Now that the frenzy of free agency is over, it is time to take a look at some overall pictures of the Lions roster and see where they are in comparison to when the Ifseason officially kicked-off last Friday.  Sean over at Pride of Detroit has saved me, you, and countless other Lions fans lots of time by summarizing the Free Agency moves thus far.  I’m going to take it one step further and put down my intial reaction to each move.

Signings

• WR Nate Burleson; 5 years, $25 million with $11 million guaranteed (March 5)  I think this is a great move on many levels.  I’ve always liked Burleson and think he was just plain unlucky in Seattle, and overlooked by a lot of fans in Randy Moss’ shadow in Minnesota.  He isn’t here to be #1.  He’s here to make other teams pay for double/triple covering CJ.  He also already knows most of the offense inside and out, which will be a big help for CJ as well as on the field.  
• DE Kyle Vanden Bosch; 4 years, $26 million with $10 million in 2010 (March 5) Vanden Bosch is getting a little older, but it was more the performance of the overall Titan’s D in 2009 that slowed him down.  All that being said, while he isn’t in his prime he still has a lot left to offer. 
• WR Brian Clark; 1 year (March 8)  He is a pure special teamer at this point in his career.  But does he have the potential for more?
• CB Jonathan Wade; 1 year (March 8)  Like this pickup quite a bit.  He was a serviceable CB in St. Louis who feel out of favor with the coaching staff.  He could very well compete for a starting job, andat worst will be a solid depth.  Let’s not forget most CB’s come in their 4th year or so in the NFL as at takes time to adjust to all of the rules favoring the offense in the pro game, among other things. 

Re-signings

• OT Jon Jansen; 1 year, $860,000 (March 5)  Good depth resigning for the vet minimum; like it as much as I did before FA started.
• LB Vinny Ciurciu; 1 year (March 5) looked up a bit more on him since my initial FA piece, and still think he is a solid ST player, but don’t see him as strong depth at this point.
• TE Will Heller; 3 years (March 8) great re-signing.  He is a bit stronger blocker than Pettigrew at this point, but his pass catching skills aren’t quite as good.  Need at least two TE to make this offense work well, and with Heller and Pettigrew, they do.

Trades

• Received from Cleveland: DT Corey Williams, 2010 7th-round pick; Sent to Cleveland: 2010 5th-round pick originally belonging to Denver (March 5)  LOVE this deal.  More thoughts on this later, but this is a great deal for Detroit to get a player who suffered from square peg into round hole misuse.   
• Received from Atlanta: CB Chris Houston, 2010 5th-round pick; Sent to Atlanta: 2010 5th-round pick, 2010 6th-round pick (March 8)  Highly underrated pickup.  This guy is a solid starter who was pushed out by a marquee FA signing.  In two years, Atlanta will be wishing they kept him around.  His passes defended were high, even if his INT total isn’t.  Given a bit of coaching, and as he hits his 4th year watch out!

Releases

• CB Phillip Buchanon (March 4)  At worst, Wade and Houston are Buchanon level CB’s with a lot more upside.
• DT Grady Jackson (March 5)  Hill came on andprogressed quicker than the staff hoped for last season.  With Williams also in the fold and McCoy or most likely Suh coming along soon as well, he was expendable. 
• DE Dewayne White (March 8)  Injuries totally derailed what were flashes of great talent and abilityas an all around end.  I still like this pickup the best of all the Marinelli guys brought in, but the injuries just have taken too much of a toll.  He is a solid DE when healthy — when healthy being the key words because he hasn’t been.  I’d like to see him back as depth since he can play either end if the price is right. 

