A most excellent morning/afternoon/evening/night to my fellow Lions enthusiasts. Let me start off with saying just how sorry I am for being away for so long. I feel today is just as good as any to post on my blog about Detroit’s less well-received team, the Lions. Well the Lions have snapped their 19-game losing streak with a 19-14 win over the Washington Redskins! Thanks to a fella named Brendan Ringlever I was able to attend and see the win since it was blacked out.
So far we are 1-4 and in the losses thus far to New Orleans, Minnesota, Chicago and Pittsburgh there were huge signs of improvement. They didn’t start the games being down 21-0 before starting to battle back. Although we got doubled up by Chicago we were in that game with a 21-21 tie at the half. What they have to focus on is learning to finish and not let up keep the foot down on their throats. Quarterback Matt Stafford is showing good signs of improvement and I believe we have our quarterback for the future. I wish he could have played against Pittsburgh because that is how a QB gets better is by playing the tough, hard teams.
I love this team so that is why I called this blog entry “A Lion Man’s Burden” it is a burden to be a Lions fan and have the NFL world look at you like you are a joke. But the thing is the Lions are NOT the worst team this season well at least not for now. The Tennessee Titans, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and St Louis Rams are all 0-5 and The Rams and Buccaneers are both former Super Bowl champions. Last seasons’ division winners could very well be this years’ division bottom feeders. Things change! New players are either drafted, new free agents are signed and or players change rolls. New offensive/defensive scheme changes, coaches and personnel change all the time. I think we are going to keep last seasons’ record like luggage unless the Rams follow in our awful footsteps. I would never want to see another team go through the hell the Lions did last season except for the Vikings and Packers whom I despise with a nuclear capability.
Not sure how many draft picks we will have in next year’s draft but if we have 8 picks, these are the positions I think we should draft. Defensive Tackle or Offensive Tackle (with 1st round pick), Defensive End, Cornerback, Safety, Offensive Guard, Linebacker, Quarterback (Developmental player for Stafford’s back-up), Wide Receiver (not a 1st round pick FYI) and a Running Back. I agree with drafting the best player available but you have to address team needs. If the best player available in the 3rd round is a Wide Receiver but you have a glaring need at Cornerback draft the best Cornerback available.
Here are a couple of links on the top college prospects for next year’s draft as well as a VERY tentative, speculative draft scenario based on teams’ standings thus far into the 2009 season.
http://walterfootball.com/draft2010.php
http://cfn.scout.com/2/856941.html
Here is the current roster of the Lions in case anyone would like to check out the current roster.
Detroit Lions roster
Quarterbacks
11 Daunte Culpepper
9 Matthew Stafford
5 Drew Stanton
Running Backs
21 Aaron Brown
45 Jerome Felton FB
28 Maurice Morris
34 Kevin Smith
44 Terrelle Smith FB
Wide Receivers
80 Bryant Johnson
81 Calvin Johnson
86 Dennis Northcutt PR
12 Derrick Williams KR
Tight Ends
82 Casey FitzSimmons
89 Will Heller
84 Brandon Pettigrew
Offensive Linemen
76 Jeff Backus T
77 Gosder Cherilus T
65 Dylan Gandy C
68 Jon Jansen T
70 Daniel Loper G
66 Stephen Peterman G
51 Dominic Raiola C
63 Manny Ramirez G
74 Ephraim Salaam T
Defensive Linemen
92 Cliff Avril DE
94 Copeland Bryan DE
98 Landon Cohen DT
91 Chuck Darby DT
96 Andre Fluellen DT
79 Sammie Hill DT
97 Jason Hunter DE
90 Grady Jackson DT
75 Turk McBride DT/DE
99 Dewayne White DE
Linebackers
57 Jordon Dizon OLB
49 Zack Follett OLB
55 Larry Foote ILB
54 DeAndre Levy ILB
59 Julian Peterson OLB
50 Ernie Sims OLB
Defensive Backs
31 Phillip Buchanon CB
26 Louis Delmas FS
32 Anthony Henry CB
23 Kevin Hobbs CB
41 William James CB
40 Marquand Manuel FS
24 Kalvin Pearson SS
30 Ko Simpson FS
25 Marvin White SS
Special Teams
4 Jason Hanson K
2 Nick Harris P
48 Don Muhlbach LS
Reserve Lists
27 Daniel Bullocks SS (IR)
-- Damion Cook G/T (IR)
95 Jared DeVries DE (IR)
-- Kenneth Harris WR (IR)
17 Adam Jennings WR (IR)
29 Eric King CB (IR)
53 Cody Spencer ILB (IR)
1 Swayze Waters K (IR)
Practice Squad
61 Matthias Askew DT (Injured)
43 Tristan Davis RB
64 Dan Gerberry C
86 Dan Gronkowski TE
-- Kole Heckendorf WR
-- Jervonte Jackson DT
87 Taurus Johnson WR
78 Lydon Murtha OT
35 DeAndre Wright CB
Well that’s all I got for now my Lionettes. Just hang in there, this team is getting better but still has a long way to go. We need two more solid drafts before this roster is purged of some bad and mediocre players. A lot of players that were brought in are not long term solutions. As Coach Jim Schwartz likes to say “Let’s get a little bit better each time” and they are doing that! Good night and GO LIONS!
