So, last year a lot of people wanted the Lions to go after free agent safety OJ Atogwe from the Rams. Much to the disappointment of many here, he signed with the Redskins. Well, less then 1 year after signing a 5 year, $26 million deal with the Skins, Atogwe is back on the market.

Last season he had some health issues, hamstring, toe, knee, pride...he actually ended the year as a back up. Now, with the thought that Detroit needs some help with the back 4, is Atogwe worth taking a look at...or did Mayhew make the right call on passing on him?

I personally think it might be worth kicking the tires on him...give him a look see. Heck, why not bring Jarred Page into the conversation also. Right?

I know, Sean already posted the list of Lions Free Agents as well as a brief breakdown of who he thinks will be back. Well, here are my thoughts on the Lions free agents and who should be re-signed.

Cliff Avril DE-UFA- I think the Lions will do everything they can to bring Avril back, but at the right price. While young pass rushing studs are in high demand and often bring the highest salary...it might be too much to keep him. He could go either way. I do expect him to be back with the Lions next year though

Jeff Backus OT-UFA- While Backus is getting long in the tooth and has dealt with some injuries the past few years, he still hasn't missed a game and has been playing some of his best football. I think the Lions will try to keep the vet around with a cap friendly 2 year deal so they can try and develop his eventual replacement.

Bobby Carpenter LB-UFA- While I love Carp, and I think the Lions like him, He has said that the Lions have made no contact with him or his agent about a new contract. I think the Lions will however re-evaluate their LB corp and realize that keeping Carp is the right answer. There is a 50/50 chance he wont be back though.

Erik Coleman S-UFA- Gone. I don't have any thing to really say about this. I was on the fence when they signed him...but I don't think they're going to keep him. I know he went on IR, but was he that spectacular before? Nope.

Rashied Davis WR-UFA I think that with his special team skills and willingness to do whatever is asked of him, the Lions keep Davis around.

Leonard Davis OT-UFA Gone. I think the Lions thought their OLine needed help and signed him before another team did. I think that with the return of Fox and hopefully Culbreath the Lions see two players that they can develop into solid starters.

Isaiah Ekejuiba LB-UFA- I think he'll be back. The Lions ST suffered greatly without him in there. I didn't think losing him would be that big of a deal, but he really is a great ST player.

Andre Fluellen DT-UFA This is another toss up. While I'd like to see him stay the Lions are pretty stacked at DLine. It's a toss up between him and SLH. I think SLH may have just a slight edge of Flu.

Ben Graham P-UFA FOR THE LOVE OF GOD KEEP HIM! I'm sorry. I do not like Ryan Donahue one bit. I think getting rid of Nick Harris for him was only smart from a salary aspect. From a skill and exp aspect it was dumb dumb dumb dumb. I think Graham will be gone, although I'd rather see him stay.

Chris Harris S-UFA- GTFU. I think the Lions were hoping that he would be the pro bowler he was a few years ago, instead they got CC Brown V 2.0. Gotta go.

Jerome Harrison RB-UFA Gone. The Lions tried to unload him during the season. While I wish him a healthy recovery from his surgery...I doubt he'll be back.

Shaun Hill QB-UFA I think Shaun Hill stays. I think he'll even sign a cap friendly contract to stay. He's already stated that he's happy here and that he'd rather be happy and a backup here then a starter and miserable some where else.

Sammie Hill DT-RFA This is the toss up between him and Flu. Like I said before, I think SLH edges out Flu even though I'd like to see them both stay.

Corey HIlliard OL-RFA I listed Corey as OL instead of OT because he can play multiple spots on the line. I think this is why they keep him.

DeAndry Levy LB-RFA I like Levy, I think his play slipped a little. I think with a full offseason for the LB unit to gel we could see a big improvement. He'll be tendered

Stefan Logan WR-UFA- Goodbye Little Man. I have a man crush on Logan. I think the dude is straight up awesome. However, I think with the change in rules he's been less effective. I would like to see the Lions keep him, but I think they let him walk.

Brandon McDonald CB-UFA- Gone. He's been in and out of the lineup. I think they MIGHT bring him back as a camp body, but I doubt he'll make the 53 in the end.