Restricted Free Agent Tenders (March 4)

• OG Manny Ramirez (Right of First Refusal [ROFR] & Original Draft Compensation [4th-round pick]) – $1,101,000  good offer to tender to be sure he doesn’t get lost for nothing.  Had a shaky year, but could still have an impact if he can get his head in the game.
• OG Daniel Loper (ROFR) – $1,226,000 Lingering health issues hurt him last season and he was by far the most disappointing acquisition to me.  Hopefully he can step it up and stay healthy. 
• C Dylan Gandy (ROFR & Original Draft Compensation [4th-round pick]) – $1,176,000 I can see not wanting to lose him, but to who?  His greatest asset to the team is backing up Raiola, but he wasn’t doing so hot as a starting G last season.  Hopefully, he will continue to progress.
• DE Jason Hunter (ROFR & 2nd Round Compensation) – $1,759,000 He was the steal of the waiver wire in 2009 and is a very solid rotational end with the potential for more. 
• DE Copeland Bryan – Not tendered  Not surprised as he didn’t show a whole lot in his time here.
• LB Cody Spencer – Not tendered  Ditto Spencer.
• CB Kevin Hobbs (ROFR) – $1,101,000  Could be decent depth, and I think he is young enough he could develop.
• S Daniel Bullocks (ROFR & Original Draft Compensation [recognized as a 3rd-round pick]) – $1,176,000 I was a bit confused by this at first, as I had thought he wasn’t really impressing the current coaching staff, but maybe with a full year to get his knee fully healthy this time, he will be able to win that job I thought he would last season next to Delmas.
• S Ko Simpson (ROFR & Original Draft Compensation [4th-round pick]) – $1,176,000 Not a surprise as Simpson had some solid games and would at least be good depth – which would be good considering how the position was decimated last year by injuries. 

Exclusive Rights Free Agents Tendered Offers (March 4)

• RB Cedric Peerman
• OG Corey Hilliard
• TE Jake Nordin
• LB Zack Follett
• CB DeAngelo Smith

Of all these guys, Nordin did okay in limited action, but I see him on the practice squad again.  Follett was turning into a special teams demon, and may even be able to work into the defensive rotation this year.  If he continues to improve on ST I see him getting an extension in 2011.  The others I haven’t seen enough of to know.

In regards to one player not listed here – Larry Foote.  I love what he did for the team last year from an effort and leadership standpoint.  However, looking at the business side he wants to be a starter making starter money and that isn’t going to happen.  Deandre Levy was on the verge of taking every job in the LB corps last season at one point or another.  Levy’s future is at MLB and for the Lions the future for the young guys is now. If Foote doesn’t get the starting deal he wants elsewhere he could be back as a backup/rotational guy (swapping roles with Levy from last year) making backup money.  Not fun as a fan, but business is business and Mayhew seems to be doing well thus far, so I’m willing to keep giving him a shot.  Remember, Jordan Dizon was also showing great progress as the season wore on last year as well and could be ready for an increased role backing up all 3 LB spots.

I absolutely loved the A-Team when I was a kid.  My brother and I would alternate who got to play whom as we built tanks, planes, boats and concocted other crazy schemes out of leftover parts or pieces of brush in my grandparents’ woods. Funny thing is the A-Team, for all it’s 80’s explosion glory, wasn’t about the violence — it was all about the plan.

The A-Team would come into an impossible situation, with little or no resources except the combined talents of the team. With careful and cunning planning, they would find what they needed to build a workable solution — whether that was a tank out of junkyard parts, or just an elaborate plot to foil the “bad guys”.

A-Team Allen Park, 2010. Starring Jim Schwartz as Face, Gunther Cunningham as Murdock, Scott Linehan as BA Baracus, and Martin Mayhew as Col. John "Hannibal" Smith

Hannibal’s classic quote “I love it when a plan comes together” is the image that keeps sticking in my mind as I look over the first weekend of free agency. (Yes, Martin Mayhew leaning back in his chair grinning with a cigar, black leather gloves and a smug look on his face)

After reading as many sources as possible on these moves, and piecing things together, here is a timeline that shows my understanding of the events leading up through Friday morning’s signings:

Dateline 2009:  As per Jim Schwartz, Scott Linehan used Nate Burleson’s name so often that “the Nate Burleson” role was named on many offensive plays. 

