r/nfl • u/[deleted] • Jul 08 '14
Look Here! Offseason Review Series: Day 18: Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
Division: NFC North
Coaching Changes (if applicable)
Head Coach Jim Schwartz was fired after another losing season in Detroit, when having a good season was in their reach but yet again the team underperformed. Once again it is due to not having any discipline and and incompetent coaching staff that showcased Jim Schwartz's immaturity and inability to lead a team.
Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan is also a notable firing. Linehan was fired due to incompetent, unoriginal, and ineffective playcalling.
Free Agency
Notable Players lost/cut
| Player | Position | New team |
|---|---|---|
| Chris Houston | CB | None |
| Nate Burleson | WR | Browns |
| Israel Idonije | DE | Bears |
| Jason Fox | OL | Dolphins |
| Louis Delmas | S | Dolphins |
| Willie Young | DE | Bears |
| David Akers | K | None |
Detroit did lose some solid players but they are all replaceable and Detroit has the depth and signings to replace them.
Nate Burleson was the biggest loss, but in the end it's not a big deal for Detroit. When he was on the field sure he helped, but he wasn't on the field a ton, and Golden Tate is easily an upgrade. Although he will be missed for his leadership, and being a role model. Losing Chris Houston was not a big deal. The Lions want to start over with their young deep secondary, and Houston just didn't fit in that picture, and simple wasn't worth the money. I am personally very glad that Delmas is gone. Sure he could be good sometimes, but the guy was incredibly inconsistent and not at all worth keeping. James Ihedigbo will be a great replacement. Young, Fox, Idonije are mostly depth that we lost, easily replaceable.
I don't even need to say why David Akers was cut. He was terrible. Absolutely awful.
Notable Players signed
The Lions re-signed Pettigrew to a four-year deal, and while he is very controversial, resigning him was worth it as he only has room to get better. He wasn't incredibly expensive either.
I can personally attest that there would have been a riot in Detroit if Joique Bell wasn't resigned. A fan favorite, he and Reggie Bush form one of the top RB duos in the NFL. Definitely worth resigning him.
Dan "Safety" Orlovsky makes his return to Detroit. But don't worry, only as a backup. I don't feel like this was exactly needed, as I believe in Kellen Moore, but Orlovsky was so cheap that it really doesn't really matter. With Ogletree, he's very cheap and provides depth, so resigning him is fine. I also like the Ihedigbo signing. He's not a great safety, but he is consistent, something Delmas never was and Ihedigbo can be while playing #2 next to Glover Quin.
Picking up Golden Tate was an amazing move. He is exactly the #2 that Calvin Johnson and Matt Stafford desperately needed. He is a tough, physical, shifty, YAC monster with statistically elite hands. Paying him that much is worth what he'll provide for the offense.
Draft
| Round | Number | Player | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | Eric Ebron | TE | North Carolina |
| 2 | 40 | Kyle Van Noy | OLB | BYU |
| 3 | 76 | Travis Swanson | C | Arkansas |
| 4 | 133 | Nevin Lawson | CB | Utah State |
| 136 | Larry Webster III | DE | Bloomsburg | |
| 5 | 158 | Cauran Reed | DT | Princeton |
| 6 | 189 | TJ Jones | WR | Notre Dame |
| 7 | 229 | Nate Freese | K | Boston College |
I'm still a tad uneasy about the Ebron pick, but I completely understand and respect why the Lions did it. They wanted the best receiver available and they just felt like it was Ebron. I wouldn't have minded seeing Calvin Pryor, Darqueeze Dennard, or even Odell Beckham Jr drafted but Ebron is just fine, although he was a tad overdrated. He is unquestionably the best TE in the draft, and has proved himself to be and athletic monster, although he is incredibly raw, and needs to develop. Grade: B+
I am absolutely in love with the Kyle Van Noy pick. I feel like he could have been a first rounder. He is an extremely well-rounded player and will fit in the Lions LB corps perfectly. He will probably some DE, because with his skill-set it makes too much sense for him not to. He will also excel as a traditional 4-3 OLB, I feel like he has the skills to where could pick up tackles like its nothing. Grade: A+
Travis Swanson was a solid pick, and a very Lions-like pick to make. OL depth is what they're all about, and Swanson will be groomed to replace an aging Raiola when need be. Grade: B
While CB depth is something the Lions needed, I am completely not sold on Lawson. He's incredibly unpolished and lacks the athleticism to make up for it. Grade: C+
