July 30th, 2009 | by detfan1979 |
A little while back I set forth some rules on my blog for choosing the 53 man roster — before training camp.
Since everyone knows Hanson, Harris, and Mulbach are safe, that leaves 50 roster spots for everyone else. The goal is to break the roster into the following categories:
- 30 “Locks” – the guys will 100% be on the team come game one.
- 10 “Probables” - It’s a really good chance these guys will be with the Lions, but you never know.
- 10 “Maybes” – Who knows. Considering the waiver wire, half of these ten may be on other teams right now — but it is fun to guess anyways.
I will copy these picks into the 30 Lock Roster Picks comments on DetFan1979.com. If you haven’t already done so youself, you still have time — camp doesn’t really open til Saturday morning. (even after that, feel free to give a crack at it) I will compile our results against the roster as it is on Detroitlions.com just before the open of the season to see how we did.
My 30 “Locks”
- QB: 1. Daunte Culpepper, 2. Matthew Stafford, 3. Drew Stanton
- O-Line: 4. Jeff Backus, 5. Daniel Loper, 6. Dominic Raiola, 7. Stephen Peterman, 8. Gosder Cherilus
- RB: 9. Kevin Smith, 10. Maurice Morris
- WR: 11. Calvin Johnson, 12. Bryant Johnson
- TE: 13. Will Heller, 14. Brandon Pettigrew
- D-Line: 15. Grady Jackson, 16. DeWayne White, 17. Cliff Avril, 18. Sam Hill, 19. Jared Devries
- LB: 20. Julian Peterson, 21. Ernie Sims, 22. Larry Foote, 23. DeAndre Levy,
- CB: 24. Philip Buchanon, 25. Keith Smith, 26. Anthony Henry
- S: 27. Louis Delmas, 28. Kalvin Pearson,
- FB: 29. Terelle Smith, 30. Jerome Felton
My 10 “Probables”
- WR: 1. Dennis Northcutt, 2. Derrick Williams
- RB: 3. Aaron Brown
- TE: 4. Dan Gronkowski
- D-Line: 5. Landon Cohen, 6. John Gill
- LB: 7. Jordan Dizon
- CB: 8. Eric King
- S: 9. Marquand Manuel
- O-Line: 10. Jon Jansen
My 10 “Who Knows?”
- WR: 1. John Standeford
- O-Line: 2. Ephraim Salaam, 3. Manny Ramierez
- DT/DE: 4. Andre Fluellen, 5. Jason Hunter
- LB: 6. Cody Spencer, 7. Zack Follett
- CB: 8. Ramzee Robinson
- S: 9. Daniel Bullocks
- RB: 10. Allen Ervin
Tags: Detroit Lions, Roster 2009
By Lopper on Jul 30, 2009
So you don’t think IAF will make the team? I’ve still got hope that he will be an effective DT for us this year. Other than Avril, IAF is one of the best athletes that we have on the d-line. I was surprised to see him missing from your list.
By chiefger139 on Jul 30, 2009
hey you finally got yours in-guess i could submit another but why bother-if I remember right I kept having trouble because id have the same guy down twice so then id move one up then , move up another then have to pick one for the final group-think im all set and see the guy I just added I already had on one of the earlier 2 groups-suddenly im faced with guys i never even heard of,or worst ones I knew who arent any good and of course knowing i already got to many offensivelineman-not enough runningbacks etc. finally said the hell with it just pick the guys I want regardless of position-not all i pick will make it anyhow. And ill be darned if im going through all that again-like I said to much work and im on this blog purely for fun and entertainment-not work-I do that 10 hrs a day as it is-keep up the good work-signed the wize chief!!
By detfan1979 on Jul 30, 2009
It was a tough call on the line, but I felt like fluellen was more of a tweener DT/DE — and Peterson will be a DE at times on rushing downs. I like IAF, but in the end I essentially flipped a coing, and decided on Hunter. Also, I won’t rule out Harris either (the DT they just picked up). I think Darby (who was on many lists, but absent mine) is a goner if any of the young guys or new roster additions step up.
I also have a feeling that Grady could end up on the chopping block, depending on how quick Hill and Gill progress — not likely, but at this point I’m expecting anything!
Thanks as always for the comments and keep em coming!!
By Lopper on Jul 31, 2009
Thanks for the reply. That’s a good thought that you have about Grady being on the chopping block. I wouldn’t mind seeing Hill get a ton of playing time even if he isn’t quite ready. The best place for him to learn will be on the field, and our horrible D-line provides a perfect opportunity to get him some experience and film of himself to watch.
I do hope that you’re wrong about Alama-Francis. I don’t know what it is, but I’ve got a huge man crush for that guy. It seems like he’s got the frame and athleticism to put on some weight and be a good DT. I’ll just keep on hoping.
By detfan1979 on Aug 2, 2009
After seeing practice today, I think I’d have to revise IAF to the 30 lock status. He has really bulked up, and appeared to be running with the first team DTs — and he was was fitting in well there.