earn his position, like everybody else. Yet, their has to come a time where the coaches realize his success is directly correlated with any success they will enjoy in the near future.

Eddie Drummond returns, Jon McGraw aquired from the Jets, first pre-season game!

The Lions continue to add depth to their secondary. They traded a conditional draft pick for Strong Safety Jon McGraw. McGraw, aquired from the Jets, has struggled to remain healthy throughout his career. When healthy, McGraw has made strong contributions. The move is a little curious to me because it appears that with Kenoy Kennedy and Bracy Walker at SS, the team would have plenty of depth at the position (They also have special teams ace, Vernon Fox at SS on the depth chart). Conversely, the Free Safety position features a noticeable lack of depth especially considering the starter, Terrence Holt, will be starting for the first time in his short NFL career. It appears that R.W. McQuarters will be the backup plan for Free Safety should Holt falter.

Eddie Drummond recently returned to the team. At times in his career Drummond has almost single-handedly carried the team with his excellent returns yardage. Still, Drummond also has missed a great deal of time due to injury and will have to prove that he can recover from last year’s season-ending injuries to warrant any significant contract from the Lions. I hope he can return to form, Drummond is a major component to the Lions experiencing success this season.

The first Lions pre-season game is tommorrow evening (Hallelujah!). I can already hear the comforting tones of Frank Beckman as I set here typing. With the faltering Detroit Tigers, I am doubly excited about the start of the Lions season. I have to keep telling myself that it is only the first pre-season game, and that I need to temper my excitement a little bit. I can’t wait to see Mike Williams, Shaun Cody, Marcus Pollard et al finally take the field (even if it is for only 9-10 plays). Hopefully, the scaled-down,pre-season, new Ted Tollner offense will still show signs of the necessary system changes that we are all anxious to see from this once stale offense. I can’t wait to see Boss Bailey and Charles Rogers as they both return from injury. I also am excited to see players like FB Will Matthews, DE Bill Swancutt, CB Stanley Wilson, TE Jason Randall and QB Dan Orlovsky as they all attempt to show that they deserve roster spots on the team.

This is the most optimistic time for Lion fans in recent history. Tommorrow is the first step in either the increase of optimism or the continuation of the annual crushing of that eternal optimism that most loyal Lion fans have to possess to still continue to follow the team. Even with the looming QB controversy, it is quite hard for me not to be excited about the future of this team. That being said, there is a small part of me that anticipates an injury-riddled, mediocre season. The fates have conditioned us not to expect otherwise.

Millen regime continues…

In a surprising move, the Ford’s have given Matt Millen 5 more years to attempt to return the Lions to respectability. I believed that they would definitely re-sign him, I just am surprised they didn’t at least wait to see if the team posted an improved record this season.

Millen has had a less than spectacular tenure in the Lion’s front office. In the last couple of years their has been a noticeable improvement in the quality of players who have been drafted. The players who have signed as free agents are also of a higher quality, yet the on-field results still haven’t reflected the improved depth and quality of the Lions roster.

Millen’s tenure has had no shortage of controversy with his “devout coward” statement, the repeatedly televised image of his palpably bitter disappointment as he sat and watched the Lions lose game after game, the whole renegade “biker” image that was presented when he and Marty Mornihnweg were hired (how believable was that?), and the flip-flop that was made over whether or not Mornihnweg would remain head coach after Mornihnweg’s last season as coach (We’re going to keep him…Oh wait, Mariucci is available?).

If there was one critical mistake made by this regime, it was the decision to completely scrap the roster coming off a 9 win season coached by Bobby Ross and Gary Moeller. The front office and coaching staff decided that to best implement their system that they needed to rebuild the team from square one. Meanwhile, in the time it has taken to implement this vaunted system, the rest of the NFL has caught up with the basic concepts of the system and it no longer presents the challenge it once did. Furthermore, it seems like the West Coast Offense is too dependent on having exactly the right personnel in place. I believe the organization would have been better suited to utilize a system which could adapt and best use the talents of the players on the roster, instead of enacting the rebuilding process that it is still mired in. At this point, though, the issue is moot. The team has to win, and win now! One has to wonder if the team has a repeat 6-10 season, given that Millen has a new 5-yr contract, who will be held accountable?

Target for Improvement:Red Zone Offense

If there is one element of the Lions offense that I hope has been sufficiently upgraded this offseason, it would be their red zone offense. The team suffered from a lot of dropped passes, unimaginative play-calling, and the inexplicably stunted development of Kevin Jones during the first eight games of last season. The offseason additions of players like Mike Williams, Marcus Pollard, and Kevin Johnson will figure positively in the team’s ability to improve in this area. A wildcard in this anticipated improvement will be how much change has been implemented by new offensive coordinator Ted Tollner in the team’s red zone offensive package.