Maurice Morris RB-UFA I have no idea. He was slowed this year by injuries, but when he's healthy he's still a good back and a vet. I think it depends on FA and Best, LeShoure, and K-Smooth. would not surprise me if he's gone.

Don Muhlbach LS-UFA The continuity between a LS, holder, and kicker is very important. Look for them to bring him back.

Ashlee Palmer LB-RFA- I haven't seen enough out of him to know what to do with him He's a decent ST player but I haven't seen really much out of him as LBer. So, this one is a 50/50 to me.

Kevin Smith RB-UFA- Should he stay or should he go now? Injuries were the problem in the past, and look, injuries are still the problem. When he's healthy he's a beast...the problem is staying healthy. I think they bring him back for camp and see where it goes from there.

Drew Stanton -QB-UFA Stanton might be gone this time. I don't think he was on the game do roster at all this season. The Lions may look elsewhere.

Maurice Stovall WR-UFA- Maurice Stonehandvall will most likely be gone. Look for Detroit to pick up a cheap FA, a late round draft pick or an Undrafted Rookie Free Agent to take his place.

Donald Thomas OG-UFA Not sure here. He had promise at one point in his career. He's still young and he may be a player the Lions bring back to develop further.

Stephen Tulloch LB-UFA Bring back the little tank. This is pretty much a no brainer.

Derrick Williams WR-RFA- Didn't he retire?

Eric Wright CB-UFA-Bring this guy back. He played well (even though there were a few lapses) and I think more time in the system will only make him better.

Like it, hate it, indifferent to it....this is my take.

I was just reading an article comparing some of Brees' and Stafford's stats over the last four weeks. Here is a bit of the article.

Another reason for encouragement among Lions fans is the improvement shown by quarterback Matthew Stafford over the last month. Since the last Lions-Saints matchup, Stafford has matched Drew Brees number for number — in fact, he's played as well as any quarterback in the NFL through the last month. Brees has 42 pass plays of over 25 yards in 2011; Stafford has 40. Brees throws touchdown passes on 7 percent of his attempts; Stafford does so on 6.2 percent.

Where things start to separate is in some of the "clutch" categories, and this is no indictment of Stafford — he's playing at an unreal level for a 23-year-old quarterback, and Brees is one of the 10 best quarterbacks of all time. But on third-and-long (8 yards to go or more), Brees leads the NFL with a 47.5 percent first-down conversion rate, while Stafford ranks very low at 23.5 percent -- he has converted just 19 of 81 such situations, while Brees converted 28 of 59 attempts. Brees leads the NFL in completion percentage in late and close situations (70.6 percent, or 48 of 68), while Stafford is a bit lower down the list (57.0 percent, or 53 of 93).

So, not to shabby right. Brees is the better QB stat wise so far. After the jump it gets a little interesting.

Continue reading this post »

Okay, we've all been fed up with the amount of penalties called against the Lions. There are three that really bug me. The Horse Collar, Offensive Pass Interference, and Chop Block. I'm going to talk about two of them here. Horse Collar and Chop Block

Horse Collar: We saw the Lions called for this twice on one drive today. The second one I completely agree with. The first one (Avril on Palmer) I don't so much agree with. I haven't gone back and watched the the footage, but...was Palmer out of the "tackle box?" I'm not sure if he was. If he was still in the tackle box, you can't call horse collar. Per the NFL rule book

A.R. 12.91 HORSE COLLAR

Second-and-10 on B40. As quarterback A1 starts to scramble, B1 pulls A1 down from behind by

grabbing the inside collar of the back of the shoulder pads or jersey, or inside the collar of the side of the

shoulder pads or jersey, and immediately pulls A1 to the ground. a) A1 is still in the pocket; or b) A1 is

outside the pocket, when this occurs. A1 is tacked at the B45.

Rulings: a) A’s ball, third-and-15 on B45. No foul, as the quarterback (or runner) was still in the pocket

(or tackle box).

b) A’s ball, first-and-10 on B30. Behind/Behind. (12-2-1-d)

A.R. 12.92 HORSE COLLAR—FUMBLE

First-and-10 on A30. A2 breaks through the line and is at the B10 when B1 catches him from behind,

grabs the collar of A2’s shoulder pads, and pulls him back and to the ground. However, before A2 hits

the ground, he fumbles at the B9, and B1 recovers at the B8.

Ruling: A’s ball, first-and-goal at B5. It is a personal foul despite the fumble prior to A2 being down, and

the enforcement is a foul on a run followed by a change of possession. (12-2-1-d)

A.R. 12.93 HORSE COLLAR

Second-and-10 on B40. A2 takes a handoff and runs around left end toward the sideline. B1 grabs the

inside of A2’s shoulder pad opening (or the inside of his jersey) on the side or back and pulls A2 to the

ground, twisting around in front of A2 so that A2 goes to the ground face first at the B35.

Ruling: A’s ball, first-and-10 on B20. Horse collar. The direction that the runner is pulled down is

irrelevant. (12-2-1-d)

The important part to look at is AR 12.91. If he was in the tackle box, that was a legal tackle.

Continue reading this post »

So, as if Jay Cutler and Matt Forte going down with injuries wasn't bad enough...they've now had a player arrested on drug charges. These are not minor charges either. Here is what happened to Sam Hurd....

According to Jensen's reports, Hurd met with an undercover Homeland Security agent on Wednesday and attempted to set up a system by which he would purchase 5-10 kilograms of cocaine and 1,000 pounds of marijuana per week to distribute in Chicago. Here's the real kicker — according to the complaint, Hurd said that he was already distributing four kilos of cocaine per week in the greater Chicago area with a co-conspirator, but that this amount wasn't enough.

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Some of the people on POD that also follow me on Twitter have noticed, I like to make pictures. I've done so for every Lions game this year (except the two they lost). I tend to do these during the week before the game. I thought I would take the time today before I leave for a meeting to post the pictures for you to enjoy

http://twitpic.com/show/iphone/6j5fty  week 1 vs Tampa

http://twitpic.com/show/iphone/6lywhe  Week 2 vs KC

http://twitpic.com/show/iphone/6oxtaz  week 3 vs Minnesota 

http://twitpic.com/show/iphone/6r4bsy  week 4 vs Dallas

http://twitpic.com/show/iphone/6r49oi  week 4 vs Dallas

http://twitpic.com/show/iphone/6ut3l2  week 5 vs Chicago

http://twitpic.com/show/iphone/6v9rpl  week 5 vs Chicago

week 6 nothing

week 7 nothing

http://twitpic.com/show/iphone/75t79e  week 8 vs Denver

http://twitpic.com/show/iphone/75tbcd  week 8 vs Denver

http://twitpic.com/show/iphone/75tlra  week 8 vs Denver

Now onto next weeks game

http://twitpic.com/show/iphone/78z5h6  week 10 vs Chicago

http://twitpic.com/show/iphone/78z5au  week 10 vs Chicago

http://twitpic.com/show/iphone/78z56c  week 10 vs Chicago

http://twitpic.com/show/iphone/7bmiy9  week 10 vs Chicago

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I was taking a look at the remaining schedule. I think the Lions stand a good chance of going 11-5 at this point. There are a few games that could go either way...but I have faith in them. I also think that 11-5 should be good enough to get them into the post season as a wild card (unless GB totally tanks the rest of the season I'm pretty sure they'll win the NFC North this year.). After the jump I'll break down my prediction for the remainder of the season. 

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It's been reported that Justin Durant was not at practice today. He was scheduled to take another concussion test on Tuesday. If he didn't pass it would be his third failed test. Is it time to worry about him? I'm comfortable with Bobby Carpenter playing in his place, but before the Cowboys game he was our leading tackler.

 

Tulloch really stepped it up against the Cowboys with 12 tackles and a pick, and Carpenter had 6 tackles and a pick six. I guess the question is, is our LB depth good enough that we can be without Durant for a while? Keep in mind that we also lost Isiah Ekejuiba. So, that leaves us with Carp, Tulloch, and Levy starting, with Ashlee Palmer (who made a great stop on that fourth and goal last week) and Doug Hogue as the backups. 

 

What say you, Pride of Detroit? Are the Lions finally a good enough team that the lose of one of their starting linebackers isn't that big of a deal?

Continue reading this post »

 

I was wandering around the yahoo sports page just a little bit ago and I found something that slightly irked me. Each week Jason Cole does a "Winner and Losers" column for the NFL. Now, the first part of if was singing the praises about Calvin Johnson. Awesome right? Well I then got down to the winner and losers section and read this.

 

Under winners

• While Detroit’s Johnson gets his deserved respect, give credit to Dallas wide receiver Dez Bryant(notes) as well. Bryant showed up with two TD catches in the first half as the Cowboys built their big lead. While Johnson is a better player than Bryant right now, it might not be long before Bryant closes that gap. After Bryant’s big third-down catch against Washington on Monday night and his Sunday performance, Bryant took huge steps forward this week to capitalize on his immense talent.

Okay, Bryant had a good first half....but disappeared in the second half. Watching the game, and the soft coverage the Lions DB's were using (I was tired of seeing the Corners 10 yards away from the Receivers on every play in the first half) it's hard to imagine a player with above average skills to not have a big game. 

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Trent Dildo...er Dilfer, posted on his twitter 

 

TDESPN Trent Dilfer  Lots of questions in regards to article I wrote on ceilings of U-27 QB's.Top 5 are all amazing & have huge ceilings, ranking is irrelevent

Did Lions fans strike again? Is this another instance of Heath Evans? It would be nice if he would go as far as Evans and say that he needs to get the Lions fans off his twitter. I think this is Dilfer's way of conceding without actually saying he was wrong. Any thoughts? Do the fans need to ramp up the heat, or just let Stafford on the field do the talking for us?

 

Of couse this article from MLive doesn't hurt. 

Dilfer heaps praise on Stafford.

Just read something interesting. There is some number swapping going around in the D. Brandon Pettigrew will no longer wear number 84. He's decided to switch back to his college number of 87. Both of the number hold a place in the minds of most Lions fans. 84 being that of Herman Moore and 87 of Johnny Morton (love him or hate him). 

 

The other changes involve two linebackers. Doug Hogue will now wear #57 which was being worn by Justin Durant.  Not sure why the switch for Hogue. I think it might have more to do with Justin Durant wanting the number 52. Durant initial number choice was that of #56. This number was retired in honor of Joe Schmidt, although it was unretired with the families blessing for Pat Swilling. Not sure if it was re-retired after Swilling or not, can't find any information on that. However, no player since Swilling has donned the #56. 

 

Just something I though I'd share on here. Let's go Detroit! 

Not sure if somebody else already posted this, but here we go. I was wandering around yahoo sports and I found this. Two of the three people actually pick Detroit to win the NFC North. It doesn't mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. However, it does show that Detroit is starting to get a little more respect. There are more and more sports writers and people in general jumping on the Detroit bandwagon. It seems that the Honolulu Blue koolaid may have leaked into the national water supply. 
Lions picked to win NFC North?
http://d.yimg.com/nl/yahoo%20sports/site/player.html#vid=26471153

So, it appears that the Bills just released former first round pick Aaron Maybin. Maybin was the 11th overal pick of the 2009 draft. He was a pass rushing DE from Penn State. After being drafted by the Bills he was moved to Outside Linebacker. A move that appears to have been a bad idea. Now, it sounds like he fits the square peg in the round hole ideology. 

 

In two years Maybin's stats are as followed; 24 tackles, 0 sacks. 

Is it worth taking a look at this guy? With the loss of Turk McBride, do we want to add another DE? At DE (at least in college) he showed he could be effective. 

On the roster we currently have. LoJack, Cliff Avril, KVB, Willie Young, Narada Williams, and Keyunta Dawson.  I'm happy with the first 4 I listed, don't see that big of a need to upgrade. However, he could be an upgrade over Willie Young if he can convert back to DE and play as well as he did in college. 

 

Thoughts?

I was checking out some twitter posts when this one came up on the screen and got me all kinds of excited.

 

ClaytonESPN John Clayton  Scary stat for the Bears. The Bills had nine sacks. Ouch. 2 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

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I didn't think I'd like the new kick off rules from a kick return standpoint. However, after listening to some people and watching some games...I kind of dig the new rule. If your kicker is skilled enough, they can pop the ball up high into the air and land it at the goal line or just inside the endzone, which makes the returner want to bring it out. This in turn give the kicking team a better chance to get down the field and get a stop inside the 20. It can also lead to some even more exciting kick returns. Imagine Stefan Logan taking a kick out from 8 yards deep. 