“So many times he’d say, ‘We really need a guy like Nate Burleson,’ and, ‘Nate Burleson had this,’ and, ‘Hey, this is the way I used Nate Burleson,’ ” Schwartz said. “It got to the point with saying, ‘Well, let’s not get a guy like Nate Burleson. Let’s go after Nate Burleson.’ “

Dateline, February 2010: The Lions know they need to target in on a few free agents and snag them.  However, the Lions are still only a 2-14 season removed from 0-16.  Needing help almost everywhere still, they knew they needed more than a couple of one year stop-gaps.  They needed at least 2 starters from free agency, and would have to trade for one or two more. There just weren’t enough draft choices to fill all the needs in any reasonable time frame.

Dateline Detroit, March 4 2010: 

• Martin Mayhew has been making inquiries, and thinks he can strike quick and swing a deal to get Corey Williams, a starting caliber 4-3 DT who doesn’t fit Cleveland’s 3-4 scheme for a good price.  He lets knowledge of that leak to the media to take attention away from other Lions’ moves.
• Teams know the Lions are interested in Kyle Vanden Bosch – but how can the Lions keep other teams out of the running?  They decide on the parameters of an offer, and agree to send Jim Schwartz to Tennesse to make the pitch to Vanden Bosch himself.  This will leave Mayhew free to work the Williams trade at Midnight.
• Instead of finding a Nate-Burleson type player to take pressure off Calvin Johnson, the Lions decide to just go get Nate Burleson. 

Schwartz said he watched every snap Burleson played Thursday morning to make sure they wouldn’t have buyer’s remorse, then spoke to Linehan.  He suggested Linehan go to Seattle to woo Burleson. So Linehan got on a plane.

Dateline 12:01 am EST, March 5th 2010:

• Nashville, Tennesse: Jim Schwartz, sitting in a rental car about a block from Kyle Vanden Bosch’s house calls him right at 11:01 pm Nashville time and tells him he where he is, and that he wants Kyle to be a Detroit Lion.  Schwartz and Vanden Bosch both turn of their phones as they talk about him coming to Detroit for about 3 1/2 hours, along with Kyle’s wife.  Word that Schwartz is at Vanden Bosch’s house (thus explaining why no one, including his agent, is able to contact him) surface at about 12:30 pm EST.  Impressed by the personal visit, and the offer Schwartz has brought, Vanden Bosch agrees to become a Lion and works out the details with his agent and Tom Lewand later that morning.  No other team has a chance to take a real shot at landing him. 
• Seattle, Washington: Scott Linehan is in Seattle as the market opens at 9:01 pm in Washington.  Schwartz hits “send” texting Burleson that the Lions want him just before calling Vanden Bosch.   Matthew Stafford and Scott Linehan both call Burleson in a coordinated effort, as Linehan arrives and takes Burleson and his father out to dinner.  While they are eating, Tom Lewand talks on the phone with Burleson’s agent and puts the finishing touches on a deal to bring Burleson to Detroit in time to “be dessert” as Burleson later put it.
• Detroit, Michigan: Martin Mayhew has already sent out Linehan and Schwarz, with Tom Lewand as the communications man. This frees him up to concentrate on landing the best deal possible to acquire Corey Williams — which he did in giving up the later of Detoit’s two 5throunders acquired from Denver last year, and gaining both Williams and a 2010 7th rounder from Cleveland.  For less than a mid-5th pick Mayhew had secured a starting caliber DT. 

While there were hints of the Lions wanting Vanden Bosch and the Williams trade, there was NO news linking the Lions to Burleson until he was signed, sending shock-waves throughout the league. 

As you can see, the Lions leveraged their current players, coaches, and front office staff to simultaneously land 3 key players in 3 different states.  Boom!  3 holes filled.

I love it when a plan comes together.  Apparently, so does Martin Mayhew.

How about a running back? Let’s go with the Titans’ Lendale White, who has a 1000 yard season under his belt, but was made irrelevant with the rise of Chris Johnson to elite status. It’s going to take a 2nd round pick to sign him. As the Lions are picking 2nd in the 2nd round, 34th overall, in position to nab a talented player who drops out of the 1st round, it’s too damn high a pick to give up…even for a productive running back like White.

