SB Nation - Jake Nordin

Lions Sign Two to Practice Squad, Work Out Others

Sean Yuille — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:04:45 -0000

Looking to add more depth to the tight end position, the Lions signed Jake Nordin to the practice squad. Nordin was on the Lions' roster this past summer and had been playing in the UFL up until last week. The UFL's season came to an end and Nordin's team, the Las Vegas Locomotives, won the championship. UFL players are now free to sign with NFL teams, and Nordin wasted no time in coming back to Detroit.

The Lions also signed offensive guard Kurt Quarterman to the practice squad. Quarterman worked out for the Lions on Tuesday along with Brian Daniels, Carson Butler, Marcus McCauley, Keiwan Ratliff, and Courtney Robinson. With injuries continuing to happen, it's important to maintain a short list of free agents, so it's not surprise that the Lions are doing their homework, especially with the injury bug that has been going around lately.

Gonzo's Fearless 53-Man Roster Projection for the 2009 Minnesota Vikings, Part I

Gonzo — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:55:23 -0000

More photos » by Dave Einsel - AP

Will we be seeing this in Minnesota at any point in 2009? We should know by this Saturday. (AP Photo/Dave Einsel)

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Well, folks, final cutdown day for the Beloved Purple, as well as the rest of the National Football League, is this Saturday, and the Vikings have a few interesting decisions to make. What are they going to do with the quarterback situation? Who's going to be the nickel back? What about the offensive line backups?

Have no fear, for it's now the time to make those projections for the Vikings' roster for the 2009 season. From 75 down to 53, here's what I think I would do if I were in charge. And, heck, I'm going to give myself an easy one to get things started.

Special Teams

Starters: Ryan Longwell (K), Chris Kluwe (P), Cullen Loeffler (LS)

Let's see. . .Longwell is the only kicker on the current roster, Kluwe is the only punter, and Loeffler is the only long-snapper. Therefore, I'll go out on a limb and guess that they're all going to make the team. Damn, this GM thing is easy!

Okay, with those three spots filled, the rest of the roster projection comes after the jump.

Quarterback

Starter: Brett Favre
Backups: Sage Rosenfels, John David Booty
Likely to be traded: Tarvaris Jackson

There's an outside chance that the Vikings will keep four quarterbacks, but I really don't think that's going to happen. Favre obviously didn't come here to hold a clipboard, and the Vikings didn't deal a fourth-round pick for Rosenfels and give him a contract extension to turn around and trade him five months later. That leaves the third QB spot to be decided between Jackson and Booty.

The Vikings could attempt to slip Booty onto the practice squad. . .and it's been determined that he is eligible for the practice squad. . .but Minnesota may still have a bad taste in their mouths over the Tyler Thigpen situation and might not want to allow that to happen again. Jackson, bolstered largely by his performance against Kansas City in the second game of the pre-season, has seen an increase in his potential trade value, and I can't shake the feeling that the Vikings will deal him to somewhere with a need at quarterback for a fifth-round choice. Teams like Jacksonville, Buffalo, and San Francisco are teams that I would expect to be associated with a potential Tarvaris Jackson trade.

Running Back

Starters: Adrian Peterson, Naufahu Tahi (FB)
Backups: Chester Taylor, Albert Young
Practice Squad Candidate: Ian Johnson
Cut: Nehemiah Broughton

The most interesting battle here has been for the #3 spot between Young and Johnson. While Johnson is the sentimental favorite in many eyes, the reason that the Vikings didn't draft a running back in 2009 is because the coaching staff likes Albert Young a lot. To Young's credit, he has outperformed Johnson this pre-season, and I'm not sure that Johnson has made a significant enough impact on special teams to merit a roster spot at this point. I'd love to see him spend a year on the practice squad, though.

As far as the fullbacks are concerned, Brad Childress has a really weird love affair with Tahi, and the versatility of a couple of players that will be mentioned later negates the need for another "pure" fullback. Nehemiah's pink slip should be Broughten to him sometime on Saturday.

Wide Receiver

Starters: Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice
Backups: Percy Harvin, Bobby Wade, Jaymar Johnson, Darius Reynaud
Cuts: Nick Moore, Vinny Perretta, Bobby Williams

Yes, I have the feeling that the Vikings will be forced to keep six receivers this time around. Contrary to a few years ago when the Vikings had basically zero talent at the WR position, now they have a decent little group. The guy that's on the bubble here is Reynaud. The Vikings appear to have given Percy Harvin the kick returner's job, and Jaymar Johnson is establishing himself as a decent punt return guy, so I'm not sure if they'll find a role for Reynaud or not. Granted, the Vikings do have a couple of guys in Harvin and Rice that have a propensity for getting banged up, but is that enough of a reason to spend a sixth roster spot on a wide receiver? I have a strange feeling that it will be.

