In my yearly fall ritual of projecting who the Lions will draft in the spring I was doing a bit of research on the 2003 draft on Walterfootball.com and ran across this gem regarding Charles Rogers:

Charles Rogers could fall from this slot, because he tested positive for a urine dilution test. However, no one knows whether its a drug like marijuana, a supplement, or simply too much water. The Lions say they still believe in WR Charles Rogers, who visited the team on Monday. If it becomes apparent that Rogers did take a supplement, the Lions may trade with Baltimore and take Rogers, but for now, I'll have the Lions take him at #2. Stay tuned. The Lions need a playmaker on offense to go with Joey Harrington, and Charles Rogers is the best offensive player in this draft.

I never realized that there was some evidence before the draft of Rogers' drug use. And to think that Andre Johnson was picked at the #3 spot, just behind Charles the Wasted.

Here is the Link for that Mock Draft: http://www.walterfootball.com/draft2003.php

Also, whenever anybody complains about the Lions drafting squeaky clean players, please remember Charles and Reggie [Rd 1, #7 of 1987] Rogers and their non-careers with the Lions.

My Lions continue to try and plug holes and build some depth by picking up Maurice Williams from the Jags. Though we are not in any kind of playoff race, except the race for Ndaumkong Suh, the Lions need to finish the season strong to hopefully build some momentum for 2010. Our Guard play has been brutal this year and our second year Right Tackle is also not playing well. It is funny but the Lions best O lineman has been Jeff Backus, our LT and favourite whipping boy of the press and most fans.

My question for the fans on this site is; Can Maurice Williams help the Lions at Guard or is he strictly a Tackle?

By the way, best of luck to the Jags in their drive to the playoffs. I am especially impressed with the instant overhaul of the wide receiver corps that was pulled off. I hope the Lions management is watching and learns how it is done.

Here is a football site that attempts to rate all football players by position. I am not sure of their methodology, but I was interested in seeing how the Detroit offensive linemen rated.

Here is the Link: http://www.profootballfocus.com/by_position.php?tab=&season=2009&pos=T&stype=r&runpass=&teamid=-1&numsnaps=25&numgames=1

to Offensive Tackles. You can check out the Guards and Centers from there.

Jeff Backus was the #9 rated Tackle. The sixth best Left Tackle just behind Joe Thomas [Cleve.], D. Ferguson [Jets], S. Vollmer [NE],  A. Whitworth [Cin.], and Ryan Clady [Den.].

Gosder was the #29 rated Tackle, fifteenth best Right Tackle.

Raiola was the #12 Center.

Peterman is the #3 Guard, just behind fellow Right Guards S. Neal of NE and Jahri Evans of NO.

Ramirez is the #65 Guard, and Loper is the #37 Guard.

Like I said, I will take a closer look at the way they determine their rankings but some our guys come off a lot better than we believe and other sites have measured them as a group.

One personal aside, for those that want the Lions to use their first round pick for an LT should have watched Sebastian Vollmer of New England handle Dwight Freeney last night. Most of the time with no help. Vollmer was a second round pick in 2009. The guy looks like a keeper.

This bye week gives all Lions fans a chance to reflect on where our team is and where it is headed. We can also think about why we remain loyal to the Lions or why we will abandon them for a team that is more successful, has cooler uniforms, has your favourite player, is in your previous home town, etc.  Being a Lions fan is a choice, a completely free and easily reversible choice. Most of us picked them when we were young and have [at least on this site] stuck with them through thick and thin. Unfortunately more thin than thick. But we could leave them behind in a split second. Why not?

For myself, I will not continually look back on the past and moan about what could have been if we had drafted differently or hired a different GM or Coach. That's history and there is nothing we can do to change it. Looking to the future I see better times ahead, primarily due to one person.......Coach Jim Schwartz.

If you see the 2009 draft and offseason as an extension of the Ford/Millen era, you are saying that Coach Schwartz is either a willing buffoon or a powerless figurehead who has no say in the players selected or, for the first six games, played. The Stafford pick and starting has been the key decision of the Schwartz era. If he did not make it wholeheartedly, then the pessimists and naysayers are right. Then the Ford conspiracy theorists are right and all is lost until Mr. Ford and possibly his whole family sells the Lions.

I see the future a lot differently. I see a team on the rise, led by a Coach who is willing to make tough decisions and not rely on old formulas. I see Coach Schwartz as an independent thinker who looks at football in a different light, and is willing to take short term pain for long term gain. I see Martin Mayhew as a bright young exec who made the right choice with Schwartz and who wants to work with someone long term to restore this franchise to its late '50s glory. I see the Fords staying out of the way, as they always have, and let these two guys run the team. I see a QB that is light years ahead of any Detroit QB in my lifetime. I see a new era of competitive and winning football. And I see a Super Bowl with some of the current Lions leading the way.

So, where do you stand?

First a disclaimer. The Lions will not get fixed in one or two drafts. They are slowly coming back to respectability thanks to the leadership and teamwork of Martin Mayhew and Jim Schwartz. The 2010 draft could provide three or more starters plus some much needed depth. I will approach this draft as if the Lions were selecting from the #7 position. I think  six of St. Louis, Tampa, Cleveland, Oakland, KC, Buffalo, Tennessee, or Washington will finish worse than Detroit.

Detroit has a shortage of frontline talent across the board so I see them continuing with drafting the best player available.