The Lions aren’t in a position to be giving up any high draft picks in order to pick up a free agent. Sure, the Lions could use any player with talent, restricted or not. But any free agent worth signing would cost dearly in draft picks, and the Lions need quantity over quality. The Lions need bodies. Lots of them…and hopefully talented.

You don’t build a team through free agency. You build through the draft. Free agency is best used judiciously, to fill a few holes on a team on the cusp of contending. As we’ve seen over the past decade here in Detroit, the Lions are not on the cusp of anything.

Phil: Honestly, no, none that I can think of. I think there are a few unrestricted free agents the Lions should pursue in Aaron Kampman, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Antrel Rolle and the running back I mention in point no. 2, below. Other than that, I’d keep the picks to build the team via drafting or trading.

An NFL running back over 30 is the equivalent of a 40+ year old baseball player in the post steroids era. Their stats could, and likely will, drop off a cliff without notice. Meaning the Lions should stay away from any back on the bad side of being in their 3rd decade of life.

If the Lions are going to find a compliment/replacement for Kevin Smith, it’ll be through the draft, not free agency.  

The problem that I see is, if the Lions desire a gamebreaker, none of these backs, short of Sproles (no pun intended), is going to provide that variable.

Jones would provide a solid back, who if healthy, will pound the ball and draw the attention of the safeties, which will be of benefit in the Lions vertical passing attack.

Kevin Walter WR: Amazingly enough, after all the draft picks and free agents, the Lions STILL badly need a couple of wide receivers opposite Megatron. Walter is a solid slot receiver, a player who has shown to be a nice compliment to a very talented wide out in his own right, Andre Johnson in Houston. Walter would be an excellent pickup as a number 2/3 wide out.

Chris Redmond, QB: Redmond stepped in for an injured Matt Ryan in Atlanta, and played well, resurrecting his career in the process. Why Redmond? The Lions desperately need a backup QB. Redmond would come in with no expectations he would start, would be relatively inexpensive and give the Lions a modicum of insurance at the QB position. They could do a lot worse for a backup…and did in 2009.

This is not a great free agent class, so anything that the Lions can do to fill their gaping needs, leading up to the draft will be beneficial.

Ahh yes.  This is exactly how most rookies must feel the first couple of days of training camp, their first preseason action, and certainly their first game or more in the NFL.  You think you’re doing fine and BAM – you’re flat on you’re back while the other team is celebrating a TD going what the hell just happened?!?  The speed of the game, and the complexity, makes it easy to get lost and a challenge to adjust from the college game, much less do it well.

This line of thought got started when I saw this article about the times colleges post for players, and the times they end up with for things such as the 40 yard dash at the NFL combine.  Bench press numbers are also of huge concern, as are wonderlick scores.  Guys like Haden are “dropping” and guys like Taylor Mays are “shooting up the boards”. 

When I read this piece after listening to combine blather for a few days, a classic scene from Joe vs the Volcano popped into my head:

The classic “He can get the job, but can he do the job?” — This is how I imagine the Millen years going…

Millen: He can run the speed!

Scouting Staff: But can he play the speed?

Millen: He can bench the load!

Scouting Staff: But can he shed the guard?

On and on and on….

ALL of the players in the NFL are phenomenal athletes by any reasonable standard.  But it takes more than freakish athletic skill to play football.  Instinct, ability to learn, feel for the game, technique, drive, confidence — they all play pivotal roles in the success or failure of players as they transition to and attempt to remain in the NFL. 

Taylor Mays may run .2 seconds faster in a straight line than Haden — but on the field, Haden appears to have a better feel for where the WR are going, and is able to play at his full speed where Mays looks like he is thinking too much.  Jerome Felton after his rookie year said he couldn’t wait for the off-season to get more conditioning in because the game had finally started to slow down for him.  “I wasn’t hitting like I knew I could, or blocking like I knew I could, because I wasn’t sure I was where I was supposed to be.”  