Tight End

Starter: Visanthe Shiancoe
Backups: Jim Kleinsasser, Jeff Dugan
Practice Squad Candidate: Jake Nordin
Cut: Garrett Mills

Remember when we all thought that the Vikings "stole" Garrett Mills from the Patriots a few years back? Well, yeah. . .that was before we knew that the guy couldn't stay healthy for five consecutive minutes. He's been injured for the better part of this pre-season as well, and the time has probably come to just cut ties with him all together.

Nordin could be an intriguing practice squad candidate. He's a local kid with pretty decent blocking ability and good size. Plus, with the kind of offense the Vikings have run under Brad Childress, it probably wouldn't hurt them to have a spare TE stashed away somewhere. As far as the mainstays, Shiancoe looks to have a big year in 2009, and the ability of both Kleinsasser and Dugan to line up at fullback as well as TE is the reason I mentioned earlier that the Vikings don't need to keep two fullbacks around.

Offensive Line

Starters: Bryant McKinnie, Steve Hutchinson, John Sullivan, Anthony Herrera, Phil Loadholt
Backups: Artis Hicks, Ryan Cook, Drew Radovich
Practice Squad Candidates: Jon Cooper, Andy Kemp
Cuts: Juan Garcia, Brian Daniels, Chris Clark

Versatility is going to be the key to how this part of the roster is affected. Artis Hicks played capably at a number of offensive line positions in 2008, and Ryan Cook can ~~suck~~ back-up at center, right guard, or right tackle. We haven't heard a lot of noise about Drew Radovich this year after hearing quite a bit about him prior to his injury in 2008, but when you're an offensive lineman, that's generally a pretty good thing. It's entirely possible that the Vikings will carry nine offensive linemen, too, but I'm not sure which of the guys I have getting cut is the most likely candidate to latch on if that becomes the case.

Cooper and Kemp strike me as good practice squad types for this year. Kemp is a mauler out of Wisconsin that the Vikings grabbed as an undrafted free agent, and Cooper. . .the Big 12 Conference's offensive lineman of the year as a senior. . .is an undersized, finesse center that would appear to fit quite well into the Vikings' zone-blocking scheme.

So, with that, we've filled 27 spots on the 53-man roster. That means the other 26 spots need to be filled with defenders, and that's exactly what we'll do in the second half of the preview. Look for that sometime tomorrow. Until then, enjoy the rest of your Wednesday, ladies and gentlemen!

Thursday Notes: Lions Sign Two, Release Two

Sean Yuille — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:22:29 -0000

Individual game tickets for the Lions go on sale at 10 a.m. on August 27. For more information, check out the Lions' official website.
The Lions have signed offensive guard Milford Brown and safety Calvin Lowry. To make room on the roster for the two new players, the Lions released defensive tackle John Gill, who was the first undrafted free agent to sign with Detroit earlier this year, and tight end Jake Nordin.

Brown started four games for the Jaguars last season and is generally considered to be a guard. He has been in the league since 2002, when he was selected by the Texans in the supplemental draft.

Lowry was a fourth-round pick in 2006 by the Titans, where he played for Jim Schwartz for a couple seasons. He started three games for the Broncos last season. His signing could be a hint that Daniel Bullocks isn't going to return anytime soon. We learned yesterday that Bullocks was out indefinitely, but Schwartz didn't really provide a timetable for his return.
No players were actually ruled out yet, but Tom Kowalski speculates that the list of injuries for Saturday's game against the Falcons will be pretty big.
Usually rookies experience hazing at the hands of veteran players, but that was not the case with the Lions, as Jim Schwartz made sure that didn't happen from the start. He thinks players should be professional and worry more about teaching rookies than messing with them. I like that attitude, as these players are here to do a job, and while hazing can be fun, winning is even better.
Bryant Johnson was able to return to practice sooner than expected thanks to an experimental treatment.
If you're in the main or overflow #1 fantasy football leagues, check your inboxes, as invites have been sent. I will try to get the other two leagues up and running later today, so if you're in one of those leagues, keep on the lookout for it. (Note: The current draft date/time is not set in stone by any means. It is just what the site had when I created the league, as both the date and time will be discussed on here at another time before it is finalized.)
Madden 10 officially comes out at 12:01 a.m. tonight. I probably won't pick it up until tomorrow afternoon, but once I do, expect me to be missing from the site for a few hours. Based on everything I've heard, the game is amazing, so here's to hoping it lives up to its expectations.

