Detroit Lions Weblog

Lions Begin “Voluntary” Workouts, G Timmerman Visits

The Lions began their offseason “voluntary” (in true Orwellian fashion) workouts this week.   Apparently, G Damien Woody has lost 31 lbs since he enrolled into the Duke emergency weight loss clinic, which now makes him a svelte 335 lbs, and he intends on losing another 20 lbs.   Woody’s playing career would likely be nearing it’s end, had he not chosen to shed the excess weight.   The Lions are still visiting with mid-tier experienced free agent guards, so Woody’s roster spot isn’t entirely guaranteed, but Woody’s weight loss is still a positive development.

Unfortunately, not all is sunny with these workouts.   Head Coach Rod Marinelli was all but dismissive in his comments about Mike Williams and his conditioning.   Williams is skating on very thin ice with the team, so this is bad news for anyone harboring hope that he may eventually develop into any sort of future contributor in Detroit .  At this point, the Lions should either part company with Williams, or find a potential trade suitor who will give them a couple of used blocking shields for the rights to Williams.  I believe that the target weight of 220 lbs, which the Lions have set as a desired playing weight for Williams, is actually something that the Lions have established to ease the public into accepting Williams’ eventual release.   Williams apparent lack of commitment, at least as it has been reported, would likely convince Lion fans that the team is making the right decision by choosing to move on.

Shaun Rogers and Cory Redding, projected to be the team’s starters at defensive tackle, are both absent from the “voluntary” workouts.   Redding, who is attending college, is not officially under contract since the Lions have applied their franchise tag upon him.  Rogers, who is rehabilitating in Texas from two knee surgeries and a shoulder surgery, has drawn Marinelli’s ire by choosing not to attend.   Rogers was suspended last season for 4 games for using an illegal weight loss drug, and was viewed as a mostly surly and unhappy presence in the team’s locker room, according to many observers.    The cover-2 zone defense’s fulcrum is it’s defensive line, easily it’s most important personnel group which can eventually correlate with future success in the scheme.   With Redding and Rogers’ past performances considered, this should be one of the team’s few roster strengths.  

Rod Marinelli will have a difficult time implementing his philosophy with the Lions roster, if he doesn’t eventually win over Rogers.  As good as Rogers has been, he has never appeared to fully touch his enormous potential (nor has Rogers expressed a willingness to make the necessary commitment to do so).   Not only do the Lions need to tap this potential, but they also need for Rogers to become a leader in convincing other members of the team that Marinelli’s program is worth committing to.   It remains to be seen if Rogers is actually rehabbing, or if this may eventually develop into some sort of leverage scheme by Rogers and his agent (more money, pressure to be moved to another organization, anger over being moved to nose guard, instead of defensive tackle?).

The Lions continue to both visit with free agent guards and maintain their league-wide standing as the potential landing spot for all former St. Louis Rams.   They recently visited with G Adam Timmerman.   Between Timmerman, Edwin Mulitalo, and Cosey Coleman, one of them is likely to eventually land upon the Lions roster in the future. 

With the rapid approach of the April 28th draft, the Lions are in the unique, and pivotal position of determing what may or may not occur in this year’s draft throughout the first round.   Their second overall draft pick is valuable to any number of teams who decide that it is imperative to draft WR Calvin Johnson, QB’s JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn, or OT Joe Thomas.   This draft could change entirely Matt Millen’s legacy as the team’s chief executive, if he executes this year’s draft strategy with the deft grace that many forecasters think that he may have the opportunity to do, with the synchrony of team draft needs and talent atop this year’s draft.  The Lions and their draft intentions will likely consume a great deal of pre-draft spotlight during the next month, that’s for sure.