When the speed is too fast and the confidence not there, it is impossible to run your fastest and hit your hardest.  It takes experience, and an innate ability to go full out to the right spot.  Guys who just make plays are guys who through talent and coaching have gotten a feel for what is happening, and can get there earlier not because their “straight line” speed is faster — but because their “playing speed” is faster. 

Sure, he can GET the job, but can he DO the job?  Sure, he can BE the pick, but can he PLAY the position?   A WR who is a tall speedster with hands like a rock is pretty useless to an NFL team.  A guy who can bench 40-50 reps but doesn’t know who to hit when and how when he is trying to penetrate the backfield is useless to an NFL team.   It takes physical and game skill.  Physical skills get you looked at.  It is evaluating who can make the jump that earns scouts and GM’s their paychecks.  Having all the speed in the world doesn’t matter if you’re running in the wrong direction…

Good teams go beyond the stopwatch — they have scouted, done their homework, and are just looking for commitment, medicals, and the interview at the combine.  Others…not so much.  Results should not be over nor under stated. 

McCoy and Suh both showed great ability in college — but at the combine, Suh showed off his intensity and drive to be the best at everything football related — whether that was the vertical jump, a shuttle run, or the bench press.  He showed he had the athleticism to match his production — and that he may still have potential over his domination in college.  McCoy, to me, showed that in any year without Suh he would be raved about by the media constantly.  But Suh’s shadow is large.  Okung did OK — but to me, right now, Suh is BATFAN and if St. Louis does what is currently projected and takes a QB (most likely Bradford) then the choice is obvious to me minus a Half-Ricky trade +: you always want BATFAN in your corner…

Right now is looks like Suh and McCoy can not only get the job, but there is a really good chance they can do the job, too. Mayhew and Company did their homework last for last year’s draft – so I have no reason to think they haven’t done the same this year — only with a year of experience under their belts, lets see if they can do even better!

First off, in comparing building an NFL team to a souffle, I indicated that teams get in trouble when they let the combine affect their thinking about players they have been scouting for months. Peter King referenced this approach by some teams in his latest MMQB when he said that:

The Scouting Combine is coming … but I wish you wouldn’t get very excited about it.

In my calls around the league in the last few days, I spoke to one club architect who shall remain nameless at his request. He told me his team had changed its way of doing business in the scouting realm this year, and his team’s draft board is “90 percent set.”

Quoth this architect: “You know why it’s 90 percent set now? Because guys go to the Scouting Combine and they change their grade on a player based on things that have nothing to do with playing football. I’m convinced if you took the stopwatches away from a lot of these guys, most of ‘em would not be able to tell you whether they liked a player or not.

“These guys go out and watch players all fall, then we all watch the tape of all these guys, and we see what kind of football players they are. That’s scouting. Who plays good football in pads? That’s scouting. Now we need the combine for the medical evaluations and the personal baggage stuff. But don’t come in after the combine and tell me you want to change some guy and move him way up because he ran faster than you thought he would. That’s where you get in trouble, and that’s why our draft board is pretty well set.”

If I told you who this speaker was, you’d all say, “Whoa, we have to listen to this guy. We respect him.” Just take my word for it. He’s legit.

I enjoy the combine. It gives me the chance to meet a lot of players I’ll be covering in the future and to see people in the NFL and get team-by-team updates. It’s valuable. But it’s way overrated in terms of deciding who should get picked where in the draft, and it always will be. 

Interesting thoughts, and confirmation of what I’ve been saying… Then, to top it off, Jim Schwartz recently came out giving interview answers that confirmed once again the Lions will be targeting talent vs “need” in the draft.  This pretty much hits dead on with the BATFAN rating approach.  Need will be addressed in Free Agency. 

