Detroit Lions
They signed Justin Durant to a 2 year contract(can't find the salary). He'll play WILL LB for the Lions. Good signing. Young and athletic who can play 3 down.
The Lions are going after Jonathan Joseph and Stephen Tulloch. With the cap space, I'm not sure if they have enough cap space to sign both players. Joseph is likely to be signed anywhere from 7-10 mil a year and we don't know until Nnamdi Asomugha sets the CB market. The Lions have already offerred Tulloch 6 mil a year(w 10 mil guaranteed money).
So far, good start by the Lions by filling one of their bigger holes, OLB. I think that if the Lions don't land Joseph, I expect them to re-sign Chris Houston because I don't think the CBs available in the FA market are better than him.
I really hope we get Tulloch, and then pursue Huff or another backup corner for depth.
Tulloch, Durant, Fairley, Suh, Avril, and Vanden Bosch would make a killer front 7!
So good that they would be a killer front 7 with only 6? Throw Levy in there, and I fully agree with you.
Levy is the 7th (you listed 6 of the front 7)
So, with Durant at WLB that leaves Levy in the middle. But, what is the plan if they sign MLB Tulloch - who between Levy and Tulluch moves to SLB?
I was under the impression that if they signed Tulloch then Levy would move to WLB, but now with Durant... I'm confused (and hope this doesn't mean Tulloch is no longer an option)
would play SAM LB if they sign Tulloch but it's not going to matter apparently since Tulloch balked on the Lions offer.
What should I title my threads?
Please make your thread titles as informative as possible: "Justin Feagin" is bad. "Justin Feagin leaving the team?" is good.
also I think this one falls under the 'pro sports' category & earns itself an OT tag ... technically :)
Dave Birlett said hes hearing lions are out of it for tulloch
More and more reports are saying no tulloch, hopefully this is because were giving joseph a hefty contract.
if we can somehow sign joseph and houston..and just rotate guys like Bobby Carpenter, Zach Follett at SAM...thats still a pretty solid defense.
Yeah, I'd rather spend the cash to get Joseph, he's a difference maker.
I dont think we need to find a proven playmaker (at LB). Our D-line is so good it will produce playmakers. We just need young, healthy bodies at LB. I just want a solid CB.
Tulloch is solid, but he's not athletic enough to be a playmaker. If a team pays a LB what Tulloch will command, they should get someone that makes the rest of the defense better, and I'm not convinced Tulloch could do that.
Joseph, on the other hand, would dramatically improve the secondary - having him on one side of the field and Delmas at safety, with that D-line, would provide some decent pass defense for the first time since the late 90s.
Colin on the Herd was talking about Sidney Rice going going to the seahawks and mentioned Calvin Johnson and how he's been a superstar with bartenders and bell hops as QB's, haha this guy cracks me up
Is the worst... That is all...
According to the twitterverse, we are out of the running on Tulloch. Also heard that the Lions graded Durant higher anyway. No word anywhere on JJ. Nick Barnett wouldn't be bad either at this point, and prolly cheap.
I want to see the Lions sign thier drafts, currently all are unsigned. Rookies cannot practice until they have a contract. At least I think that is true.
Just a thought since it sounds like Tampa isn't bringing him back. Maybe Nick Barnett?
But until now I have heard next to zero chatter about Ruud. If we can get him for a reasonable price I'd say it's a deal worth making and certainly an upgrade. The injury issue is what gives me pause about Barnett. Even though he is cheap, adding him to the roster would be asking the Lions to rely on TWO injury prone starters (Durant has had issues his whole career). Of course, if we break the bank for Joseph then I think we would be forced to go with a cheap option for the last LB spot. Not that that would be bad, though.
Nate Burlesson and Jahvid Best have been tweeting Nick Barnett the past day or so.
We could use some depth on the front line to protect our shoulder...i mean...quarterback.
I'd love to get Joseph. If Nnamdi gets $17 million a year, though, I could easily see Joseph getting $12 million.
could be the next Lions FA signing. 97.1 says the Texas are going hard after Namdi and are rumored to be offering him around $14 million a season. All the while John Clayton has been tweeting that Jonathan Joseph is deciding between 3 teams (Lions,Bengals,Texas) and could make a decision soon. You throw in the reports that the Lions are backing off of Tulloch. To me that says they are now going hard after Joseph now.
I'd rather have both Joseph and Houston than Joseph and Tulloch.
Carpenter-Levy-Durant with Palmer backing up the OLB spots isn't a horrible situation. But the thought of starting Aaron Berry or Nathan Vasher is. And Alphonso Smith should be in a nickel role inside, not on the outside.
the young guys. A good policy for the long term, and for the salary cap. Not really what I expected them to do, but it seems like they know who they want.
Building a young and terrifying group of guys on defense.. good sign for the boys in baby blue
Honolulu Blue
Depressing fact: Only 7 out of 62 players drafted by Matt Millen remains on the Lions roster.
Im more depressed that there are 7 out of 62 players drafted by matt millen on the lions roster. I just hope 100% of matt millen is out of those 7 players.
is Cliff Avril in 4th round. Great value pick. The most obvious is CJ but that's a no brainer.
His 1st draft was actually really good. Backus and Riaola remains on the team. Got a big time steal in Shaun Rogers in 2nd round. Scotty Anderson was a contributor for a few years with McMahon as a backup QB for a few years. Sadly, that is his highest point of his drafting.
Nate Clements is going to be released by the 49ers. He could be an option at CB. He would definitely be cheaper than Joseph.
He'd be cheaper for good reason.
Nothing to see here move along.
So much for Joseph, Houston just signed him for 5 years/$48.75 M
Houston all the more important because the Lions need to retain Houston.