Like Joshua Cribbs said on his twitter

All these touchbacks....smh not me 9yds deep we bringing it out!!! 9 1/2 I'll think about it...

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With second round pick Mikel LeShoure done for the year (and possibly longer). Do the Lions need to sign another running back? Lets look at who is on the roster 

Jahvid Best

Maurice Morris

Preston Dial

Aaron Brown

Matt Clapp

Ian Johnson

Jerome Felton

Okay Felton, Clapp, Dial are FB but I listed them anyway. Keep in mind, Dial is a FB/TE hybrid that was known as a good pass and run blocker before he was injured. I would put him over Felton personally.

The running backs. We've all seen Best and Morris, and hopefully we're all comfortable with them. Aaron Brown has shown flashes and is having a pretty good camp from all accounts. The one we really don't know much about on the list is Ian Johnson. He's a former Boise State player who is most known for proposing to his girlfriend on the field. His best on field performance came in 2006 when he rushed for 240 and 5 touchdowns against Oregon State. 

Pre-draft measureables

Ian Johnson Pre-draft measureables

Ht	Wt	40-yd dash	10-yd split	20-yd split	20-ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP	Wonderlic
5 ft 11¼ in	212 lb	4.46 s	1.46 s	2.55 s	4.18 s	6.86 s	33 in	9 ft 8 in	26 rep	26
3-cone and broad jump from Boise State Pro Day, all others from NFL Combine.[6]

He ran the fastest 40 yard time for running backs at the 2009 combine. As you can see, he's bigger then Best but slightly smaller then LeShoure (height wise he's 3/4in shorter and weight 18lbs lighter)

He's spent time with Minnesota and Arizona. Is he worth a look, or do you guys have any other options in mind? 

By the way, yes, my bias for Boise State makes me want to let this guy give it a go.

Per Killer Kowalski

Leshoure carted off .. Left foot .. Extent if injury unknown

I'm hoping this is nothing serious. Hopefully he just tweaked his ankle or something. Is anybody else getting tired of these foot injuries? 

If the injury keeps him sidelined for a while, what do you guys think our running back corp will look like?

Best

Dial

Brown

MoMo

Felton?

I still think that is a decent running back corp, would just rather see LeShoure.

Once again, extent of injury not known yet....just happened.

I just saw this on ESPN and I couldn't help but laugh. When players change teams they often want to keep their old number for sentimental reasons. Here are a few examples

Eli Manning wanted #10 which was held by punter Jeff Feagles. Feagles was given an all expenses paid vacation by Eli for the right to wear the jersey. 

Plaxico Burress wanted to wear #17 when he came to the Giants. Once again, he had to go through Feagles. Instead of an all expenses paid vacation, he wanted his kitchen remodeled. The Kitchen was remodeled, but Burress never ponied up the dough. Feagles was quoted as saying "He basically stole my number"

More often then not, players give up money for the jersey...Feagles was pretty creative in his demands. Now Chris Kluwe has entered the fray.

In return for the use of #5 in Minnesota, Donovan McNabb has to give Chris Kluwe the following; $5,000 for Kluwe's charity, he must mention Kluwe's band (Tripping Icarus) 5 times, and he must give Kluwe an ice cream cone. 

I may hate the Vikings, but I now think Chris Kluwe is awesome. 

Just just reading through some twitter posts (I never thought I'd say that before) and came across this little nugget from Peter King

SI_PeterKing:  4. If Samuel is traded--and he should be--the Eagles would prefer a significant player instead of high pick. They want to bulk up for '11. [via Twitter]

I wonder what they consider a significant player. While I'm not for it, would they consider Corey Williams a significant player? Anybody got any thoughts on that? Maybe a better question, do we think the Lions are interested in Samuel?

So I've read some articles saying that the Vikings and Redskins have a deal worked out. Here is one of the articles I read.

The Washington Redskins have agreed on compensation to trade veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb(notes) to the Minnesota Vikings.

 

Now, it’s a matter of seeing whether or not the Vikings can re-work McNabb’s contract to their suiting in order for the deal to go down, according to Jason La Canfora of NFL Network. That will require the Vikings to crunch some numbers with McNabb’s agent Fletcher Smith.

