OT: How stupid are the lions?
Let's see, they're going to pay a guy 20 million to sit on the bench for two years before he's useful, if he's ever useful.
They took a tight end, in a league where TE's average 2 or three catches at most per game if their name's not tony gonzales.
And now they just took a safety who can't cover and can't tackle. it would be funny if it weren't so sad.
did you see the tape of this safety they just took? HE NEVER WRAPS UP! he's got terrible body control, he can't stay with a WR in one-on-one. WTF?
This safety sounds like a Stevie Brown wannabe.
Louis Delmas is rated the best safety in the draft by ESPN, I know that doesn't mean much.
On the flip side they have picked up the;
Top rated QB
Top rated TE
Top rated Safety
Hard as it may be to comprehend, things could be worse in this draft.
Very.
I just logged in to say exactly that. Maybe they can trade up and a get a punter (the top rated punter) before the second round is over.
April 25th, 2009 at 11:48 PM ^
Top rated punter, oh yeah!
April 25th, 2009 at 11:22 PM ^
Very Very
Think on the bright side, they could have taken Darrius Heyward-Bey with the first overall pick.
I threw things at the TV when they announced the Pettigrew pick.
Ditto
What I don't understand is how they can pass up Maualuga and Everette Brown for a player whose position is very weak overall in this draft. Yes, the Lions could use a safety, but they have many defensive needs and Maualuga or Brown would have been a much stronger choice in my opinion.
Especially in run support. Maualuga can cover from sideline to sideline. I was surprised they didn't take him with the second pick. I was surprised they didn't him with the third.
The Lions need help everywhere. Safety. Linbacker. O-Line. Everywhere. But yet for some reason we think that picking a player where we theoretically need the most help (S, I guess) will help us be much improved next year. It's just not going to happen. Take the best overall player you can find and then take a S and TE next year. Build for the long haul, not just next year... But hey, just my opinion.
Well to anyone who thinks we should have taken rey malualuga with the 33 or even the 20, the Lions didn't just pass on him, EVERYONE passed on him. They predicted he would go much earlier then he did, so there must be some kind of red flag that the "experts" as well as you and me weren't aware of.
things could be worse ha lol The lions drafted all offense, when they have the second worse defense ever... ever of all time! They pass on peria jerry at 20 than they pass on maluga in the second round! to draft a safty that played in the mac. I am done ranting now. It could be worse, offense does not win championships, defense does everyone knows that!! go ask the super bowl champions
Offensive linemen are easy to come by. All Detroit has to do is pick a couple up in FA. Then work on their defense.
I agree with McFarlin, Chill out. Stick your head in the freezer and suck an ice cube. The Lions are on their way. You can't fill all the holes at once.
That's what she said.
And Bam. Shock took the ball and ran with it.
Really? Who have the Lions picked up as a FA lineman (or traded for) that's been any good?
New coaches. First time for everything. They have A LOT of cap room so hopefully they use it to do something with that team.
I don't understand why you are freaking out. Maybe they want to take some pressure off Stafford by drafting a big TE that he can throw the ball to.
April 25th, 2009 at 11:14 PM ^
I don't understand why you freak out about only having underclassman QBs on the roster. Perhaps people have different philosophies about how a football team should be built?
April 25th, 2009 at 10:11 PM ^
When you have as many holes as the Lions, as long as they are drafting the best player on the board to fill them, I will not rip them for it. Pettigrew is the best TE prospect in years. He has Gates potential, except that he is also an incredible blocker. The Lions have needed a TE for years. TEs are important to a team's running game. I think you owe your television an apology.
April 25th, 2009 at 11:11 PM ^
Don't worry, it was only the sleeve thingys on my recliner. Nothing that can damage anything. Those things get a lot of air time, what with things like drafting TEs when you should be drafting LBs, watching freshmen try to field punts, and Brandon Lyon. The TV is used to it.
Anyway Pettigrew: I'm sure he's a fine TE and all, but the Lions aren't 0-16 because of their TE. They're 0-16 because they look like a clown show trying to stop the run. Last in the league and so far behind 31st place, they actually give up more than twice as many yards a game as do the three best teams in the league in that category. There are LBs and D-linemen galore on the draft board and they take what in my opinion is the least important position on the field. Even less so than the punter. Pettigrew could catch 100 passes next year and the Lions will still have a set of turnstiles for a rush defense.
April 26th, 2009 at 10:04 AM ^
Brandon Lyon...oh yeah. Now that's a good pickup. But hey, Joel Zumaya last night? Eh? Eh?
April 25th, 2009 at 10:19 PM ^
Well, the fact that free agency has come and gone for the most part, you can scratch picking up a good offensive lineman at this point. It all starts in the trenches. And everyone should be freaking out, because the Lions went 0-16 last year. Every pick should be highly scrutinized. Yeah they have the money to spend, but have the Fords ever wanted to fill all that cap space in the past?
April 25th, 2009 at 10:25 PM ^
"They took a tight end, in a league where TE's average 2 or three catches at most per game if their name's not tony gonzales"
Totally agree. I mean, in a league where, besides Gonzalez, as you mentioned, only Dallas Clark and Jason Witten and Antonio Gates and Greg Olsen and Owen Daniels and Kellen Winslow and Alge Crumpler and so on make any noticeable contribution to their offense, the Lions must be insane for taking the concensus #1 TE off the board with the 20th overall pick.
April 25th, 2009 at 11:46 PM ^
averaged 30 receptions per year for his first 4 years, so the lions are expecting this draft pick to pay off... when? Antonio gates had 60 catches last year, uhm I know math is boring but that's 3.75 catches per game. Olsen had 54. Winslow had 43, CRUMPLER HAD 24! this 'and so on' person had ZERO.
you know, WIND makes a 'noticeable contribution to offense', so I guess its too bad the lions play inside.