So far we are 1-4 and in the losses thus far to New Orleans, Minnesota, Chicago and Pittsburgh there were huge signs of improvement. They didn’t start the games being down 21-0 before starting to battle back. Although we got doubled up by Chicago we were in that game with a 21-21 tie at the half. What they have to focus on is learning to finish and not let up keep the foot down on their throats. Quarterback Matt Stafford is showing good signs of improvement and I believe we have our quarterback for the future. I wish he could have played against Pittsburgh because that is how a QB gets better is by playing the tough, hard teams.
I love this team so that is why I called this blog entry “A Lion Man’s Burden” it is a burden to be a Lions fan and have the NFL world look at you like you are a joke. But the thing is the Lions are NOT the worst team this season well at least not for now. The Tennessee Titans, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and St Louis Rams are all 0-5 and The Rams and Buccaneers are both former Super Bowl champions. Last seasons’ division winners could very well be this years’ division bottom feeders. Things change! New players are either drafted, new free agents are signed and or players change rolls. New offensive/defensive scheme changes, coaches and personnel change all the time. I think we are going to keep last seasons’ record like luggage unless the Rams follow in our awful footsteps. I would never want to see another team go through the hell the Lions did last season except for the Vikings and Packers whom I despise with a nuclear capability.
Not sure how many draft picks we will have in next year’s draft but if we have 8 picks, these are the positions I think we should draft. Defensive Tackle or Offensive Tackle (with 1st round pick), Defensive End, Cornerback, Safety, Offensive Guard, Linebacker, Quarterback (Developmental player for Stafford’s back-up), Wide Receiver (not a 1st round pick FYI) and a Running Back. I agree with drafting the best player available but you have to address team needs. If the best player available in the 3rd round is a Wide Receiver but you have a glaring need at Cornerback draft the best Cornerback available.
Here are a couple of links on the top college prospects for next year’s draft as well as a VERY tentative, speculative draft scenario based on teams’ standings thus far into the 2009 season.
http://walterfootball.com/draft2010.php
http://cfn.scout.com/2/856941.html
Here is the current roster of the Lions in case anyone would like to check out the current roster.
Detroit Lions roster
Quarterbacks
11 Daunte Culpepper
9 Matthew Stafford
5 Drew Stanton
Running Backs
21 Aaron Brown
45 Jerome Felton FB
28 Maurice Morris
34 Kevin Smith
44 Terrelle Smith FB
Wide Receivers
80 Bryant Johnson
81 Calvin Johnson
86 Dennis Northcutt PR
12 Derrick Williams KR
Tight Ends
82 Casey FitzSimmons
89 Will Heller
84 Brandon Pettigrew
Offensive Linemen
76 Jeff Backus T
77 Gosder Cherilus T
65 Dylan Gandy C
68 Jon Jansen T
70 Daniel Loper G
66 Stephen Peterman G
51 Dominic Raiola C
63 Manny Ramirez G
74 Ephraim Salaam T
Defensive Linemen
92 Cliff Avril DE
94 Copeland Bryan DE
98 Landon Cohen DT
91 Chuck Darby DT
96 Andre Fluellen DT
79 Sammie Hill DT
97 Jason Hunter DE
90 Grady Jackson DT
75 Turk McBride DT/DE
99 Dewayne White DE
Linebackers
57 Jordon Dizon OLB
49 Zack Follett OLB
55 Larry Foote ILB
54 DeAndre Levy ILB
59 Julian Peterson OLB
50 Ernie Sims OLB
Defensive Backs
31 Phillip Buchanon CB
26 Louis Delmas FS
32 Anthony Henry CB
23 Kevin Hobbs CB
41 William James CB
40 Marquand Manuel FS
24 Kalvin Pearson SS
30 Ko Simpson FS
25 Marvin White SS
Special Teams
4 Jason Hanson K
2 Nick Harris P
48 Don Muhlbach LS
Reserve Lists
27 Daniel Bullocks SS (IR)
-- Damion Cook G/T (IR)
95 Jared DeVries DE (IR)
-- Kenneth Harris WR (IR)
17 Adam Jennings WR (IR)
29 Eric King CB (IR)
53 Cody Spencer ILB (IR)
1 Swayze Waters K (IR)
Practice Squad
61 Matthias Askew DT (Injured)
43 Tristan Davis RB
64 Dan Gerberry C
86 Dan Gronkowski TE
-- Kole Heckendorf WR
-- Jervonte Jackson DT
87 Taurus Johnson WR
78 Lydon Murtha OT
35 DeAndre Wright CB
Well that’s all I got for now my Lionettes. Just hang in there, this team is getting better but still has a long way to go. We need two more solid drafts before this roster is purged of some bad and mediocre players. A lot of players that were brought in are not long term solutions. As Coach Jim Schwartz likes to say “Let’s get a little bit better each time” and they are doing that! Good night and GO LIONS!
