Outside Looking In
September 2nd, 2010 | by detfan1979 |Like the poor homeless orphan, looking into the window of the fancy restaraunt wondering what could be… The High School student that graduates, only to see his teammates win the State Championship the next year – celebrating with their old friends, but still not a part of the glory. The band member that finally has to call it quits, only to have the group get famous right after he’s gone – going from what could have been to a footnote in the biography — an obscure bit of trivia knowledge for the most hard core fans.
As the final cuts loom, there will be many players who get the dreaded visit from “the Turk” to collect their playbook and make their release from the team official. They have been through OTA’s for most, training camp, workouts, conditioning…for months, the training camp roster has grown close — only to have some of those guys not be invited to the final party. Whether the team does good or bad this season, most of those guys will be watching from somewhere else — for some of them, it will be their couch on Sundays — the dream over.
However, two guys that I feel for most weren’t cut. The Turk hasn’t called them yet — rather, injuries and age finally took their toll. They didn’t just have one training camp — or two our three — but more than ten years spent sweating, fighting, pounding, getting pounded — playing heart and soul for a team that was destined to go down in history for all the wrong reasons. After all of this trial and tribulation, the same hard nosed dedicated play that endeared them to fans took its toll — and took them out of the game.
The Lions are finally moving in a positive direction — even the national media has started covering the Lions as a team rather than a long-running gag in a some demented tragic farce. But they will be on the outside, looking in. Their invitation no longer valid. The plane is taking off without them. Yet, for us fans they will always be Lions — they guys we could root for through the worst of times because unlike most of the players we saw come through they earned it.
For Casey Fitzsimmons, he is already done. For Jared Devries a second consecutive season on IR signals the end is also near for him as well. They were two players who were loyal and dedicated to the team and the fans — and we were dedicated to them. The new young guys can look back at what they did as an example of pure effort and dedication — because for a decade on a team that seemed not to belong in the big leagues these two men were true professionals.
You may not be with the team, but your unbroken spirit lives on in the strength of the team today — and in the hearts of the fans.
By KCLionFan on Sep 2, 2010
Anyone know who plays the role of the “Turk” for the Lions?
By DetFan1979 on Sep 3, 2010
It was Charlie Sanders unless that has changed recently, if I recall correctly.
By nubsnobber on Sep 4, 2010
Looks like another guy that you pull for just got the axe…Jon Jansen. Granted, not a Lion-lifer. But if you like Michigan football, and you cheered for him “coming home” to finish his career, you have to take a step back with this roster cut.
Another casualty is Caleb Campbell. Damn was I pulling for this kid. Don’t know how it shook out, but thought he wasn’t as bad as some of the LB’s that they kept. Looking on the wire; Matt Wilhelm and Monty Beisel may be LB pickups. In the secondary Karl Paymah, Nathan Vasher, Quinton Teal, Quintin Demps, and Justin Miller round out a list of cuts.
Here is the list of Lions cut today:
King said he learned he was being released after the Lions traded tight end Dan Gronkowski to the Denver Broncos for cornerback Alphonso Smith this afternoon. Smith was a second-round pick out of Wake Forest in 2009.
“I’m going to just sit by the phone and talk to my agent, see what’s going on around the league,” King said. “The good thing is I’m healthy, and I’ve got a good mind about it, so I’ll be ready to play ball somewhere.”
King played in four games and made one start last year before finishing the season on injured reserve. By releasing King, the Lions are likely handing the nickel cornerback role to Dre Bly.
“There’ll be other opportunities,” King said. “It’s just timing now and seeing what happens. Like I said, I think there’s some other teams out there that need corners, so we’ll see.”
Safety Ko Simpson, linebacker Caleb Campbell and receivers Brian Clark and Tim Toone are among other known cuts. The Lions have until 6 p.m. to set their roster.
Jansen, a Michigan alumnus, said he received a phone call this morning telling him the Lions were going in a different direction. Gosder Cherilus has won the starting job at right tackle, and Corey Hilliard and rookie Jason Fox are the backup tackles.
“For backups, they wanted to get a little bit younger and, obviously, I am not young,” the 34-year-old Jansen said. “They felt I played well and probably played well enough to start in a lot of places, but just due to numbers and the guys that they already have and Gos being a first-round pick, it just didn’t work out in Detroit.”
Jansen, a Clawson native, said he’ll look back fondly on his one season in Detroit. He played in 11 games and started two last year after spending his first 10 seasons with the Washington Redskins.
“It’s never easy to get cut, and I felt, with everything that I had to offer the team in terms of leadership, experience, the ability to play different positions and what I did for the organization in terms of representing them in the media and whatnot, I thought that total package was going to be enough to stay with them,” Jansen said. “But age anymore seems to be the biggest factor.”
Jansen said he wants to see what interest he draws from other NFL teams before deciding whether to retire or go into broadcasting.
Meanwhile, Campbell tweeted that he was released but would be brought back on the practice squad if he clears waivers.