Taking a player that might be active on, lets be generous, say 60% of the offensive snaps if you count blocking (which could be done by much lower rated players) that still doesn't explain how you can pass up a defensive player that would contribute to your defense on 80 % of the plays.
You do not measure a TE's production solely on receptions. Guys like Witten, Olsen, Gonzalez, and Gates are the best pass-catchers on their team, regardless of what statistics may say. Ask Peyton Manning who his most reliable target is, and I'll bet you it's Dallas Clark. An elite TE is a unique weapon in the NFL-- he can alter how defenses play against you. With Pettigrew the Lions got a guy who has the rare run-block and pass catch combination, and who by all accounts can step in on day one and become a key contributor.
Look, the Lions have too many holes to fill in one offseason. This is a team starting from scratch. They have maybe three players worth keeping-- CJ, Kevin Smith, and Ernie Sims. Everyone else is expendable. Today they went out and got the best quarterback available, along with the best tight end and the best safety. All the naysayers need to understand the Millen Era is over, and give the new management a chance to prove themselves and build a new team. And yes, they're going to suck next year too.
Solid post, in my e-pinion.
April 26th, 2009 at 10:29 AM ^
posted my question about how stupid are the lions, I wasn't bashing the value of a TE to an offense, I was bashing the value of a TE to an offense vs. the #20 pick. The lions seem to be failing at the business side of the draft and aren't getting value for their positions. But they just traded their 3rd round pick so maybe they'll turn things around on day two.
One problem mad magician- besides Crumpler all of these guys can RUN. 4.8 is pathetically slow especially when your QB is on his back in 2.3. He will have a chance to be the best blocker on the O line though despite being a TE.
April 25th, 2009 at 10:27 PM ^
I think the Lions are on their way to their worst draft ever. They started with a potential disaster in Stafford, and continued to act as if WCF was calling the shots between bedpan changes. Other than the fact (to me, anyway) that each pick was a terrible and risky reach of anywhere from five to twenty places, I guess they did fine:
Stafford = maybe the tenth best player in the draft, taken first.
Pettigrew, maybe a good pick at 33 if TE is a pressing need, taken at 20.
Delmas, a late second-rounder, taken at the beginning of the second round.
Basically, the Lions ignored pressing needs at LB and LT to to take players whose talent didn't justify being picked as early as they were.
I'm with Wahoo on this one, but I didn't act on my impulse. If I wasn't so old that tantrums make me hurt for a day or two afterward, though, I would have been screaming and throwing things at my TV, too.
I think I need to go to a bar with a really loud band and get hammered.
April 26th, 2009 at 12:54 AM ^
is a pressing need, you have young tackles, you need a good te to take the pressure off them... its the most underrated possition on offense...
this could end up being a great draft for the lions...
April 26th, 2009 at 12:26 PM ^
Jeff Backus is not a young tackle. He's the worst starting LT in football. No LT has given up more sacks than Backus over the last two seasons.
Let's just celebrate that Bobby Ross isn't the coach, amirite?
April 26th, 2009 at 12:23 PM ^
'S'matter with Bobby Ross? I liked Bobby Ross. Dude was the only coach we ever had to give Barry Sanders a fullback, and voila: 2,000 yard season. Plus he was a really good guy. Decent human being.
Nothing. I liked the guy. But, some people on this board have an irrational seething hatred for him...
April 25th, 2009 at 10:31 PM ^
You guys act like the Lions would be a championship contending team if their first three picks were different. We need twenty more players...atleast...that are good. With their first three picks they took the three highest rated at each of their position. Only 17 more to go.
April 25th, 2009 at 11:33 PM ^
they should have been trading down to get more picks. maybe no one was offering but they could have traded down four or 5 slots for each of the guys they took, still gotten them, wouldn't have to pay them as much, AND HAVE EXTRA PICKS.
April 25th, 2009 at 11:41 PM ^
They tried to trade out of the number one slot, but no one wants it. The number one pick is terrible because of the money you have to pay the first overall pick. I'm sure they would have traded if they could have. As for there next two picks, they picked the best player they saw, which is what a terrible team needs.
April 26th, 2009 at 10:54 AM ^
You're suggesting the Bill Belichick method? The Patriots have 13! picks in this draft. Unbelievable! It is a shame that no one wants the #1 pick.
April 26th, 2009 at 12:27 PM ^
I was gonna call it the Cleveland Way. Traded down three times in the first round (then grabbed a center, which must be Lesson #2 in How To Piss Off Your Fans At The Draft, right after "have a historically shitty defense but pick a tight end with high-profile linebackers left on the board.")
April 25th, 2009 at 10:33 PM ^
the lions have always been stupid...
April 25th, 2009 at 10:50 PM ^
true, but that was Matt Millen stupid. This is Martin Mayhew stupid :P
in my epinion, the lions could have drafted whomever and lions fans still would be pissed. there are just so many positions to upgrade that it's impossible to all happen at once. things are that bad. the lions could've taken a WR.
I think if the Lions had used the first round picks on defense or offensive tackle, that would have kept fans happy. Not saying "keeping fans happy" should be the primary goal. But Aaron Curry would have been a crowd pleaser, and J.Smith or Monroe would have at least been a crowd pacifier. Laurinitis would have kept folks happy too, he's a name everyone knows. I mean, Lions fans aren't dumb, everybody knows how bad the defense is. Focusing on defense would have let us know that management knows it too.
April 26th, 2009 at 12:28 PM ^
There were rumors that the Lions were about to draft Jeremy Maclin had the Eagles not traded up to take him. I'm not kidding.
I must admit I was a little surprised they took no one for the defense in the first three rounds--since they were the worst defense in the NFL last year.
But, they are not building for just 2009 either.