Friday Notes: Lions to Take Practice to Ford Field

Sean Yuille — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 03:42:21 -0000

More photos » by Carlos Osorio - AP

4 months ago: Detroit Lions owner William Clay Ford, left, sits with team general manager Martin Mayhew, center, and talks with president Tom Lewand, right,during NFL football training camp in Allen Park, Mich., Friday, Aug. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

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Don't forget, tomorrow is "Lions Uncaged" at Ford Field. Gates open at noon and you can get autographs until 12:45 p.m. The practice will start at 1 p.m. and is expected to last around two hours. FOX 2 Detroit will be broadcasting live from the practice from 2-3, and I will be providing live updates via Twitter on Pride of Detroit.
Today's 7-on-7 drill went very well for Detroit's quarterbacks.
As you know by now, injuries are really starting to pile up. Damion Cook is out for the season. Bryant Johnson is still out due to wounds from his golf cart accident. Casey FitzSimmons is going to be out for an extended period of time, as is Keith Smith, who has a groin injury. Maurice Morris, John Standeford, Dennis Northcutt (missed today's morning practice and only took part in individual drills in the afternoon), Brandon Pettigrew, Jake Nordin, Lydon Murtha, Jordon Dizon, Daniel Bullocks, and Louis Delmas have all suffered injuries that are of the day-to-day nature. Most haven't returned to practice yet, but it isn't expected that those players will be out for too long. At least that is the hope.
Anthony Henry practiced at safety today, but it was mainly because Lions coaches want him to learn the position just in case depth continues to be thin with Bullocks and Delmas both injured.
In case you ever attend a practice and wonder why the quarterbacks suddenly are throwing passes out of bounds on a consistent basis, it probably is because they are running a drill where throwing the ball away is actually somewhat encouraged.
Aaron Brown had a long touchdown run during an 11-on-11 drill on Thursday.

(More after the jump)

The Lions' defense has had 40 different blitzes installed already.
Gunther Cunningham supposedly said this to Martin Mayhew after watching a 75-play video of a free agent:

"Last night, he had me look at 75 plays of a (free agent) player and he asked me, 'How'd you like him?' and I said, 'Eh, I've seen a lot better and you just wasted a lot of my time.' But that's my job, you know. You've got to look, and you've got to keep looking."
I would love to have seen the look on Mayhew's face after Cunningham delivered that line.
Gunther Cunningham's aggressiveness is rubbing off on his cornerbacks.
You need a premium membership to read the article, but the title of this story about DeAndre Levy pretty much says it all: "Failing to Impress Coaching Staff."
Jim Schwartz went on FOX Sports Radio recently. The audio can be found here.
Three former Lions are headed to the UFL.
The latest "Lions Congregation" is up at Church of Schwartz.

Wednesday Notes: Lions Sign Two, Release Three from Practice Squad

Sean Yuille — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:36:08 -0000

Safety LaMarcus Hicks, who was released from the active roster, was signed to the practice squad yet again. The Lions also signed wide receiver Joel Filani, who played for Seattle earlier this season, to the practice squad. Former Grand Valley State receiver Eric Fowler, tight end Jake Nordin, and cornerback Antonio Smith were released from the practice squad.
I expect to find out how many tickets are left for Sunday's game sometime today. My estimate is somewhere around nine or ten thousand. The last home game had around seven thousand tickets left on the Thursday before the game, so chances are there will be even more available since the Lions have lost twice since then.
MLive's Philip Zaroo rounded up some different reactions to the Lions' 2-point conversion attempt against Carolina that resulted in no penalties even though Daunte Culpepper got his face mask pulled. I personally like the headline of the post, as it shows how the referees must have been thinking during the play: "Lions QB Culpepper's facemask attacks hand of Panthers LB Beason."
Peter King suggests that a team like the Lions or 49ers take a look at hiring Scott Pioli, the Patriots' VP of Player Personnel. My belief is that if the Lions can't hire a proven general manager, then they should go after someone that works for a proven winner. The Falcons hired Thomas Dimitroff from the Patriots earlier this year, and that move looks like it was a pretty good one already.