The Lions also informed receiver Dennis Northcutt that he made the team.
This all comes courtesy of our ol’ buddy DAN BIRKETT who now is a writer for the Detroit Free Press. Congrats to him; and our condolences to the Lions who were cut….more to be announced soon.
By nubsnobber on Sep 4, 2010
Birkett just updated the article and edited it. A portion says, “Here is the full list: Bly, DT Rob Callaway, Campbell, LB Vinny Ciurciu, Clark, DT Landon Cohen, RB DeDe Dorsey, G Noah Franklin, C Dan Gerberry, K Steven Hauschka, CB Jonathan Hefney, Jansen, King, T Cliff Louis, WR Michael Moore, CB Paul Pratt, CB T.J. Rushing, Simpson, WR Tim Toone and CB Dante Wesley. The team also released DT Jaron Baston on Friday and waived-injured DE Korey Bosworth.”
The whole article can be linked here.
http://www.freep.com/article/20100904/SPORTS01/100904021/1049/Bly-Jansen-Campbell-cut-by-Lions
By nubsnobber on Sep 4, 2010
Burkett just changed his post a little bit. The article’s editing shows all of the cuts:
Here is the full list: Bly, DT Rob Callaway, Campbell, LB Vinny Ciurciu, Clark, DT Landon Cohen, RB DeDe Dorsey, G Noah Franklin, C Dan Gerberry, K Steven Hauschka, CB Jonathan Hefney, Jansen, King, T Cliff Louis, WR Michael Moore, CB Paul Pratt, CB T.J. Rushing, Simpson, WR Tim Toone and CB Dante Wesley. The team also released DT Jaron Baston on Friday and waived-injured DE Korey Bosworth.
Here is a link to Birkett’s article.
http://www.freep.com/article/20100904/SPORTS01/100904021/1049/Bly-Jansen-Campbell-cut-by-Lions
By nubsnobber on Sep 4, 2010
Here is the 53 man; however changes are a coming. In addition, notice GRONKOWSKI made the 53 man, and was then traded to DENVER for CB Alphonso Smith.
92 Avril, Cliff DE 6-3 260 24 3 Purdue
76 Backus, Jeff T 6-5 305 32 10 Michigan
40 Berry, Aaron CB 5-11 180 22 R Pittsburgh
44 Best, Jahvid RB 5-10 199 21 R California
50 Boiman, Rocky LB 6-4 236 30 9 Notre Dame
21 Brown, Aaron RB 6-1 205 24 2 Texas Christian
39 Brown, C.C. S 6-0 208 27 6 Louisiana-Lafayette
13 Burleson, Nate WR 6-0 198 29 8 Nevada-Reno
77 Cherilus, Gosder T 6-7 325 26 3 Boston College
26 Delmas, Louis S 5-11 202 23 2 Western Michigan
50 Ekejiuba, Isaiah LB 6-4 240 28 6 Virginia
45 Felton, Jerome FB 6-0 246 24 3 Furman
96 Fluellen, Andre DT 6-2 302 25 3 Florida State
49 Follett, Zack LB 6-1 236 23 2 California
70 Fox, Jason T 6-7 303 22 R Miami (Fla.)
65 Gandy, Dylan C 6-3 295 28 4 Texas Tech
82 Gronkowski, Dan TE 6-5 255 25 1 Maryland
4 Hanson, Jason K 6-0 190 40 19 Washington State
2 Harris, Nick P 6-2 218 32 10 California
89 Heller, Will TE 6-6 275 29 9 Georgia Tech
78 Hilliard, Corey T 6-6 300 25 4 Oklahoma State
91 Hill, Sammie DT 6-4 329 23 2 Stillman
14 Hill, Shaun QB 6-3 220 30 9 Maryland
23 Houston, Chris CB 5-11 178 25 4 Arkansas
94 Jackson, Lawrence DE 6-4 271 25 3 USC
80 Johnson, Bryant WR 6-3 215 29 8 Penn State
81 Johnson, Calvin WR 6-5 236 24 4 Georgia Tech
55 Johnson, Landon LB 6-2 232 29 7 Purdue
54 Levy, DeAndre LB 6-1 238 23 2 Wisconsin
75 McBride, Turk DE 6-2 278 25 4 Tennessee
28 Morris, Maurice RB 5-11 216 30 9 Oregon
48 Muhlbach, Don LS 6-4 265 29 7 Texas A&M
86 Northcutt, Dennis WR 5-11 172 32 11 Arizona
58 Palmer, Ashlee LB 6-1 236 24 2 Mississippi
66 Peterman, Stephen G 6-4 323 28 6 Louisiana State
59 Peterson, Julian LB 6-3 240 32 11 Michigan State
84 Pettigrew, Brandon TE 6-5 265 25 2 Oklahoma State
43 Phillips, Randy S 6-1 210 23 R Miami
51 Raiola, Dominic C 6-1 295 31 10 Nebraska
63 Ramirez, Manny G 6-3 326 27 3 Texas Tech
85 Scheffler, Tony TE 6-5 255 27 5 Western Michigan
67 Sims, Rob G 6-3 312 26 5 Ohio State
34 Smith, Kevin RB 6-1 217 23 3 Central Florida
42 Spievey, Amari CB 5-11 195 22 R Iowa
9 Stafford, Matthew QB 6-2 232 22 2 Georgia
5 Stanton, Drew QB 6-3 230 26 4 Michigan State
90 Suh, Ndamukong DT 6-4 307 23 R Nebraska
93 Vanden Bosch, Kyle DE 6-4 278 31 10 Nebraska
24 Wade, Jonathan CB 5-11 200 26 4 Tennessee
35 Wendling, John S 6-1 222 27 4 Wyoming
99 Williams, Corey DT 6-4 320 30 7 Arkansas State
12 Williams, Derrick WR 5-11 197 24 2 Penn State
79 Young, Willie DE 6-5 251 24 R North Carolina State
By nubsnobber on Sep 4, 2010
Here is the 53 man; however changes are a coming. In addition, notice GRONKOWSKI made the 53 man, and was then traded to DENVER for CB Alphonso Smith.
