Man they could go anyway. It will depend on who they hire as GM and as coach, if Marinelli gets whacked. Despite them being 0-14, this team is playing hard for him. They've been in close games through late November and early December. It's not a team that's quit. But I think he goes.

It seems that they don't think Drew Stanton is the answer, but you'd like to see him get a couple of starts so they're sure. If they moved to a 3-4 - and they have the personnel despite being a 4-3 team - they could look at Cody. Smart money I suppose is on Sam Bradford, although if I was Bradford, I'd be inclined to play another year at Oklahoma. Don't get me wrong, he's an elite passer with great accuracy and delivery, who's strong in the pocket and has a tremendous arm and great touch, but his footwork is mediocre at best and he's just a redshirt sophomore who could do with some more meat on his frame.

When all's said and done, Bradford is probably the safe pick, unless someone like Eugene Monroe or even a Jason Smith blows them away in workouts and they pair a big old LT with Cherilus on the right side. But with Calvin Johnson looking set to go All World and Kevin Smith doing a decent job at TB, Bradford probably makes the most sense and would envigorate the fan base. Remember, the current financial climate is going to impact teams that sell out every week and who win like Pitt and Dallas. Can you imagine what it's going to do for a team that just went 0-16. Bums on seats is an important factor.

Bradford to Johnson or Bradford handing to Smith legitimises that offense, because Bradford is good enough to be anything he wants to be.

But in the end I think it comes down to the GM and the coaching staff.

 

I think they look back at what Ryan did with Atlanta and figure a franchise QB will do the samething.

 

If the Lions were lucky, they could go LT at #1, and go DE with their other #1. Then in the 2nd, work on getting a CB.

Since we are assuming they are lucky, they will have gotten Cassell in FA, and he will help put buts in the seats.


But we all know they have been very unlucky.

 

Its very difficult to trade down from the top pick.

 

My bad. I must have skipped that part.

 

That's the exception to the rule. The thing is an early drafted QB is (usually) being drafted by a really bad team, and without a decent support cast they'll never survive.

 

If I were Bradford, I would stay in college so I wouldn't have to play for Detroit.

www.0and16.com

I laugh but I shouldn't :lol:

 

We were on that page last year.

 

yep ,,,, i think they should trade down... even take a bad deal if they have to.No one player is going to make them but a bad one could set them back.

 

Who says they'll be better next year?

 

Why Bradford over Stafford? Bradford might have the most upside, but the key with Stafford is that hes coming out of a pro style system. I think Stafford might be more ready to come in and start and do well early than Bradford, even if he might not have as tremendous an upside 2-3 years down the road. I doubt the Falcons are regretting their pick much right now.
But I think they will aggressively pursue a FA like Cassell, and use the draft to bolster the OL and some defensive spots.

 

Geee i hope they'll be.

I agree with Tex. If I were the Lions I would chase Cassel aggressively.

 

I don't think Bradford or any QB not named Stafford is the way to go for the Lions. They need defensive help because CB's are always on an island out there. I would try to trade down unless I've stockpiled heavily with DE's, LB's, and DT's in FA. Falcons have a great blueprint.

 

Yeah, just like us. Aquire a QB and build on both lines. Just depends how they want to do it really. I dont think they could go wrong with a top LT or DT or Stafford.

 

Yeah . I think the blueprint for rebuilding is there if you just look at the Fins offseason.

-Lions should get Cassel
-pick Monroe or Oher for LT
-move Buckus to RT
-pick DT Raji with your next 1st round pick
-pick a DE Larry English in the 2nd round.
-pick a G in the 3rd round

Now that's a unit

 

The Lions are in worse shape then we were last season.

It's a classic case of do you go with your strength on paper?

Their offense has more talent then the "D" does..bolster the O, or go with D?

Go with the offensive side of the ledger, 8 games indoors along with 1 at MN, but I would not go with a Qb at #1 overall, I'd go Defense at #1 and then focus on the offense for the rest of the premium picks or something similar.

 

It's fun playing Parcells, isnt it?

 

They have a bona-fide #1 threat at WR, plus plenty of guys who can and have gone for 1000 yards, and a pretty good RB. Just need a QB and a LT. Move Backus elsewhere either in the line or another team. Their defense is just putrid.

