I read through your entire first paragraph and I think you were agreeing with me a in a roundabout sort of way... whatever.

I said we need to find some balance with the run/pass next year if we are going to make strides with the offense, which I think was at the core of your point with Linehan.

As much as we want to address the D, and rightfully so, helping the OL will help keep the D off the field and keep them fresh. How do you beat Drew Brees? Keep him off the field. A running game would have helped with that.

1. Upgrade secondary - Need at least 1 starter from FA/Draft (IMO Wright, aka Breezy, has to go)
2. Upgrade LB corps - Need 1 new starter (by Levy)
3. Improve running game - OLine / RB
4. Depth, depth, depth

Is it time for training camp yet?

1) I don't think Eric Wright is that bad of a corner. He was the most solid tackling CB we've had in years. If anyone needs to be upgraded, it's Aaron Berry. Honestly, I think our corners aren't as bad as they've been made out to be. The secondary as a whole got torched by the two best offenses in the league, but the safety play was real weak, and the DL didn't get any pressure on the QB in those games, which is what the whole defense was predicated upon. The real problem in the secondary is at Safety where Delmas was hurt too much and didn't make any big plays, and Spievey is just not fast enough/ reacts fast enough to plays to be effective back there.

2) I wholly agree that Levy shouldn't be a starter. He had an absolutely awful year. I only remember him making one play this year, and it was an interception against Carolina, I think. Whenever the opposing team needed a yard, they would run at Levy, and typically get the yard.

3) More then anything, the OL is the problem behind the running game. The play calling always seemed to run the ball in the 1, 2, or 3 gaps, around Sims/Raiola/Peterman, and they weren't successful. I never understood early on in the season why Linehan didn't try to get Best the ball around the outside, or in a toss sweep or something. Either way, the OL run blocking was bad this year, and it didn't help that they were down to the bottom of their depth chart at RB. I would be in favor of drafting a late round RB just to see if he can be a project/steal. Joique Bell will be an interesting guy in camp next year.

4) Depth at WR, DE, OL...

+1 Eric Wright is well worth keeping. The biggest knock on him is his inability to hold onto the ball. He tackles well (better than our safeties) and is very good as a second corner. Aaron Berry needs to work on his game. His ball location skills are bad. I agree that the safety play was what got exposed, not the cornerback play.



+1 (again) Levy was the weak link in our linebacker corps. Whatever the reason, he needs to be evaluated with extreme prejudice this off-season, and told point blank he's not a shoe-in starter.



Here's where we disagree. I think Linehan is more of the problem than the offensive line personnel. Certainly getting some maulers up front could help, but the play calling has been deplorable. The Lions have one of the most bland, mundane play books (in regards to run plays) in the league. It is easy to predict when they will run, and when they won't. Teams don't even need to bring up a safety to stop the run. They could be in a nickel or dime package and still stop the run....not because the blockers weren't getting on a body and stopping them, but because the plays blocking scheme left open spots for defenders to walk right through.

As for drafting a RB, the only one I'd like to see the Lions go after is Chris Polk. He's a big back with great balance and doesn't get taken down easy. I think if LeShoure is still rehabbing and Best calls it quits, he'd be worth a third or fourth round pick.

Best says that he is symptom free and totally expects to be back next year. As for LeShoure he is also expected to be back by camp, but how effective he will be, we don't know. In order to get Chris Polk you're going to have to take him in the first round or trade up in the second to get him. I'd rather not spend a premium choice on a RB for the third season in a row.

Really? What's his excuse on this play? http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2011/12/4/2 ... ric-wright

and that's not the only one where I've seen him torched...

This!

I agree on this!

Hopefully we hold off til the later rds for RB ..

Im interested in seeing what kind of Free Agents might want to come to Detroit now that we are a legitimate team now.

Wags- Show me a corner who has never been burned on a route, and I'll show you a HOF CB. I'm not saying Wright is an All Pro, but he is a decent corner and a guy who can get the job done. If you want to pick out plays of players getting beat, you can do that for anyone. How about Alphonso? How about Levy? How about Suh? Fairley? KVB?

One thing I've been wondering and wanted to ask the Lionbacker draftniks--I know why Blount went undrafted, but how about Foster?

Arian Foster led the NFL in rushing yards (1,616), yards from scrimmage (2,220), rushing touchdowns (16) and total touchdowns (18) last season. He’s seventh in the NFL in rushing yards this season despite missing two games with a hamstring injury. He’s also third in receiving yards by a running back, slightly behind Ray Rice and Darren Sproles. what makes Foster’s accomplishments even more impressive is that he was undrafted coming out of college. The only other undrafted running back who put up similar stats is Priest Holmes.

You might wonder how such a talented player went undrafted while 20 other running backs were picked in 2009, but there are several reasons why. one, Foster’s combine-type stats weren’t too impressive. Two, he shared carries in his senior seasons at Tennessee, so his college stats didn’t stand out. Three, he had an attitude issue that he admits was so bad he wouldn’t have even drafted himself. I finally had a chance to watch Foster’s E:60 profile, and I was surprised to hear him say that.

“I had a real bitter taste in my mouth leaving the University of Tennessee,” he said. “my attitude was … I didn’t care. In 2009, following my senior season, I entered my name to the NFL draft. I wasn’t expecting to go the first two days. Finally the 7th round comes and somebody from the Seattle Seahawks calls me and says ‘how do you feel about being picked?’ I was so upset at the time — and this is really bad — my attitude was like ‘yeah man, that would be OK.’

“I wouldn’t have picked me either, honestly,” Foster admitted. “When the draft ended, I felt like my NFL dreams did too.”

Texans GM Rick Smith says not a lot of good things were being said about Foster when he was coming out of college. Arian signed on to Houston’s practice squad, and because of injuries, he ended up playing the final four games of the season. he scored three touchdowns in the team’s final two games, and thanks to preseason injuries, he ended up as the team’s feature back in 2010. The rest is history.

Foster isn’t the first player to have attitude problems coming out of college. The good news is he was able to channel the disappointment into motivation, and that has helped him become a star.

Interesting--thanks for that.

I'm sure there are a few more, Willie Parker (UFA from NC where he was a 3rd string RB) comes to mind as he had a 1,500+ yard rushing season with about 12-13 TDs the year after he had a 70+ yard TD run in the Super Bowl.

Then again, by that logic why draft a QB when you can find UFA gems like Kurt Warner, Tony Romo and Jake Delhomme or just pick up a Tom Brady late in the draft...