In other moves that peaked my interest, the Lions are shopping the #2 pick pretty hard, and Mayhew is getting other GM’s to react to his moves. (I even saw where, after the news about the Lions and potential partners came out, the other three teams in the top 4 pulled a weak “me too!  me too!”  It is obvious, though, that Washington may even be one of those teams that could move up…) If, as Mayock thinks, the Rams pick a QB due to the pressure of passing on too many signal callers already, that makes Clausen/Bradford (whoever doesn’t go) a hot commodity for QB needy teams near the top of the draft.  Who knows — some team may even go for a Half-Ditka (No one is crazy enough to do a full Ditka) to get Suh.   Any way you slice it, the Lions are sitting pretty right now and they and the rest of the league knows it. 

Nice having a real GM instead of Matt Millen, isn’t it?  Notice how the serious National media take is changing on the Lions and what they will do. (for the not so serious, insert tired Dez Bryant WR at #2 joke here)

Finally, on a note that both shows progress and disappointment, Jared DeVries was cut today.  Now, he had a $400k roster bonus due and is coming off an awful injury missing all of last season on IR.  In a sharp departure from the Matt Millen years, it sounds by all accounts as if the release was handled in a very classy manner by both the team and Jared — and there is still a chance he finishes his career as a Lion.  While I really like Jared, I’m hoping the team is past needing him as a starter but he could still be one heck of a rotational player and would strengthen the depth on the D-Line considerably at the DE position if he can come back at 100%. 

IF…always the big IF in the Ifseason, but I’m guessing we see him in camp with the Lions unless KVB and/or Kampman are signed to fill a veteran role at the DE spot.  See you in camp, Mr. DeVries!  As for the season, only time will tell…

I do have feelers out with other correspondents in regards to various trade rumors involving players and the draft — I’ll let you know what (if anything) I come up with.

Still, I couldn’t help but think that something was missing this year — then it struck me:  Salary Cap and Coaching changes.  Other than the relatively mild change at Special Teams coach this is the first season in almost 10+ years the Lions have not changed head coach, OC, DC or both.  While this is a very positive development that will also help bring consistency and continuity to the team — it does lead to a little less excitement this time of year. 

Also missing are the endless Salary Cap discussions — who are likely salary cuts, who can and can’t be cut or traded away/traded for due to their relative cap hits.  While it does simplify life a little bit, it does lead to a few things missing after all this time. 

Finally, though, it really hit me when I was reading this Don Banks article on the changes to Free Agency this season with the uncapped year.  While the players aren’t really happy about the changes, neither are teams looking for free agency help!  Both teams and players are bracing for a lockout, but there will unfortunately be plenty of time to write about that next year, I fear.

What concerns me is that as I kept scanning rosters and articles for potential free agents the Lions could consider to fill some of their needs, I keep coming up with the same result: Nothing.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s just that most players worth signing as a long term fix (Amano, who re-upped for 5 years with the Titans) are being locked up by their current teams.  Restricted free-agents will take draft-picks to sign — and how many of those are you willing to give up? 

This leaves a thin pool of older players that were not re-signed by their current clubs (usually for a very good reason) and a host of dollar ninjas and short-term hole pluggers (assuming they have enough left in the tank).  Personally, the combination of all the different points missing — salary cap and meaningful free agents, especially — is making this ifseason feel more like it is occurring in 1992 — Pre-Free Agency heading for labor strife — than 2010. 

Nope.  Free Agency just doesn’t feel very “free” this ifseason…

Gerald McCoy, DT Oklahoma Sooners (Junior)

This pick was, when I looked at the available players, actually easier than I had thought it would be.  The Lions have lacked a dominant DT since Shaun Rogers was shipped off for Leigh Bodden and another blown Millen pick.  Even then, Rogers was streaky and oft injured.  Couple that with a lack of real players at DE since Porcher retired, and you can guess the Lions’ pass rush has done anything BUT rush the opposing QB’s. 

That started to change a little bit last season with new coaches, and the new front office bringing in talent.  Cliff Avril showed some promise at time at DE, as did Jason Hunter.  DeWayne White is a solid DE who couldn’t get over the injury bug yet again.  At DT, the Lions had big old Grady Jackson — but they also had the future in Sammie Hill (the 2009 4th rounder out of Stillman).  Hill is a big guy, and has already developed from one of the worst first pre-season games I have ever seen into a decent run-stuffer.  His continual and consistent improvement on learning how to leverage his size with technique while making the jump from small school to the NFL cannot be understated.  He will possibly never develop above the run-stuffing role, but even that would be huge if there were some dominant pass-rushing DT to put next to him…

Enter McCoy.  DT is a need, and McCoy fills it.  But the Lions don’t draft for need, so I had to be sure and consider the alternatives. 