 

Otherwise, you could look at a scenario where the Redskins wind up having to dump McNabb. The Vikings probably will not be giving up much for the veteran quarterback. Some have speculated a seventh-round pick or a sixth at highest would get the deal done.

 

The Vikings don’t want to invest too much money in McNabb, either, not with Christian Ponder(notes), their quarterback of the future in place.

 

Follow me on Twitter: @BradBiggs

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Maybe it's the homer in me, but I found a player that I think might be overlooked, that shouldn't be.

Phillip Swanson OL WMU.

He was a 5 year starter (he had a 5th year of eligibility that he used while working on his first year of his Masters Degree) at WMU at multiple spots on both sides of the offensive line. He's an intelligent player that was a finalist for the William V Campbell Award (it's sometimes called the "Academic Heisman").  He is what the Lions have been looking for. A smart versatile player that doesn't have a history of injuries. 

From NFL Draft Scout.com

09/01/10 - PLAYERS TO WATCH: Offensive line - An experienced group that includes guards Phil Swanson and Nick Clemens, center Nick Mitchell and tackle Anthony Parker have combined to start 104 games. That's a significant number that should help the offense find consistency.

12/03/08 - 2008 ALL-MAC THIRD TEAM: Lineman – Phillip Sawnson, Western Michigan, has been selected All-MAC Third Team for the 2008 college football season as voted by the MAC News Media Association. Swanson (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven HS) continues to lead the offensive line in just his sophomore year. He has started every game this season, extending his streak to 24 games, and leads the team with 880 offensive snaps on the year. He has secured Hiller’s blind side for most of the year, working half the season at left guard and the other half at left tackle. He was recently named Second Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America. - Western Michigan Football

11/05/08 - Anthony Parker moved from LT to RT and replaced Rob Johnson in the starting lineup. LG Phil Swanson moved to Parker's spot at LT. Backup C Paul Wasikowski started at LG.

So, it now appears that I need a new modem. I'm currently using the test modem for the place I live...which they are going to take back tomorrow. So, instead of posting about my joy that the lockout is over, I'm going to post the last one of these I'm going to do. Today we're going to look at the D-Line coach Kris Kocurek

Lions Bio: 

Biography

Kris Kocurek was promoted to defensive line coach just before the 2010 offseason. He came to Detroit as the Lions’ assistant defensive line coach in 2009 after spending the previous season coaching defensive line at Stephen F. Austin State.

LIONS COACHING HIGHLIGHTS: In Kocurek’s first season as the Lions’ defensive line coach, Detroit had the most-improved pass rush in the NFL. Even though teams threw the ball nine times less against the Lions in 2010 season than they did in 2009, the Lions picked up 18 more sacks, which accounted for an increase of 3.28 sacks per pass play.

• Of the Lions’ 44 sacks, 39 (second most in the NFL) were attributed to the defensive line, 23.5 more than the Lions defensive line accounted for in 2009.
• The Detroit defensive line, featuring three new starters in DE Kyle Vanden Bosch, DT Corey Williams and rookie standout DT Ndamukong Suh, was also the most-improved unit in the League in regards to sack yardage with 179 more sack yards lost than the previous season.
• Kocurek was also instrumental in the development of Suh who led all NFL defensive tackles with 10.0 sacks and had 66 tackles (49 solo). Suh was voted as a starter for the NFC Pro Bowl squad and was named to the AP All-Pro team. He was also the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. During his rookie season, he set a new team record for sacks by a rookie since the stat became official in 1982.
• DE Cliff Avril (8.5), DE Lawrence Jackson (6.0), DE Turk McBride (5.0) and DT Sammie Hill (2.5) all garnered career highs in 2010.

In 2009, Kocurek helped rookie DT Sammie Hill, who was drafted out of Stillman College in the fourth round (115th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft, emerge as an opening day starter. He finished the season with 26 tackles (14 solo) and two fumble recoveries in 13 games while making the transition from a small college prospect to NFL starter (12 starts).

