SB Nation - Brian Calhoun

Steelers Release Foote; Lions Release Three, Sign One

Sean Yuille — Mon, 04 May 2009 22:01:53 -0000

The Steelers released middle linebacker Larry Foote today, ending speculation over what would happen with his career in Pittsburgh. News broke last week that he had been released, but we quickly found out that that was a bit premature. The news became that Foote was going to be released if the Steelers couldn't find a trading partner, and that obviously never happened since Foote is now a free agent. Whether or not the Lions sign him is left to be seen, but I see no reason for them not to. Right now the middle linebacker situation is less than ideal, and it's rare that free agents from Super Bowl teams want to play for the Lions. It would be very disappointing if Foote didn't become a Lion.

The Lions also made some moves today, one of which was releasing running back Brian Calhoun. This move is not surprising at all. Calhoun was a third-round pick back in 2006 and had a very disappointing career in Detroit. He was never healthy and didn't have a chance to show anything because of that. Now that the Lions have Kevin Smith, Maurice Morris, and draft pick Aaron Brown, this move was bound to happen eventually. Factor in Aveion Cason, who can returns kicks and play running back, and it is even less surprising. There is simply no room at RB for someone that can't stay healthy and has shown the team no reason to keep him around.

On top of releasing Calhoun, the Lions also got rid of wide receivers Travis Taylor and Steve Sanders. Defensive end Eric Hicks, who played under Gunther Cunningham in Kansas City, was signed by the Lions.

Recent Draft History: Detroit Lions

mgrex03 — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 22:09:50 -0000

We all know the running joke in the league is that the Lions only take Wide Receivers in the first round, especially when they are in the top 10. Thankfully for Lions' fans, Matt Millen is no longer drafting for them, even though I think he had learned from drafting the same position in the top 10 3 years in a row.

I took a look at the last 3 drafts for the Lions, to try and see if they had any tendencies, which may help shape where they will go in 2009. Here's a list of their picks from the first 3 rounds, as well as the number of games played by those picks:

Year	Round	Player	Position	Games
2008	1	Gosder Cherilus	OT	16
2008	2	Jordon Dizon	OLB	12
2008	3	Kevin Smith	RB	16
2008	3	Andre Fluellen	DT	8
2008	3	Cliff Avril	LB	15
2007	1	Calvin Johnson	WR	31
2007	2	Drew Stanton	QB	3
2007	2	Ikaika Alama-Francis	DE	19
2007	2	Gerald Alexander	FS	21
2006	1	Ernie Sims	OLB	48
2006	2	Daniel Bullocks	SS	31
2006	3	Brian Calhoun	RB	11

Some notes:

After a few years of really struggling in the draft, the last 3 years have been pretty good. I'd consider Calvin Johnson the best player drafted in that time frame, and I credit the Lions organization for taking the PR lumps, taking another WR, and ending up with a fantastic player.
The Lions had 5 picks in the first 3 rounds last year, which is the same as 2009. They went 3 on defense, all up front. I'm guessing they'll take at least a Safety this year, as they've brought in 2 CBs since Friday. They'll probably stay away from a RB as well, especially with the signing of Maurice Morris on Friday.
These 12 guys have played in 231 of a possible 352 games, which is 65.6%. I don't know what the league average is, but this seems pretty low. Only 3 players have played in every game of their career, with 2 others being just 1 game short.
Of the 22 starters in Week 1, only 11 of them were drafted by the Lions. Again, I don't have any stats from other teams, but I'm guessing the more successful teams are in the 15 to 16 range. They'll need to work on drafting and retaining their talent to get back to competing for the playoffs.

With the Lions choosing #1 overall, here are a few interesting notes:

The last time the Lions had the #1 overall pick was 1980, and they took Heisman trophy winner RB Billy Sims. Had 2008 Heisman winner Sam Bradford decided to come out this year, I think the Lions would have selected their 2nd Oklahoma Heisman winner.
Over the past 20 years, there have been 11 QBs taken #1 overall, but only 5 have turned out to be NFL quality QBs (Aikman, Bledsoe, Manning x 2, Palmer). The Lions should tread wisely when contemplating taking Stafford #1 overall.
The last 2 times the Lions have taken a QB with their first pick, they've come away with Joey Harrington and Andre Ware. Again, there's no need to take the QB #1 just because everyone says you should or will.