 

I also think Bradford makes no sense. The Lions could draft the Second Coming of Dan Marino but it would do them little good. Parcells knew this and took an LT in Jake Long first. If I am the Lions I take OT Andre Smith from Alabama (The Outland Trophy winner) and pencil him in. You can take QB's later on.

 

You only want to sign Cassell if you're running a spread offense. That will only depend on the coaching staff.

 

Smith isn't worth the first pick.

 

Cherilus is a tackle. Couldn't see him at G.

 

To play Devil's advocate though, if you are on a 3-4 year rebuilding plan they'll need both an elite QB and an elite OT, so it doesn't really matter what year they grab either right. Parcells and Ireland reasoned that Henne was just as good as Ryan, but who in this draft you could reason is as good as Bradford in the 2nd?

 

More based on Gosder. Some tackles convert to guards.

 

Well if Cherilus is not the type of player who can move to guard then I'm certain Backus can play guard.

I think, Oher - Backus - Raiola - Peterman - Cherilus looks to be a decent offensive line.

Dewayne White - Raji - Shaun Cody - English looks a like a decent defensive line too.

they also need to trade their 4th round pick for a starting tight end and a starting middle linebacker! :)

 

So a Lions game would be a high scoring affair until the Defense catches up to the Offense, it is an odd thing to try and rebuild to units in a single offseason, you normally end up with two crappy ones.

With the offense being closer, but the D needing someone to build around (Mario Williams comes to mind) I'd throw a bone to the D first, then go offense.

The one thing the Lions do have going for them is that division is not good right now.

 

Technically is any OL? Was Jake Long? Or do you just prefer a different tackle such as Oher or Monroe? No sarcasm here, just curious.

Bottom line is they need a starter and one who will be pretty good for a long time. They cannot afford a player that will do nothing for 2-3 years, or is just a plain ol bust.
Perhaps they would see a LT as being less likely to be a bust pick, especially with the successes of teams drafting LTs high lately.
In theory you might not have to pay Smith/Oher/Monroe etc the same $$ as youd have to pay Bradford/Stafford, and hope for a rookie cap to be in place for '10.

I dunno, they really could go in any number of directions right now. I suppose we will need to see what kind of GM they bring in, and what he starts setting in motion before we can feel any kind of confidence in their direction.

 

Problem with Andre Smith is that he's not quick off the line and I saw him lose his balance quite a few times in a couple games. I don't think he's worth the first overall pick and I expect him to slide a bit.

 

Some of the recent games have been as such in past years. They've been trying to go run-based and tried to draft heavily on it (which was a stupid idea when you have 4 WR's who can top 1000 yards in CJ, Roy Williams, Mike Furrey, and Shaun McDonald and an underpowered OL). Only 2 spots really need fixing for the offense with holes everywhere on defense. Certainly defense is going to get the majority of the fixes.

 

I actually prefer Monroe, Russell Okung, Jason Smith and Oher.

 

C-Pepe or Stanton are running that offense, and they still are scoring, a upgrade could put them into the Colts circa most of the Manning Era, their strength made up for the weaknesses on Defense.

I have a pet theory that it is cheaper and much more possible to sign FA defensive players then offensive ones, perhaps they go Offense in the Draft and Defense in FA?


Marinelli is a goner, and this year, the top teams (Titans, Steelers, Giants) really do not have that one Assistant or Coordinator who stands out as a great Head Coaching prospect, maybe Spagnola(sp) from the Giants.

They could go in either direction, maybe Russ Grimm down in AZ, maybe McDonald from the Pats, Detroit is a Coach Killer of a job, it will be hard to bring in a Hot Assistant to take over.

 

Dullpepper's no Manning and neither is Stanton. If it weren't for the fact that Calvin Johnson is all-world talent and Kevin Smith is no slouch, that team could crumble offensively. I don't think it would be cheaper necessarily but certainly very possible to sign better blue-chip defensive FA's as stopgaps. If they go offense in draft, it's to pick up an elite LT or QB and that's it. The rest should all be defense. Detroit may be a coach killer but it's a very worthy challenge. Steve Spagnuolo would make an excellent head coach though I wonder if even he could succeed there. But with Millen gone, it's more possible now.