92 Avril, Cliff DE 6-3 260 24 3 Purdue
76 Backus, Jeff T 6-5 305 32 10 Michigan
40 Berry, Aaron CB 5-11 180 22 R Pittsburgh
44 Best, Jahvid RB 5-10 199 21 R California
50 Boiman, Rocky LB 6-4 236 30 9 Notre Dame
21 Brown, Aaron RB 6-1 205 24 2 TCU
39 Brown, C.C. S 6-0 208 27 6 Louis-La
13 Burleson, Nate WR 6-0 198 29 8 Nev-Reno
77 Cherilus, Gosder T 6-7 325 26 3 B C
26 Delmas, Louis S 5-11 202 23 2 W Mi
50 Ekejiuba, Isaiah LB 6-4 240 28 Virginia
45 Felton, Jerome FB 6-0 246 24 3 Furman
96 Fluellen, Andre DT 6-2 302 25 3 Fla St
49 Follett, Zack LB 6-1 236 23 2 Cal
70 Fox, Jason T 6-7 303 22 R Miami (Fla.)
65 Gandy, Dylan C 6-3 295 28 4 Texas Tech
82 Gronkowski, Dan TE 6-5 255 25 1 Maryland
4 Hanson, Jason K 6-0 190 40 19 Wash St
2 Harris, Nick P 6-2 218 32 10 Cal
89 Heller, Will TE 6-6 275 29 9 Geo Tech
78 Hilliard, Corey T 6-6 300 25 4 Ok State
91 Hill, Sammie DT 6-4 329 23 2 Stillman
14 Hill, Shaun QB 6-3 220 30 9 Maryland
23 Houston, Chris CB 5-11 178 25 4 Arkansas
94 Jackson, Lawrence DE 6-4 271 25 3 USC
80 Johnson, Bryant WR 6-3 215 29 8 Penn St
81 Johnson, Calvin WR 6-5 236 24 4 Geo Tech
55 Johnson, Landon LB 6-2 232 29 7 Purdue
54 Levy, DeAndre LB 6-1 238 23 2 Wisc
75 McBride, Turk DE 6-2 278 25 4 Tenn
28 Morris, Maurice RB 5-11 216 30 9 Oregon
48 Muhlbach, Don LS 6-4 265 29 7 Texas A&M
86 Northcutt, Dennis WR 5-11 172 Arizona
58 Palmer, Ashlee LB 6-1 236 24 Mississippi
66 Peterman, Stephen G 6-4 323 28 6 LA St
59 Peterson, Julian LB 6-3 240 32 11 Mi St
84 Pettigrew, Brandon TE 6-5 265 25 2 Ok St
43 Phillips, Randy S 6-1 210 23 R Miami
51 Raiola, Dominic C 6-1 295 31 10 Nebraska
63 Ramirez, Manny G 6-3 326 27 3 Texas Tech
85 Scheffler, Tony TE 6-5 255 27 5 W Mich
67 Sims, Rob G 6-3 312 26 5 Ohio State
34 Smith, Kevin RB 6-1 217 23 3 Cent FLA
42 Spievey, Amari CB 5-11 195 22 R Iowa
9 Stafford, Matthew QB 6-2 232 22 2 Georgia
5 Stanton, Drew QB 6-3 230 26 4 Mich St
90 Suh, Ndamukong DT 6-4 307 23 R Nebraska
93 Vanden Bosch, Kyle DE 6-4 278 31 Nebraska
24 Wade, Jonathan CB 5-11 200 26 4 Tenn
35 Wendling, John S 6-1 222 27 4 Wyoming
99 Williams, Corey DT 6-4 320 30 7 Ark St
12 Williams, Derrick WR 5-11 197 24 Penn St
79 Young, Willie DE 6-5 251 24 R NC St