Detroit Lions Weblog

Mike O’Hara’s 08/14 Detroit News Article About Lions Training Camp

Mike O’Hara’s article yesterday, “Job Competition Largely Lacking..”, was about the lack of serious positional battles, at least for starting jobs, in this year’s Lions training camp.  O’Hara believes that the battle waged between J.T. O’Sullivan and Dan Orlovsky will be the most intense to occur in Allen Park this year.

Had Kevin Jones been healthy entering the season, the battle between Jones and the newly-acquired Tatum Bell would be epic.   Apparently, Bell’s recent public pronouncement that he would be the starter this season didn’t set well with Jones.   Each players’ competitiveness and strong desire to be the lead back could help the Lions ground attack immensely this year.   Furthermore, allowing Mike Martz to have more bullets for his holster can only help the Lions offense perform better than last year.

In regards to Orlovsky and O’Sullivan, the dynamic “Duel-O’s” if you will (Sorry, can’t help myself), their battle can only help especially, if Jon Kitna were to become injured or play ineffectively.   Martz has worked wonders with former NFL Europa players in the past, which makes O’Sullivan a player who bears monitoring.

Rod Marinelli stated that the real battle in Allen Park is for the last 12 or 13 roster spots, where players have to demonstrate their utility by demonstrating that they can play multiple positions and provide the team with quality roster depth.   These players really have to work hard to demonstrate their value, Marinelli says that “It’s not the most talented players.  It’s the best 53 who help us win.”

Between now and Sept. 1st, the Lions will feature some serious battles for the lower segment of their depth chart.

Here are the ones that I regard as most important:

Tailback: In the event that Kevin Jones is placed on the PUP list, Brian Calhoun,  journeymen Aveion Cason, and T.J. Duckett need to establish who is capable of dividing the reps with Bell, a player who has never been capable of carrying the full workload during his brief career.   Calhoun needs to prove he was worth utilizing a third round draft pick for in ‘06.

The Offensive Line:  The starting five appear to be set with Raiola, Woody, Mulitalo, Backus and Foster at the helm.   This should upgrade a weak unit that weathered heavy injuries last season and allowed 63 QB sacks.  That being said, Mulitalo is no spring chicken and players like Stephen Peterman, Frank Davis, Jonathan Scott, and Manny Ramirez all have exhibited some promise.   Versatile vets like Blaine Saipia and Barry Stokes are also quite valuable.  Ramirez may be a practice squad candidate, but he could also get plucked by another team, causing the Lions to be afraid of making him available to other franchises.  The four players who eventually will be kept will wage a heavy battle to remain.   Is Damien Woody Dom Raiola’s emergency backup at center?

Defensive Line: This unit needs to make the biggest leap performance-wise this season.   The front four of Edwards, Rogers, Redding and White appears set.   The Lions are high on Ikaika Alama-Francis, which leaves Corey Smith, Langston Moore, the apparent front-runners, along with Jared DeVries, Claude Harriott, Shaun Cody and Cleveland Pinkney to fight for the remaining three spots.   Shaun Cody, in particular, needs to make a bold statement since word is that he has not had that good of a camp.   My primary concern still rests with Kalimba “The Ghost” Edwards.   There is no proven pass rusher on the roster to displace Edwards if he continues to be ineffective.

Linebackers: This is an enigmatic bunch.   Ernie Sims is firmly entrenched, but how strong is the grip that Boss Bailey and Paris Lenon have on their starting jobs.   Can players like Johnny Baldwin, Anthony Cannon, Alex Lewis, Teddy “China Doll” Lehman and Donte Curry exert pressure for playing time.  This unit will eventually be slimmed to six, and personally, I would keep Cannon and Baldwin considering their high ceiling as players.

The Secondary:  Considering the checkered injury histories of both Travis Fisher and Fernando Bryant, the remaining CB’s on the final roster likely will figure heavily for the Lions.   Keith Smith and Stanley Wilson, Jr. appear to be roster locks, but A.J. Davis and Ramzee Robinson appear to both have made strong cases, too.  The starters appear to be Bryant, Wilson, Jr., Kenoy Kennedy, and Daniel Bullocks.   Gerald Alexander will make the team, and Idrees Bahir has made a strong case for himself.  The Lions will keep nine defensive backs, but don’t be surprised that if a veteran cornerback should eventually become available on Sept 1st, that the Lions don’t at least take a look.  The trade of Dre Bly could loom large if the secondary exposed this season.