Detroit Lions Weblog

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.