Kids have some interesting games/sayings. With Mrs. DetFan1979 still sick, I've found myself spending a lot more time with the kids. (and a lot less time on this blog -- thanks for sticking with me. Frequency will hopefully improve again soon -- along with my wife's health.) Two of their favorite kid-activities that stick with us as adults are "Dibbs!" and "Not It!".
Dibbs!, of course, is what you yell out quickest and loudest to have first crack at shotgun in the car, the last brownie, or the biggest slice of pie. It is the right of first choice.
Not It! is the opposite. It is the right NOT to do something no fun -- wash the dishes, clean up the cat puke on the floor, or talk to that really annoying customer nobody likes. It is the right of first refusal.
0-16 has some distinct disadvantages in the Ifseason, as we've already seen. Many good players don't want to come near the team for any amount of money. Other marginal players only wanted to come here to get a bigger-than-they'd-get-elsewhere Pay Day. What you do end up with is players who come here that would be backups on other teams looking for a chance to start given the Lions' talent depleted roster.
It does, however, have some advantages as well. One of those is the Wavier Wire.
Because they were so historically awful, no one has waiver claims over the Lions. When teams trim talented potential or skilled young players from their rosters to get down to the camp and ifseason roster limits, the Lions will be first in line to cull who they want from the pool.
In other words, when it comes to waiver-eligible players, the Lions have the right to call both Dibbs! and Not It!
They are also winners when waiver eligible players are cut due to coaching changes earlier in the ifseason. One such signing/claim that was of this variety is the signing of Will Franklin.
I saw a lot of derision and "huh?" type comments in response to his signing, but I think it deserves going back and taking at look at again. You may be surprised at how well it could work out. Franklin was a 4th round pick of the Chiefs last year, and showed flashes of potential on an awful team with limited playing time. The Lions had dibs on him, beating out what is listed conservatively as 5 different teams for this returner/slot Wr with excellent potential. So why did KC let him go? Interesting article from a KC site may shed some light on this... According to this KC beat-writer's article I found he asked for his release after the new coaching staff started using him as a whipping boy example of the changes they were making from the prior staff.
Being a former 4th rounder, KC obliged.
Will he make an impact? Only time will tell. But keep in mind as teams have to keep shaving players to make room for draft picks and injury signings that the Lions have Dibbs/Not It! until some team wins more games than them.
That means as Mayhew and Schwartz continue to tweak the roster and fill gaps heading into the
season that no one can out-dibb them on the waiver wire. Until September. Then we will see how good of a team Mr. Mayhew built.
Til then, while they may still be on a 17 game losing streak when it matters, they are the waiver wire winners!
5 comments:
Haha, the big boomerang. I didn't expect to see you talk about Will Franklin when the big news is all about Larry Foote. That's awesome.
It'll be interesting to see how the receivers pan out this year. Calvin and Bryant Johnson, Derrick Williams, Standeford, Will Franklin, DJ Boldin, Ronald Curry, Eric Fowler, Chris Hannon, Adam Jennings.
the Lions have a pretty large pool of guys to choose from right now. Looks like they're going to throw them all into training camp and see who rises to the top once the sifting begins.
"But keep in mind as teams have to keep shaving players to make room for draft picks and injury signings that the Lions have Dibbs/Not It! until some team wins more games than them."
You mean Loses More games don't you?
Oops! Good catch!
Did I mention I'm tired and self-edit? Yes, it meant to say "until someone wins LESS games than the Lions."
Thanks!!
Isphet -- you can tell where they wanted to work on the team as they have 15 Olinemen, 14 Dlinemen, 13 LB's and 10 WR under contract right now. There will be a LOT of fierce competition for those positions in camp.
15 Oline fighting for maybe 8 spots. 14 dlinemen fighting for 8-9 spots. 10 LBS fighting for 3-4 backup LB spots behind Sims-Foote-JP. 10 WR fighting for 4-5 spots. Really, 8 fighting for 2-3 spots behind Johnson & Johnson.
Most settled appear to be QB, RB, TE. There will be a couple of losers in the secondary, but they are really fighting mainly for who starts -- not who stays. Some will be cut, but in the numbers you will see at the LB, Dline, Oline and WR positions.
This is the best year in a long time for the Lions and the fans great competition in all spots. A position of weakness at LB is now stacked and on paper is one of the best in the league which is great news. OL has a lot of players as well I see it down to the guard position and back up tackle spots for competition I think Backus, Raiola, Gosider they have starting spots. Our defense sure improved this off season which is great.
Go Lions
Good post! I think the real power of the WW priority will show in August . . . when the Lions get down to 53, be prepared for quite a bit of churn at the bottom of the roster, as they pick up other teams' castoffs.
Peace
Ty
Post a Comment