Making the Right Cuts
May 6th, 2010 | by detfan1979 |Post-Draft is one of the slowest news times in the NFL. While this time can be like construction on I96 at 5pm on a Tuesday when three lanes are now 1, it’s the perfect time for contemplation. A few more roster moves are on the horizon, and being second in the waiver order I expect the Lions to be active on that front again (though maybe not so much as last season) as the cuts continue.
Right now, teams are in heavy “tryout” mode still with UDFA and their own vets. As OTA’s and minicamps progress, guys who haven’t shown improvement, or if someone at the same position shows more potential that player can find themselves shown the door. Making the right cuts is very important, as if can often free up space for new players that could be a contributor — and if you don’t get them, someone else will.
I’ve been offline a few days thanks to a wrong cut of my own. There were two cables going from the cable box into the house. Went was literally just running along the ground around about 25% of the house — in front — under our front porch to boot. The other went directly into the house. Mr. Cable guy told me when he was installing the cable a few years back when we bought the house that the long cord in front “didn’t do anything” and even marked the other cable so I’d know which one was good.
We just tore out our front porch. It was serviceable (barely), but aging fast and starting to fall apart some. Time for a new one, but it is always a plunge to go someplace new. As we were ripping it out, I saw that darn cable getting in the way, and knew we’d have to move it in order to get the new porch in. So I finally got around to cutting it. Turns out the cable guy was wrong.
Fortunately, I was able to utilize the other cable and have restored Internet and cable, though I need to do some serious re-running of the wires in the basement to get them out of the way. The real positive is that I haven’t lost anything, and I now have a clean spot to put in a new porch/stairs that fit our needs and the house much better.
Sometimes, it may seem like a cut doesn’t make sense a the time, but if the front office and coaches are doing their jobs right, then it just may be that the cut is really preparation for something else. Ernie Sims was traded and now some fans were bemoaning the Lions not having a starting WLB and not drafting one. The key is not drafting one this year. They felt Jordan Dizon and Zack Follett were up to the task to compete for the starting job. Just like my second cable going into the house, they already felt they had a possible solution on hand.
Grady Jackson, Larry Foote, DeWayne White, Daniel Loper — many vets from last season were let go. The Lions were once again clearing out where the front steps go so they can use new young talent to build something that will work better.
Here is hoping the Lions have made the right cuts, and that at the end of the day they don’t end up with another crappy porch built out of mediocre at best talent. If their current track record holds, I don’t think we’ll be disappointed. I’m looking forward to my new front steps!!
Tags: Detroit Lions Blog, Detroit Lions News, Ernie Sims, Jordan Dizon,Zack Follett
By chiefger139 on May 6, 2010
the sad thing is we have no ideas-many shouldnt be surprised about ernie-sure he had the most tackles on the team etc-many thought he was a probowler-he was a good pick for the tampa2-he did the job and had no other tallant basically beside him-he didnt fit the new scheme-and you absolutely hate to trade off a guy that actually sold jerseys but we did-kevin jones-same tough scenerio-a somewhat good rb actually got us a 1000 yards-but face it-when stewret was here had a 1000 yars every year until his body gave out-made me sick-usually they would get him killed before the season even started-made me respect wayne fontes much more who babied barry big time-why let your star get killed before it even counts? now we truelly once again have a chance at a 1000 yard rusher -hope he does it-if so one more piece of the puzzle solved-actually the ones saying getting offensive line guys instead will now be tested-we didnt got the stars unstead-so like I said earlier-if we dont have a 1000 yard rusher and stafford doesnt have 3500 yards plus passing-they were right -must get the trenches with the high picks-but if we do get a 1000 yard rusher and a 3000 plus qb-they were totally wrong-the good trench guys can be found and developed in the later rounds and truthfully the super stars theyre protecting make them look good and give them there probowl status-its actually the oppisite as the trench guys say-the superstars make them look good and make them superstars-less the highlight reel stars the trench guys are zero-many have said for years our offensiveline is the worst ever-but if like me you listen to chicago radio-they actually think ours is way supperior to theres many other teams too-they actually feel like the coaches do-it was the lack of tallant in the skill positions that made them look bad-its like the trench guys were lost in space and in no mans land and had no clue!! it wasnt that millen chose skill guys-it was he chose the worst of all bad skill guys-and once you do that-the franshise sufers for years-and we are-in the trench guys argument-there much safer picks-why because the mediocres make careers going the safe way-we did too-with the fontes years-in the hunt but no championships- trouble is-millen was right-just blew it pickin the guys-had the right idea but no evaluation of true tallant-seems mayhew is better my hope!!
By Mike on May 7, 2010
I can’t argue with the patience that the Lions are showng regarding the Linebacking corps.
Next year, the LB’s are among the deepest position class in years.
Patience.
By detfan1979 on May 7, 2010
It’s all about taking what is there, instead of reaching and hoping that’s for sure. Reaching gets oyu a team filled with mediocre talent. If you draft the best talent available at your spot each year, you eventually end up with a team that is both loaded with starting talent and depth. This is what I see Mayhew building, and this season will show how far in the process the Lions are, how far they have to go, and whether those foundation blocks are what we hope they are. IF…
Love the Ifseason!
By JJLions20 on May 9, 2010
Did the lions really have a BPA drafting strategy?
The move up to take Jahvid Best is an interesting situation. Was it a signal that the Lions went away from the BPA strategy. On the surface it looks like the Lions moved up with one pick by moving down with others picks to select a position of need. Or was it the lions seeing an opportunity to move up to grab an excellent value, as they felt that value would not be there in a few more picks.
If the Lions had Best rated as a top 20 pick (maybe they had him rated as a top 10 pick), and if he is still on the board then it could be argued they moved up to take the BPA. I’m sure I’ll get some flack with that comment about Best possibly being a top-10 talent, but there are plenty of experts that say Best was equal to CJ Spiller, if it wasn’t for the concussion concerns. If the Lions eliminated the concussion concerns from their evaluation, then he may have been rated a top 10 talent on the Lions draft board.
The Lions needs going into the draft were DL,OL,RB,CB (not necessarily in that order) and with the first 5 picks the Lions go DL,RB,DB,OL,DL. It looks like a need draft. But then again one could argue that Suh was the best player in the draft, and trading down would have indicated drafting for need. Another argument could be made that after the Lions FA pick-ups of VandenBosch, Williams, & Sims, that the Lions needs were actually DB,DB,RB (in that order). By drafting DL,RB,DB,OL (in that order), the lions may have actually stuck to the BPA strategy.
It would be so interesting to see the Lions draft board, even if it is after the draft. It would be interesting to see who was on the board when the Lions moved up to take Best. Was there anybody else rated higher, or was he truly the BPA. Was there a higher rated LB or DL when the Lions took Spelvey (CB)in the 3rd round knowing they had a couple of holes in the defensive backfield.
It’s still a question if the Lions draft for the BPA, or was need a factor? We’ll never know unless that draft board is published.