I think Mayhew and Schwartz are doing an excellent job in this draft with what they have to work with and what is available at our picks. We have filled 3 huge needs with 3 players with a huge upside. We just have to hope Reiff is up to the challenge at LT.

I don't think Mayhew and Schwartz are sitting on as hot of seats as some people wish they were. They aren't mortgaging the future to move up. And the aren't just settling for the safest pick.

I thought for sure that would be the case. We still have 5 picks left including 2 picks between 132 & 137 and I would be surprised if the stand pat with all of them. Very anxious to see what we do today

The fact that they're not is smart to me. If I was an owner and saw my front office doing that, I'd know that they weren't making moves in the best long term interests of the franchise. At the end of the day, that's the job of the front office IMHO. Seeing them making smart, longer term view moves makes me very happy and I think it's actually a smart way to keep their jobs. Put yourself in the shoes of the owner: (assuming these pics pan out) After next season when evaluating everything you see these guys have made moves that help solidify the team and move it in the right direction for the next several years. Those are exactly the types of people I want in charge.

the only other corner i would have considered with the 2nd pick would have been Jamar Taylor from Boise.

Apparently Slay has a torn meniscus. It must be a very small tear, indeed, for Slay to say that he does not need surgery. Small tears can easily get dramatically worse. My guess is that it is preferable to remove a small tear rather than have it lead to a larger tear. I would bet Slay has his knee scoped in the very near future 'as a precaution'.

small tears can often stabilize and not need surgery. they usually dont get worse without a repeat trauma(thought its possible), its just that its difficult to assess the size of the tear probably was understimated and things dont stabilize and never improve without surgery. regardless recovery from a simple meniscus tear treated with a scope shouldnt take more than 4-6 weeks.

Small tears in you and me can stabilize. In a professional athlete, the small tear merely offers leverage for a larger tear to occur. If you cut, laser, grind off the tear, I think the long term prospects for not worsening are better.

Yeah, 4-6 weeks post surgery (probably closer to 4 if truly a small tear) and you will never know the guy had surgery... which is why I think in the very near future this guy has his knee scoped. The sooner, the better, to give this guy time to get ready for the NFL.

i agree he should probably just have it scoped and be done with it but probably didnt want that "just had surgery" red flag going into the draft

did you say "laser"????....right...maybe dont laser his knee

Slay has already had multiple MRI's and the conclusion has consistently been rest will heal it.

http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/20 ... us_sl.html

This was a pretty easy call to make. Do a scope and then stop worrying about it. As a second round pick I don't think the guy gets paid unless he makes the team, so for his sake, surgery better show nothing to worry about.

So much for the 'medical experts' saying that rest will heal it. Now he misses all the activities leading up to training camp.

We'll see what happens, but the Lions just CONTINUE to be hexed by the injury demons.

What the medical experts say officially is just what the player / team wants them to say publicly. What they say, "A meniscus injury may heal with rest." What they don't say, "In a professional athlete it would probably be a better risk to do a scope, remove the small tear, remove any loose body floating around, and make sure no other damage can be visualized."

I don't think the Lions are hexed. I think they took a calculated gamble that the arthroscopic surgery would go well, and as a result, they get a 1st round selection for the cost of a 2nd round pick.

See, that's my problem, IMO he was never considered a first round pick, and, to the extent that people keep saying our 5th round pick was "almost a 6th", this pick was "almost a first."

I said when we picked him that I liked Jammar Taylor and Banks more... Banks is a bit slow, but more polished, and better fits what we're allegedly trying to do, IMO. Taylor has just as much upside with less risk... I didn't get the pick.

This isn't an example of the prior injury issues they have had. This is a minor procedure that is very common in football and has a quick recovery time.

The fact is he was going to miss most of those activities leading up to training camp while he rested the injury, so it was a better idea to just have surgery to correct the issue in a more secure manner.

i think its more of a timing issue bc they didnt truly allow the rest option to play out. his tear may have been small and likely to heal with rest but the downside of taking that approach is that the MRI is often inaccurate identifying the size of the tear and his pain lingers and ultimately requires surgery at a later date closer to the season. the team would rather not take that risk and have the player miss the rookie minicamp in may rather than miss training camp time. a professional athlete gets treated difft than someone with a desk job. slay's agent played this well bc slay's stock would likely have been lower if he had surgery before the draft.