No, you didn’t hear me wrong.  Quick detour — I have written about Martin Mayhew and the style of drafting that the Detroit Lions use.  I had been struggling to come up with a good acronym until I saw a picture of my nephew and it struck me (basic logo design copyright DC Comics):

The Detroit Lions are going to look at their board in each level of the draft, and take the most talented player that fills ANY need.  Period. Now, at the top of the draft for pick number two, we need to look at the next available guys at any position of need and decide if they are more talented than Gerald McCoy.

There were really only three possibilities jumped out at me: Oklahoma OT Russel Okung, Georgia Tech DE Derrick Morgan, and Tennesse S Eric Berry.  All three have positives and negatives, and fill needs for Detroit. 

Derrick Morgan, DE Georgia Tech:  Nothing against Morgan, but I just don’t feel he grades out talent wise on the same level as Berry and McCoy, both on the board in this scenario.  Coupled with the WR-Like failure rate of highly-drafted DE’s in recent years, and it just doesn’t feel like he is a guy to take at #2 when he could slide halfway down the round. 

Russel Okung, OT Oklahoma:  He is the best OT in a generally weak class at the position.  While he has talent, Backus is playing the best he has in years, and the LG is more of a priority but none of the OG’s grade out near this high.   The Lions want a backup to Backus to groom (since their project OT, Lydon Murtha was swiped by Miami off the practice squad last season) but will likely find that inlater rounds.  Okung is good, but not #2 good.  Toss in how similarly rated OT’s from last year fared, and it is a fair indication that the Lions will feel they can get a tackle of Okung’s ability in later years lower in the first round.  I would hazard a guess they are right.

Eric Berry, S Tennesse:  Berry came the closest of any player to being considered by me over McCoy.  Both are superb against the run.  Berry can drop into coverage well and is a playmaker in the defensive backfield.  The problem is, the Lions have one of those: Louis Delmas.  This will drop the overall rating of Berry on the Lions’ BATFAN board (albeit, not by much).  From a need standpoint, I could talk about the Lions’ Dline taking precedent over the d-backfield, so on and so forth.  But priority of need doesn’t apply here — it is about talent and depth at the position.  The Lions can get a solid Safety in Rounds 2 or 3 this year thanks to fantastic depth at both that and other defensive positions.  The drop-off to the next rated DT’s is much higher.  Berry is a playmaker, no doubt.  But his BATFAN rating will be lower due to the numerous other options at that position as I outlined a month or so ago. 

With no other players really coming close, this left me the easy choice of taking Gerald McCoy at #2.  If the Rams do something crazy like take a QB at #1, well…then we see the Lions front office really earn their pay as they have to pick from McCoy and Suh…

Turns out, the origins date back to Greek times.  WikiAnswers defines it thus:

 Make every possible effort, use every possible source or resource. For example, To raise ten thousand dollars to keep the shelter open, we must leave no stone unturned. This expression alludes to an ancient Greek legend about a general who buried a large treasure in his tent when he was defeated in battle. Those seeking the treasure consulted the Oracle of Delphi, who advised them to move every stone. The present form dates from the mid-1500s.