Lastly, here's a chart of what positions the Lions have picked over the past 3 years. This should give us a glimpse into what the Lions could do in 2009:

Position	QB	RB	WR	TE	OT	OG/C	DE	DT	LB	CB	S
Drafted	1	3	2	0	2	2	2	1	5	3	3

From a sheer numbers look, the Lions have drafted heavily on defense the past 3 years. I expect them to focus a little more on offense than in the past, but still get at least 3 or 4 defensively, as that's where they really struggled last season.

Friday Notes: Bills Game Observations

Sean Yuille — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:15:37 -0000

Just a heads up, I didn't catch much of the Lions-Bills game yesterday, so the game recap will not be as detailed as usual.
As expected, many Lions starters did not play at all, and a few of the ones that did were not in the game for very long. The same can be said for Buffalo as only one regular starter played.
Brian Calhoun was injured during the game. He got the start for the Lions but only had 2 carries. Aveion Cason and Tatum Bell were held out of the game, so Artose Pinner played nearly the entire game at running back. He had 23 carries for 78 yards when all was said and done.
Dan Campbell was held out of the game because of his hamstring injury. He missed all four preseason games and only returned to practice this past week.
Dan Orlovsky played most of the game and did quite well. He went 12-21 for 114 yards and 1 touchdown. That 1 touchdown was the only time either team got into the end zone, and Jerome Felton was actually on the receiving end of the TD pass.
Drew Henson completed the only pass he threw in this game for 11 yards. Henson tried to get a second pass off, but got sacked before he could make the throw. Mainly he was in the game to hand the ball off as he only knows 10 plays right now.
WWJTV's broadcast of the game really stunk. Matt Shepard did a decent job of filling in for Gus Johnson, and Charlie Sanders was alright as a color commentator to complement Desmond Howard. However, who the hell was working the cameras? Have you ever heard of zooming out once in a while? Watching football when the camera is zoomed in so you only see a few players in one shot is not fun.
Tom Kowalski thinks the Lions will keep five receivers, five cornerbacks, and six linebackers on the 53-man roster. Surprisingly, he believes Buster Davis won't make the team as he isn't versatile enough at linebacker. Also, Tatum Bell seems to have wrapped up a spot on the roster as he was held out of last night's game, signaling that the Lions need him to be healthy.
We will find out what the 53-man roster looks like by 4 p.m. ET tomorrow. That is when the deadline is to trim the roster down to 53 players. I'll be at the Michigan-Utah game when the cuts are made, but I'll try to put up a post as soon as I get back from the game updating who made the team and who didn't.
Originally I planned to make a final roster prediction today, but that is up in the air right now. I am having Internet issues at my place in Ann Arbor (I'm not there right now), so a roster prediction will depend on if I can even access the Internet.
The Lions are offering a "Pepsi Pack" for the Packers game on September 14. The "Pepsi Pack" will get you two upper-deck tickets, two soft drinks, and two hot dogs for $99.
Lions safety Dwight Smith will be going to his old high school on their first day of class next week.
ESPN's so-called experts predicted the Lions to finish last in the NFC North. I don't necessarily think they'll go and win the division, but I don't think they will finish last, either.
Click here for a recap of the Lions' kickoff luncheon.
The Saints may be forced to temporarily relocate to Indianapolis next week as Hurricane Gustav appears to be headed straight for New Orleans.
Chad Johnson reportedly has legally changed his name to Chad Ocho Cinco. Seriously. How awesome would it be if the Bengals changed his number?
Adam "Pacman" Jones was reinstated by Roger Goodell yesterday. Guess where he was when he found out the news. No, it wasn't a strip club. It was actually Hooters.