***2011 Detroit Lions Thread*** (1 Viewer)

[hutchins929]

Hot and muggy at the Lions camp today. It's amazing how big those guys are when they're close up.The one guy who stands out physically to me is Calvin Johnson. The guy just looks different than everyone else.In regards to just football, Calvin looks in great shape and will have an outstanding year. So if you had him high on your charts like most, he looks ready to go right now.If there was one guy that stood out I think it was Burleson. He caught everything thrown his way in the 7 on 7's as well as full team drills. They really seemed to line him up all over and Stafford seems to have a rapport with him. Pull the trigger on Burleson, especially in PPR leagues.Stafford looked very good. No ill effects to injury, looks like a guy just playing football out there not worrying about the past. I also think Hill looked very good. He doesn't have quite the zip on the deeper throws but he's good, the offense will move with him running the team which makes me feel more confident in the Calvin and Burleson selections.I think Pettigrew looked good. He had one dropped pass but they practiced a lot of play action passes to him, roll out passes to him and some check downs to him. He's in for a solid year.I felt like Best was OK. He did drop a couple passes, he made some nice cuts in open field but certainly doesn't move the pile. I like the way Leshoure ran the ball, he's not as fast but he's tougher. It was hard to gauge the running game in what I saw today in practice. My gut says it wasn't great.Houston impressed me on defense. Eric Wright was carted off the field, didn't look too serious, maybe a hammy tweak. The linebackers of Levy, Tulloch, and Durant looked solid. Durant was in the middle while Levy was on the right and Tulloch on the left.Defensive line was putting pressure on QB's, hard to tell exactly how much as they had to ease up when they got close. There was one play when Hill had to move up in the pocket due to pressure and he kind of got leg whipped and flipped up and on his back, he wasn't too happy about that.Outside of that, 2 guys I kept checking to see who they were because they made some plays were no. 82 Rashied Davis and No. 15 Derrick Williams, both had solid practices and someone to keep an eye on in preseason games. No. 16, Titus Young is SO Small. He was just out catching passes from some guy without pads on but he seems like if he ever gets hit, he'd get killed. I mean it, looks like a high school kid out there, I hope that pick works out, call me a skeptic.Was a lot of fun, look forward to seeing them play the Bengals on Friday.

Great Job! Love it!!!

 

[Hedgehog]

Leshoure have a chance to take the job from Best? He is clear #6 pick in most rookie drafts I have seen

 

[jon_mx]

Leshoure have a chance to take the job from Best? He is clear #6 pick in most rookie drafts I have seen

The coaching staff views Best and Leshoure as a 1-2 punch. The are not really competing against each other, they both will have roles. Best will be the main ball carrier. Leshoure will relieve him, will be the grind it out back to run out the clock, and will be the short yardage back. Of course, if Leshoure proves to be a beast or Best proves to be ineffective, Leshoure's role will greatly increase. They will compliment each other. Both will be moderately valuable to have. I really think though, Leshoure will prove to be a better every down back and his role will increase. But they will still split time.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

I can't bring myself to get too excited for 20111. Haven't broken myself of the expectation that something has to go wrong... right?Cautiously optimistic for this year. Definitely excited moving forward.

this. i already feel like anything short of a playoff berth is a failure this year, but as long as they're competitive and entertaining i'm willing to cut them some slack if they end up 7-9 or 8-8i feel like they finally have a plan and are building this team the right way, so the future looks pretty bright (at least until we end up in cap hell)

I think that they have done pretty well with their contracts. at least recently anyway. They aren't overpaying for guys, they are doing things the right way. So this "cap hell", is that just speculation or do you have evidence to back it up? I really don't know because I haven't gone through the whole roster and looked at it. I know Stafford has a huge contract but that really wont happen anymore with the new rookie pay scale. With the Lions being a big up and coming team they really wont have to overpay anymore either.

i may be off base...i just figure with all the high picks we have it's gonna be tough to keep them all signed and under the cap...

 

[Ilov80s]

Chris McCosky reported that Gosder Cherilus and Titus Young are ready to practice today.

 

[Ilov80s]

I can't bring myself to get too excited for 20111. Haven't broken myself of the expectation that something has to go wrong... right?Cautiously optimistic for this year. Definitely excited moving forward.

this. i already feel like anything short of a playoff berth is a failure this year, but as long as they're competitive and entertaining i'm willing to cut them some slack if they end up 7-9 or 8-8i feel like they finally have a plan and are building this team the right way, so the future looks pretty bright (at least until we end up in cap hell)

I think that they have done pretty well with their contracts. at least recently anyway. They aren't overpaying for guys, they are doing things the right way. So this "cap hell", is that just speculation or do you have evidence to back it up? I really don't know because I haven't gone through the whole roster and looked at it. I know Stafford has a huge contract but that really wont happen anymore with the new rookie pay scale. With the Lions being a big up and coming team they really wont have to overpay anymore either.

i may be off base...i just figure with all the high picks we have it's gonna be tough to keep them all signed and under the cap...

The core young players who will be looking at a massive deal soon are Calvin and Suh. Stafford hasn't guaranteed himself that yet. Delmas could be, but he had a sophomore slump and this is a "what have you done for me lately" business. Avril will get a nice contract, but isn't a pro bowl player or anything. It really isn't too bad.

 

[Saint]

Per adam schefter, Mikel leshore was carted off the field with a leg injury. No details yet.

 

[The Captain]

97.1 the ticket reporting that it looked bad. No details though. Speculation at this point.

 

[Saint]

Sirius Blitz reported Leshore has a torn achilles. Done for the year. Ugh.

 

[T with T]

Leshoure have a chance to take the job from Best? He is clear #6 pick in most rookie drafts I have seen

Not anymore I drafted him 6.9 in my start up and Im crying.

 

[Iwannabeacowboybaby!]

Horrible news that Leshoure is out for the year. Draft class not looking so good as none of the top 3 are even practicing.

Discouraging to say the least.

 

[JuSt CuZ]

Horrible news that Leshoure is out for the year. Draft class not looking so good as none of the top 3 are even practicing.Discouraging to say the least.

Lions sign Mike Bell and Jerome Harrison per Tom Kowalski

 

[matuski]

I can't bring myself to get too excited for 20111. Haven't broken myself of the expectation that something has to go wrong... right?

Cautiously optimistic for this year. Definitely excited moving forward.

 

[jon_mx]

Yeah, it was hard losing Leshoure, but the Lions are about to sign 3 time Pro-Bowler OL Leonard Davis. Both Stafford and KVB have restructured their contract to open the door to about $8.5 million in cap space over the last couple of weeks. I have never seen the Lions this aggressive and smart in off-season moves. Detroit wants to win and win this year. I am starting to think 10 wins is a reasonable expectation. The defense will be significantly better at LB and DB.

Unfortunately, the weakest link right now may be at RB. Best has to stay healthy and Harrison will have to

contribute. I haven't been looking forward to the Lions season this much since th Lions tried the run and shoot offense with Sanders in the backfield.

 

[PRAE]

Just got my tickets to the Lions Monday night game against the Bears!