In 2007, Kocurek served as the assistant head coach and defensive line coach at West Texas A&M where he helped coach the Buffaloes to the 2007 Lone Star Conference title as well as the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs. The Buffaloes became one of the top defensive units in the LSC and led the conference in scoring defense. 
Under Kocurek’s guidance, Brandon Swain became one of the top defensive players at the Division II level and was a 2007 First-Team Daktronics, AFCA and AP Little All-American and conference defensive lineman of the year after recording 24.5 tackles for losses and 14 sacks.

Kocurek served as the defensive line coach at Texas A&M-Commerce in 2006 and helped guide the Lions’ top-ranked defensive unit which finished with No. 1 in total and scoring defense.

For two seasons (2004-05) Kocurek served as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M-Kingsville and coached the Havelina’s defensive line where he was active in the development of Wilbert Martin, who was twice selected as first team All-LSC and was a free agent signee of the Baltimore Ravens.

Kocurek began his coaching career in 2003 as a student assistant at Texas Tech. While in Lubbock, he assisted with the defensive linemen and helped coach the Red Raiders to a 2003 Houston Bowl win over Navy.

Prior to coaching, Kocurek spent two years in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans (2002) and the Seattle Seahawks (2001) after being selected in the seventh round (237th overall) of the 2001 NFL Draft by Seattle.

Kocurek played collegiate football at Texas Tech and was a three-time All-Big 12 selection. As a senior, he was selected as team captain and named defensive player of the year.

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I'M ALIVE!!!!!! Sorry for the break between posts. My internet was unfairly taken away from me, which sucks because part of what I do is edit video's for people...therefore I need an internet connection to stay in contact with my clients. Okay, enough of my bitching...well you're going to get more of my bitching, but football related. Today we take a look at what most of us can agree the the worst part of the Lions D (okay, it's a coin toss between the DB's and LB's...but the D Line will make the DB's better...the LB's have to step up on their own), the linebackers corp. 

Detroit Lions Bio Page: Matt Burke

 

Matt Burke, in his third season as linebackers coach, came to Detroit after spending five seasons (2004-08) with the Tennessee Titans.

LIONS COACHING HIGHLIGHTS: In 2009, Burke was instrumental in the development of rookie LB DeAndre Levy who played in all 16 games with 10 starts, including two starts at middle linebacker.

• Levy finished tied for fourth among rookies with 85 tackles (according to NFL.com) and tied for seventh among all NFL defensive players with 8.5 tackles for loss.
• In 2010, Levy followed up with a strong season despite dealing with injuries. In addition to finishing third with 72 tackles, he had key interceptions in two of Detroit's season-ending victories, one of which he returned for his first career touchdown at Miami (12/26).

In 2008, Burke helped coach Tennessee to an NFL best 13-3 record and rank seventh in overall defense with 4,698 yards allowed as well as third in offensive points allowed with 227. In his first two seasons with the Titans, he worked as an administrative assistant in the football department assisting the coaching staff with scouting breakdowns during the week and on gamedays. Burke was promoted to defensive assistant/quality control coach in 2006. He was primarily responsible for breaking down film on upcoming opponents and self-scouting, also conducting on-field work with the linebackers.

Prior to joining the Titans, Burke was the assistant secondary coach for one season (2003) at Harvard, originally entering the college ranks at Boston College (2000) as a graduate assistant for recruiting before working with the defense from 2001-02. His first coaching position came at Bridgton Academy (Maine), where he worked in 1998 and 1999. A native of Hudson, Massachusetts, Burke played safety at Dartmouth and was part of an undefeated Ivy League champion in 1996.

BURKE'S COACHING BACKGROUND 

Detroit Lions 2009 - present
• Linebackers 2009 - present

Tennessee Titans 2004-08 
• Defensive asst. /Quality Control 2006-08 
• Administrative Asst. 2004-05 

Harvard 2003 
• Asst. Secondary/Cornerbacks 2003 

Boston College 2000-02 
• Graduate Assistant 2000-02 

Bridgton Academy (Maine) 1998-99 
• Secondary 1998-99

 

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I was wandering around yahoo's NFL page and I went to the rumor section and read this

 

'Old' version of Randy Moss ready for free agency

By Mark J. Miller

Veteran wide receiver Randy Moss(notes) found himself on three different rosters last season: the New England Patriots, Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans. Throughout it all, Moss combined to catch five touchdown passes and total 393 receiving yards.

Now his agent, Joel Segal, is saying that the 34-year-old Moss can't wait to be a free agent when the collective bargaining agreement ends, NFL.com reports.

"Randy has been working out, two-a-days, all spring and summer in West Virginia," Segal said, according to the site. "He is determined, motivated and quite frankly has a huge chip on his shoulder. Whatever team ends up getting Randy, they're going to know they're getting the old Randy Moss. He's not just coming in to be on the team, he's going to be Randy Moss -- a difference maker."

Moss is a seven-time Pro Bowler and a five-time All-Pro selection.

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Source: NFL.com

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Secondary Coach:

Timothy Lamar Walton 

Birth date: March 11, 1971 

Hometown: Grenada, Mississippi 

Education: B.A. in sociology, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio (1994) 

 

Biography

Tim Walton joined the Lions as secondary coach in 2009. Before coming to Detroit, he was the defensive coordinator at the University of Memphis (2008) and had additional responsibilities coaching the safeties. Throughout his 14-year collegiate coaching career, Walton coached 13 players who were eventually drafted into the NFL, including five first round picks (Patriots S Brandon Merriweather, Seahawks CB Kelly Jennings, Giants CB Kenny Phillips, Redskins S LaRon Landry and Cardinals S Antrel Rolle) and four second round picks (S Idrees Bashir, WR/KR Devin Hester, S Michael Stone and CB Corey Webster).

Prior to joining the Tigers, Walton spent the previous four seasons (2004-07) with the Miami Hurricanes. He was promoted to defensive coordinator in February of 2007 and helped propel the defense to a national ranking of 33rd in total defense. In his first three seasons at Miami, he coached the defensive backs and the Miami secondary ranked in the top 10 nationally in pass defense in 2004 (ninth) and 2005 (first). 

In 2005, Walton's pass defense led the nation, allowing only 152.17 yards per game, and featured All-Americans safety Brandon Meriweather and cornerback Kelly Jennings as well as Freshman All-American Kenny Phillips.

Walton was at LSU in 2003 and his defensive backs were a key factor in the Tigers earning the 2003 BCS National Championship and a Southeastern Conference title. The LSU defense ranked among the nation's top three in four-of-five major defensive statistical categories: total defense (first, 252.0 yards per game), scoring defense (first, 11.0 ppg), pass efficiency defense (second, 89.8 rating) and rushing defense (third, 67.0 yards per game).
 
Additionally, LSU ranked 18th nationally in passing yardage defense (185.0 ypg) while leading the SEC in four of the five defensive categories, including a No. 2 ranking in the league in pass defense. 

In his first stint with Memphis (2000-01), Walton coached defensive backs. In 2000, the Tigers ranked fifth in the nation in total defense (first in rush defense), allowing only 275 yards per game and placed in the top 15 nationally in passing and scoring defense. He left Memphis to coach defensive backs at Syracuse for the 2002 season. 

Walton began his coaching career as a defensive graduate assistant at Bowling Green in 1995. He was promoted to running backs coach in 1996 and then moved to coach the defensive backs in 1999. 

In addition to his collegiate coaching experience, Walton has had three summer internships with NFL teams. He spent the summer of 1998 serving as a defensive intern with the Chicago Bears, the summer of 2001 as a defensive intern for the Green Bay Packers and in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers under current Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin.

As a defensive back at Ohio State, Walton lettered four seasons and served as co-captain for the Big Ten champions in 1993. During his time with the Buckeyes, OSU went to four bowl games, including the Liberty Bowl in 1990. He earned his bachelor's degree in sociology from OSU in 1994. 
Walton and his wife, Tracy, have three children: Trei, Timia and Tyler. 


WALTON’S COACHING BACKGROUND

Detroit Lions 2009-present
• Secondary 2009-present

Memphis 2008
• Defensive Coordinator 2008

Miami (Fla.) 2004-07
• Defensive Coordinator 2007
• Defensive Backs 2004-06

Louisiana State 2003
• Defensive Backs 2003

Syracuse 2002
• Defensive Backs 2002

Memphis 2000-01
• Defensive Backs 2000-01

Bowling Green  1995-99
• Defensive Backs 1999
• Running Backs 1996-98
• Defensive Graduate Assistant 1995

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