Round One at #7 - Eric Berry - S  I would like to see Russell Okung here but unless Detroit has a higher pick,  he                                                             will be long gone.  Berry is a great fit for Detroit's horrific secondary.

                                                             Bryan Bulaga is an outside chance at Left Tackle as is Gerald McCoy at DT.

Round Two at #39 - Trevard Lindley - CB Another piece of the puzzle for the Lions. A shutdown corner.

                                                               If Lindley is gone, an LT like Anthony Davis or another CB like Ras I  Dowling,                                                                Javier Arenas, or Kyle Wilson may be available.

Round Three at #71 - CJ Wilson - DE   A solid Left End for Detroit's weak D line.

                                                               Guard Sergio Render or LTs Zane Beadles or Jason Fox might fill this spot.

At this point the Lions will continue picking the best player on the board with an emphasis on defensive players who could also play on special teams. A returner, especially a punt returner, would be especially valuable.  

Personally my preference is for an LT that might be ready to step into the starting spot immediately, but I think Okung is the only prospect who is ready to do that.

Thanks for the opportunity to say my piece.  Comments?

Tom Kowalski has a great read on how Coach Schwartz is trying to instill a culture of responsibility and high performance with the Lions.

Link: http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2009/10/lions_coach_jim_schwartz_follo.html

"I've never been known as a patient person," Schwartz said. "There's a fine line between staying the course and being on the right track and then going the other way and continuing to do the same things and not having results and expecting things to change. It's my job to recognize that.

Just check with Aaron Brown, Yamon Figurs, Philip Buchanon, and a few others. I especially like the support that Mayhew seems to be giving Schwartz in this respect. Certainly different from the last regime.

I love the direction we are heading. It may not mean a lot this year, but 2010 and beyond are days filled with hope.

It is obvious from the Lions performance to date and the insightful feedback from POD posters and the Detroit media that the Lions coaching staff is losing all their credibilty by continuing to field players who make mistakes. This is totally unacceptable as these guys are paid great money to perform at a high level. Since this is a rebuilding year anyway I have a proposal for a new policy that Schwartz, Cunningham, and Linehan need to implement to ensure that the right players are playing.

Proposal: Make a mistake on the field and find a seat on the bench!

QBs, throw an INT, fumble, misread the defence, even miss badly on a throw, and grab some pine.

RBs, fumble, slip, dance around for a loss, drop a pass, miss a block, forget the play call, take a seat.

WRs drop a pass, run the wrong route, miss a block, get a penalty, or loaf, you're outta there.

OLs miss an assignment, get a penalty, not open a big enough hole, have a gatorade.

Defenders miss a tackle, not cover your man, don't recover a fumble, drop that INT, take a breather.

This plan has the beauty of keeping our players all fresh and involved in the game. The coaches will be able to evaluate their progress easily and the players will have a chance to reflect on their mistakes immediately and apply the proper corrections the next time they take the field. It will confuse our opponents as we may have multiple subs on many plays. It will also allow Coach Schwartz to live up to his decree that only guys who deserve to play will play. 

As per Tom Kowalski and Philip Zaroo on MLive the first sack of Stafford was a blown block by the Fullback, Felton.

Felton had a particularly tough game against the Vikings. On that play where Vikings’ defensive end Jared Allen sacked Stafford without being touched? That was Felton’s responsibility. And two plays later, when Stafford was sacked from the right side? Yep, Felton.

Link: 

http://blog.mlive.com/highlightreel/2009/09/mt-preview-0b5dce11224805f0de271c319c0faa53855c9d57.html

Zaroo also makes a great comment later on in the article that hits the nail on the head and shows what Schwartz and Mayhew have to overcome.

Like it or not, Lions fans, the biggest mistake the last coaching regime made was to keep unknown commodities on the bench in favor of commodities that proved over and over to have little to no value.
So these are mistakes that we're going to see. They have to be expected. That said, they also have to be improved upon. That's the challenge of the Lions players, coaching staffand front office.

Read the whole article it is a great read.

Also read the original article by Tom Kowalski. He lays the blame for this policy squarely on Marinelli's shoulders.

Link:

http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2009/09/matthew_stafford_isnt_the_only.html 

Another good read.

Looking at the Lions 2009 depth chart that Sean has posted the offence has five starters with less than three years experience; Matt Stafford, Kevin Smith, Jerome Felton, Calvin Johnson, and Gosder Cherilus. Brandon Pettigrew will soon be added to that list.

On defence, we have three young starters; Sammie Lee Hill, Cliff Avril, and Louis Delmas. The second string front seven were all drafted in 2006 or later. The secondary is mostly a veteran group, both starters and back ups.

I am very happy that Detroit has finally taken this approach. We need to see what the young players have and figure out if they can contribute or be able to raise their play with coaching or if they need to replace them. I was very happy when they hired Schwartz as the head coach and so far he has not disappointed.

Comments?

I just saw this on the Lions official site. Link:

http://www.detroitlions.com/document_display.cfm?document_id=489301

Simpson is 6'1" 202 pounds going into his fourth year. Here is his career data from NFL.com:

http://www.nfl.com/players/kosimpson/profile?id=SIM560277

Looks like we may have our second starting safety here. Henry must not be ready and the other guys deemed not capable enough. Based on our secondary play so far who can argue?  Comments?