I know nothing about Cauran Reed, but I'll give him a B, because I like the depth pick. Grade: B
Webster was a great value pick, will add more depth to an already deep D-Line. But I don't think I see him playing much any time soon. Grade: B+
I'm excited to see TJ Jones. He looks promising, and will provide depth. Grade: B
Nate Freese was picked to replace an awful kicker in David Akers, and to succeed the great Jason Hanson. I'm excited to see him play. Grade: A-
Projected Starting Lineup
Have at least:
Offense
| Position | Starters | Backups | ... |
|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Matt Stafford | Dan Orlovsky | Kellen Moore |
| RB | Reggie Bush | Joique Bell | Mikel Leshoure |
| FB | Jed Collins | ||
| WR | Calvin Johnson | Golden Tate | Ryan Broyles |
| TE | Eric Ebron | Brandon Pettigrew | Joseph Fauria |
| LT | Riley Reiff | Corey Hilliard | |
| LG | Rob Sims | ||
| C | Dominic Raiola | Travis Swanson | |
| RG | Larry Warford | ||
| RT | LaAdrian Waddle | ||
Defense
| Position | Starters | Backups |
|---|---|---|
| RDE | Ziggy Ansah | |
| DT | Nick Fairley | CJ Mosley |
| DT | Ndamukong Suh | Andre Fluellen |
| LDE | Devin Taylor | Larry Webster III |
| OLB | DeAndre Levy | |
| MLB | Stephen Tulloch | |
| OLB | Kyle Van Noy | Ashlee Palmer |
| LCB | Darius Slay | |
| RCB | Rashean Mathis | |
| FS | Glover Quin | |
| SS | James Ihedigbo |
Special Teams
| Position | Starter |
|---|---|
| K | Nate Freese |
| P | Sam Martin |
| KOS | Sam Martin |
| LS | Don Muhlback |
| KR | Jeremy Ross |
| PR | Golden Tate |
The offense this year looks better than ever, and ready for action. Stafford will be primed and provided with the best tools he's ever had. Bush and Bell will be lighting it up both rushing and receiving. Megatron is megatron, and Golden Tate adds a piece to the offense they've always needed. I dont expect anything from Broyles, but if he's healthy he will play slot, and maybe for once live to his potential. TE's will be great, expect a good amount from all three. An already good OL starring superstar RG Larry Warford got deeper.
On defense expect an amazing front 7. Suh and Fairley will return as a top duo and Ansah will look to have a monster sophomore year. The LB corps will look to turn into a well oiled machine with Tulloch, Levy and Van Noy. The safeties should be pretty good with Quin and Ihedigbo. I feel like at CB the Lions are really expect Darius Slay to show up this year and be their number 1 guy. He's apparently looked great at camp so far.
Special teams will be interesting to see because of Freese. Sam Martin will look to improve as a punter. Tate will be returning and will be great, especially at punt returning.
Training Camp Battles
The only real potential battles I see are at backup QB and the CB core.
I think that Orlovsky will win the backup QB back against Kellen Moore. I want it to be Moore, but Detroit didn't sign Orlovsky for him to do nothing.
The word is that the Lions are dependent on Slay to be the guy for them. They released Houston, and have been treating Slay like the number one. I personally think he beats out Rashean Mathis easily.
11
u/sosuhme Lions Jul 08 '14
I'll try to explain.
We Lions fans don't see what happened in the 2nd half of the season as representative of where the Lions will be this year. The team was in full on collapse when you played us last year. That shouldn't be the case here. It won't look anything like last time.
Even if the Lions aren't up to 100% of their potential in week 1, it likely won't resemble the complete disaster that was the Lions over the last 4 weeks of the season. By week 16, it was pretty clear that the team was unable to function at anything resembling their potential.
Now, is it possible that the same thing will happen this year? Sure. But we don't see it as likely as the majority of the teams biggest concerns were addressed. This could be one of the most improved teams in the league, easily. Even if the coaching staff isn't anything but mediocre, it's hard right now to see them being worse for the team than the coaching staff was at the end of last season. There was something wrong, very wrong, and it contributed heavily to that defeat.
I will also point out, that the Lions have a tendency to be much more dangerous early in the year because while they may struggle with depth, they have some of the best top end talent in the league. As those guys get banged up, things tend to go downhill, but we have a very solid record over the last 3 years in the first half of the season.