This is a favorite hobby of Martin Mayhew and the new Lions front office.  Turning over stones, seeing if anything is there, and putting them back if they don’t like what they see.  Last Ifseason, they were first on the waiver wire and it seemed like they signed every guy who was released to get a good look at them.  Free Agents cut?  Bring ‘em in and see what they have left.  Declining vet?  See if he can plug a hole for a year.  Guy who never lived up to his potential?  Is less than his draft status still an upgrade, or at least a lateral move with upside?  They are turning over every stone, knowing that any stone left unturned may be moved by another team — and the treasure (an quality upgrade for the team) will be won by that team instead.  Granted, it’s easier for the Lions to upgrade their roster than Minnesota, New Orleans, Indianapolis, or the Jets — which also makes it even more imperative the Lions turn over a LOT of rocks since they have a better chance of finding an upgrade under there than any of those teams.  In time, it will change to a point where the searches are more focused — and where all needs can be filled with a key free agent or via the draft.  Until that day arrives, Martin Mayhew will be picking up a TON of rocks.

This is something we are already seeing once again this ifseason, and will continue to see in great quantity again this ifseason and throughout the year.  Thanks to last year’s draft the Lions have finally started to build a solid young core of quality strating caliber NFL players.  Still, it will be some time before the Lions have their starters solidified on both sides of the ball, much less their depth in place. 

DeDe Dorsey signing, working out Donte Stallworth — the guys they picked up after the season.  Myahew is doing his due dilligence in finding guys to field a better team than last year.  Now that players need 6 years instead of 4 to be unrestricted free agents, the pool of available young talent just dropped off significantly.  He will have to stick with drafting as well as he did last year, and patching via older vets and other teams’ cast-offs.   If you wonder about his drafting skills, ALL of the Lions’ draft picks from last season — rounds 1-7 — are still on NFL rosters right now.  Early indications are he has an eye for talent, but I’ll need to see a few years of consistently good drafting along with sustained development from the drafts picks to really be on board. 

In regards to Donte Stallworth, before anyone starts going off about character (like a certain radio host and sports writer), check out this well-researched article by Ty over at the Lions in winter in regards to Stallworth and the details surrounding his arrest and suspension.  Stallworth never lived up to his billing as a #1 WR, taken in the first round.  However, that doesn’t mean he couldn’t be an upgrade for the Lions over their current crop of wideouts.  He was a speedy guy that played well on the outside, and could take advantage of single coverage, but won’t demand any double teams.  He has done well in this role, and Cleveland signed him to a big deal just before his screwup to do just that opposite their then-star wideout Braylan Edwards.   IF he still has enough to take a look at, the Lions will give hima shot in camp.  IF they don’t think he is worth the time, they won’t sign him and won’t be any worse off for having looked. 

Too often in the Millen years, the Lions didn’t even bother checking guys out at all and missed out on a lot of good prospects.   Mayhew is leaving no stone unturned — including UFL and Arena teams — in his search for roster upgrades.  Now, we must keep persepective that a lot of these guys will either not pan out, or have very little impact.  But even a little bit of an upgrade sure beats him hanging out in Pennsylvania and not looking at all.

So wish Martin Mayhew good luck, and good hunting in his rock turning expedition – the Lions need a treasure or two.

Given your exclusive focus on the Lions, thought you’d be interested in some cool stuff we’re doing with Matthew Stafford down in Miami for Super Bowl XLIV.

Stafford along with a handful of elite athletes including Eli Manning, Miles Austin, Tim Tebow and more will be undergoing performance testing at the Gatorade Performance Lab with the Gatorade Sports Science Institute. Athletes will also be getting a sneak peek of the new G Series — a line of Gatorade products (due this spring) designed to meet athlete needs before, during and after activity.

These tests will be broadcast live via www.ustream.tv/gstream . We encourage you and your readers to check out the broadcast and ask Stafford questions live on USTREAM’s social stream or via www.facebook.com/gatorade . Stafford will test Friday @7:10amET.

For more information on Gatorade Performance Lab, and to download multimedia from this week’s athlete tests, please visit: http://www.gatorade.com/media/

We hope that you will share this information with your community. Please let me know if you have any questions.

BROADCAST SCHEDULE

Thursday, February 4
§ Miles Austin, Dallas Cowboys (11:10amET)

Friday, February 5
§ Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions (7:10amET)
§ Darrelle Revis, New York Jets (11:10amET
§ Tim Tebow, University of Florida (2:10pmET)

It also appears they will have video available for rebroadcast if you can’t make it.