In 2004, the team had 39 red zone posessions or about 2.4 red zone posessions per game. As a figure of comparison, New England was in the red zone 58 times ( 3.6 possesions/gm). The Lions scored 18 TD’S and 16 FG’s in the red zone, which is a .872 scoring pctg in the red zone. Not bad, but for the team to have enjoyed more success (i.e winning more than six games) they would have needed to have more total red zone posessions. Joey Harrington, in spite of injuries and receivers who dropped far too many passes, performed quite well in the red zone. Harrington had an 81.4 QB rating in the red zone. He only was sacked twice in the red zone and threw 13 TD’s to just 1 INT in the red zone. On the surface quite respectable totals. I think that the team suffered from too many stalled offensive drives due to an unimaginative offense that didn’t utilize it’s meager talents wisely.

Why did it take eight games to establish the running game? Why did the coaching staff continue to play players who were continuously dropping catchable balls? Why did the team refuse to adjust it’s offensive philosophy to better utilize it’s personnel and the rule changes that have seriously hamstrung defensive backs ability to play physical in press coverage? All of these questions will remain unanswered and hopefully diffuse quickly and waft into the aether.

The point is that this team posesses the weapons necessary to be aggressive and seek out mismatches against opposing defenses. It has an exciting young runner who will benefit immensely as opposing team’s are no longer capable of loading 8-9 men into the tackle box. Their will be no quarter given to this coaching staff if doesn’t open up it’s offense, utilize more multi-receiver sets and display more verticality in it’s passing game. The team’s success rides on the ball moving down the field more efficiently and consistently, while yielding more points in the process.

I think that Matt Millen has provided the coaching staff with the tools necessary to do so. Charles Rogers, even with his relative lack of experience, if healthy and ready to perform will give the team a major red zone boost. Marcus Pollard will be a serious red zone upgrade over last year’s TE Stephen Alexander and will provide the offense with a downfield component it has been sorely lacking from the TE position. Pollard is aging, and it remains to be seen if his past offensive output has come as a result of the Colts incredible offense and the abilities of Peyton Manning. I feel strongly that even if he is less of a factor than he was in his prime years in Indy, he will provide the team with a far better option than what the team had had in the likes of David Sloan, Mikhail Ricks, and Stephen Alexander.

Kevin Johnson is an excellent route runner with sure hands and has had some past success catching TD passes earlier in his career with the Cleveland Browns. Johnson may receive little opportunity to perform as a slot receiver in the red zone, though, when you consider that the Lions selected USC WR Mike Williams as their first round draft pick. With Williams’s 6-5 height, excellent hands and playmaking ability he should be a red zone factor from day one. Williams with his frame and strength would appear to be tailor-made for the Lions red zone offense (or for any other offense for that matter). It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he ended the season with 35-40 catches and 8-10 TD’s. I have faith that the Lions will utilize plays that take full advantage of the mismatches he will create when in the red zone. Especially if teams make the unwise decision of attempting to cover him with a safety or linebacker. Honestly, I believe Williams will provide the team with the edge necessary to win 2-3 more games this year. Am I beaming enough, yet?

All of this sounds good, but the most important factor in all of this will be the performance of the starting Quarterback. If Joey Harrington is unable to deliver the ball accurately and improve upon last season’s red zone performance these offseason additions will be nullified. He must inspire confidence in his coaches and teammates and his performance should reflect that confidence. If he is unable to step it up, Joey Harrington, like Mr. Ford’s other failing business, will have his fading NFL career stall and be replaced by next year’s model.

Training Camp Begins, Cody and Williams sign, Drummond Holds Out.

Lions training camp has begun! As camp began, Shaun Cody and his “Reality Television” winning agent inked his contract with the Lions while Cody anxiously sat in his pads and uniform. I am glad the Lions made sure to get Cody into camp, the success of their defensive line and pass rush are two of the more integral elements to any success that they may experience this season. This season has provided additional difficulties for teams atempting to sign high draft picks since it took the 49ers so long to sign QB Alex Smith and the contract terms that teams make are based on the offers that are made to the draft picks according to their draft slot. Smith’s signing creates a domino effect that sets the bar for what kind of offers the other high draft picks will receive.

According to Mike O’Hara on his weekly guest slot on 92.1/92.7 WQTX, the Lions have also agreed to terms with Mike Williams and he is on way to camp from Florida. This is excellent news, the more experience Williams attains the increased likelihood he will make significant contributions this year. The disappointing news from O’Hara was that the Lions are taking a hard line in contract negotiations with Return Specialist Eddie Drummond.

Drummond, who has been excellent but has had difficulties remaining healthy in his 4 year career, has been treated well by the Lions. By all rights, they could be offering him significantly less money due to an intricacy of his contract. Drummond refused to sign their contract tender offer as a Restricted Free Agent, which would give the Lions the opportunity to pay him much less this year. The Lions can ill afford to not have Drummond healthy and happy, but can’t overspend for a player who makes no significant contributions to the team other than his prowess in the return game. As valuable as Drummond has been, and with the Lions posessing few viable replacement options, they feel they can’t afford to cave in to Drummond and Agent Drew Rosenhaus’s demands.

According today’s Detroit News training camp notes, undrafted Free Agent FB Will Allen, another Texas Longhorn, has made an early impression in camp as a real thumper. I don’t believe that Allen poses a real threat to Corey Schlesinger, but it is nice to know that should Schlesinger get injured they may have a player who on the roster who could slide in and fill a similar role.