Detroit Lions Weblog

Quiet Off-Season Continues

This may be the quietest, most event-free off-season in recent Lions team history.   Besides Shaun Rogers recent off-the-field indiscretions, the steadily growing anticipatory plaudits for rookie WR Calvin Johnson, and the media junket being undertaken by “Mr. Insignificant”, Lions 7th round draft pick CB Ramzee Robinson, Allen Park has been nearly invisible in local sports pages.  

Of course, with the Tigers off to another excellent start, it is not too difficult for the Lions to fall off of the radar a bit.   They certainly have for me.  The Tigers near two year run of excellence has been thoroughly enjoyable for me, just like it has been for everybody else who loves Detroit sports.   The Tigers performance even provides me with a little hope that the Lions could alter their course and eventually experience a similar change of fortunes in the near future.

The one thing that has remained troubling for me is that the Lions negotiations with DT Cory Redding have gone unnoticed/undocumented in the media.   I often wonder just what stage of negotiations the two sides are currently in, and whether the Lions have reached an impasse or are moving closer to contract completion with the promising Redding.  

I also am a little concerned by Jon Kitna’s continued pronouncements that he feels that the Lions will be a 10 win team in ‘07-’08.   As much as I applaud him for having the guts to stick his neck out a little bit, and potentially motivate a few teammates, I just wish that all parties involved would remain silent so that if the Lions are in fact a 10-win caliber of team they will completely sneak up on their NFL cohorts, the media and especially us, the loyal Lions fans, who are certainly deserving of a similar type of improbable phoenix-like resurrection of the Lions moribund franchise that avid Tiger fans have been able to enjoy of late.

Shaun Rogers, Cory Redding, Rookies

Apparently, my optimism in regards to Shaun Rogers was a little premature.   Rogers has recently been involved in an ugly incident at a Detroit strip club that allegedly included forceful and unwanted groping of a stripper at the club.  Reports also indicate that he had a gun prominently displayed in his waistband while committing the alleged act.

NFL players are far from model citizens and aren’t regarded as being all that smart.   That being said, Rogers is an idiot.   He is a colossally-gifted and talented player who is severely misguided if he is still unaware of the fact that he has just placed his NFL career in jeopardy. 

The emphasis that the league is currently placing on player character magnifies the negative impact caused by players who have had numerous off-the-field issues.   These player’s poor decision-making directly jeopardizes the monetary investment these football franchises have made with them.  Teams can’t afford to absorb the fines, suspensions, etc. that come along with the boneheaded decisions many of these players make.

Apparently, there may be more to this story.   Terry Foster’s blog (since pulled from the Detroit News website) indicated that there are more details to this incident that, if they are true and come to light,  will likely end Rogers’ career as a Lion.   Stupid.

Their is still no news in regards to the Lions getting Cory Redding signed to a contract extension.   As time presses on, it looks like it has become more likely that the Lions will have to utilize the franchise tag on Redding as opposed to negotiating a new deal.

Terry Foster also mentions in today’s Detroit News that WR Calvin Johnson and DE Ikaika Ilama-Francis have looked quite impressive at this early stage in their careers.    Alama-Francis will be a pleasant surprise if he emerges as a consistent contributor in the future.

Shaun Rogers, Quiet OTA’s, and Mark Cuban’s UFL

The current Lions OTA’s have been unusually quiet and uneventful.   It was big news yesterday that Roy Williams arrived late for the camp and had limited involvement in the drills, etc.  Usually, the OTA’s are marred by the controversy generated when players choose to skip the “voluntary” practices, and not when a player has limited involvement. 

As far as I know, the as yet unsigned franchise tender of DT Cory Redding makes him the only significant player who has yet to participate in the Lions off-season practices.  The Lions need to move into overdrive in their attempts to give him a new contract so that they can ensure that he will participate in upcoming camps.  Redding was not slated to attend the various “voluntary” camps because he would be attending college classes.  It is important in my eyes, that Redding miss as little developmental time as possible.

Shaun Rogers made some encouraging comments during a local sports talk interview recently.   Apparently, he has found a renewed personal emphasis by placing a priority upon winning this season.    He mentioned that he understands more what his place within the organization is and that he needs to be on board with the new regime.  He all but acknowledges that he has been selfish in the past and seems willing to admit that he has some personality flaws that he is attempting to overcome.  Obviously, this is a lot easier said than done.   It remains to be seen if he really truly is committed, especially when times get tough.

This is an incredible time for professional football.   The NFL is exploring expanding their schedule to include more international games.   Their new commisioner, Roger Goodell, has placed a strong emphasis on player’s character and has begun to penalize player’s for their poor judgement off of the field.

Beyond all of that, the recent news that a new football league is germinating in direct competition to the NFL is incredibly exciting.  This league will emphasize selecting players who would have marginal NFL careers because they are unable to make a NFL roster, have character issues, or are outside of the pre-conceived standards of physical size or ability that would allow them to be considered to play in the NFL.   Football’s popularity would seem to indicate that another league could potentially be sustained and maybe develop as a minor league feeder system to the NFL.

The ultimate goal of the owners who would be involved in the new league is unclear.   Mark Cuban is the biggest name involved.  It remains to be seen what kind of television exposure this new league would receive.   Pro Football Talk had another interesting point to add.  They suggest that the new league could eventually merge with the NFL and serve a similar purpose as the lower leagues in soccer.    In theory, teams who under perform prennially in the NFL could be banished to the UFL as a means of “encouragement” to bottom-tier franchises, like say, the Lions to work harder at improving the quality and performance of their franchise.