Back to back Detroit Lions posts, scary, no?
Yesterday I covered who we've added since the off-season began, today I'll cover how it should, theoretically, all work once the season begins. Please note that all theoretical starters are subject to injury.
On offense, Jon Kitna will remain the starting QB and Dan Orlovsky will move into the 2nd string role at least the first half of the season while Stanton will fill the role of 3rd string emergency QB. Stanton is reportedly having his entire technique stripped down (literally, he was on the radio the other day talking about how Martz is changing everything he does, from how he drops back to the way he grips the ball) so I think it's unlikely he'll see any time this year in between re-learning how to play QB and learning one of the more complex offenses in football. Last year Kitna was sacked 63 times, threw 22 interceptions and lost 9 fumbles. For those of you out there who lack an affinity with math, that nearly 4 sacks and almost 2 turnovers per game on average. Still, he did manage to throw for over 4,200 yards and 21 TDs. Personally I'm hoping the reduction in QB pressure the team seems to be shooting for also translates into a turnover reduction, otherwise Dan or Drew might be stepping under center.
In front of Kitna we should see a far healthier and sturdier offensive line with G Damien Woody returning from injury, C Dominic Raiola returns for his 7th season as he nears in on 100 consecutive games played, new addition G Edwin Mulitalo joins the crew from the Ravens, Jeff Backus, also back for his 7th season at Left Tackle, has never missed a game and is 4 shy of the century mark himself. Right Tackle is still anyone's guess at this point but I suspect George Foster from Denver will land the job unless Jonathan Scott makes some truly impressive strides during traning camp.
If Kevin Jones is at 100% I think we can expect to see him starting and sharing time with T.J. Duckett coming in for short yardage situations. If that's the case I expect the Lions to trade Tatum Bell, likely for a backup caliber CB or possibly a 3rd, 4th or 5th round pick in next year's draft. Simply put, Bell can start in this league and therefore demands a certain amount of money that Detroit won't want to spend if Jones is healthy. Brian Calhoun was initially brought in as a 3rd down back last year before Martz learned how good Kevin Jones's hand were. His future is in question given that Jones has proven that he can be an every down back from an ability standpoint, though Martz loves Calhoun's versatility given that he has the hands and speed to line up as a WR and work as return-man. Shawn Bryson's job is virtually secured given that he can line up as a RB, TB or FB so as long as he has developed his catching ability since last season his job should be secure. Will Matthews has vanished from the Lions depth chart, while no official news has come down the pipe I think we can assume he's been cut and I expect Aveion Cason to join him if Kevin Jones is healthy.
If you think the people lining up to get cut at RB is impressive you should see the WR corps. Roy Williams and Mike Furrey return as the only Lions receiving duo to each break the 1,000 yard mark in a season this millenia. Calvin Johnson joins the NFC leader in receptions (Furrey) and yards (Williams) in hopes of making this particular group the most dynamic Detroit has had since Herman Moore, Brett Perriman and Johnnie Morton caught a combined 275 passes in 1995 (Moore and Perriman breaking the NFL tandem receiving record with 231 receptions). Mention this to any Lions fan and you'll likely see a glimmer of hope, maybe a tear and possibly some weeping. The 4th spot still hangs in limbo although it seems likely that the spot will go to Shaun McDonald who inked a long-term deal a few weeks ago. Eddie Drumond figures to remain on the roster due to his prowess as a return-man despite his less than breath-taking performance the last 2 seasons. Devale Ellis remains on the roster, the only rookie WR from last year to survive this long. An undersized speedy receiver (Martz loves these guys, God knows why) out of Hofstra, if he's made some progress from a year ago it's likely he won't get cut. I could list the other WRs (5 in all) but all I could really tell you is that one of them is from St. Louis and we cut him last year, how he's back on the roster is a bit of a mystery to me.
Finally, time to address the tight ends. Casey FitzSimmons was the projected starter going into the '06 season but broke his wrist in the first preseason game; while still managing to play in 11 games he never appeared to be at 100%. He was replaced by veteran and first year Lion Dan Campbell who played in every game, catching 21 passes for 308 yards and 4 TDs which may not sound like much until you know that the Lions picked Campbell up for his blocking ability. Which one will start? It's hard to say, really. If FitzSimmons is back at 100% this year I suspect the two will split time. FitzSimmons, if healthy, is faster than Campbell and is just as sure-handed while Campbell is the superior blocker. 3rd-stringer Sean McHugh didn't see much time at TE last season but did get put in at FB occasionally. Given that the Lions don't have a FB on the roster currently it would come as no surprise if McHugh reprised that roll a second season.
Plan on seeing a post covering the Lions defense sometime later this week.
I move out on May 19th. It's creeping up and freaking me out. Comforting correspondence and furniture offers may be directed to my email.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment