Lessons from the Lions 2011 Draft

[SloMotion]

SloMotion: those of us who remember the pre-Belichick era of the Patriots understand your pain. :itsok:

Thanks, the Lions have made it clear that they're trying to follow the Patriots template for success ... I'm hoping they don't leave out two of the most important factors, character & discipline.

Finally ...

Now if the Lions can just be consistent and make it clear that any further infractions by Titus Young, Nick Fairley and Mikel Leshoure will also have serious consequences, they may get somewhere.

... well, I feel a little better now, <whew>, apparently the inmates won't be running the asylum in Detroit any longer, . I agree 100% with the point you make & have voiced that very opinion ... should Young, Fairley, Leshoure, Williams, Culbreath and even Suh, continue with the on-field/off-field shenanigens, trade 'em if we can get something of value for 'em, release 'em if you can't ... call it crazy, call it 'tough love', but we got a winning franchise to build ...

 

[mayoclinic]

Doug Farrar of the Shutdown Corner on the Aaron Berry situation:

The Berry release could be a turnin...nally shown that it will take the high road.

Lions release CB Aaron Berry, try to avoid becoming a

The Lions should thank Aaron Berry for finally pushing them hard enough to make them draw a line. I disagree with Farrar's assessment that "there's only so much a front office can do". Consistency is the key. Just be consistent that behavior that crosses a certain line won't be tolerated, and it will resolve itself. And the team will be a better football team because of it, too.

 

[mayoclinic]

Doug Farrar of the Shutdown Corner on the Aaron Berry situation:

The Berry release could be a turning point for the blockheads on the team who are ruining things for everyone else, or it could be yet another indicator that nobody's in charge in Detroit. More than ever, it's up to the players in that locker room to police their neighbors and brothers. There's only so much a front office can do, and by releasing a starter at a key position of weakness, that front office has finally shown that it will take the high road.

Lions release CB Aaron Berry, try to avoid becoming a

The Lions should thank Aaron Berry for finally pushing them hard enough to make them draw a line. I disagree with Farrar's assessment that "there's only so much a front office can do". Consistency is the key. Just be consistent that behavior that crosses a certain line won't be tolerated, and it will resolve itself. And the team will be a better football team because of it, too.

 

[SloMotion]

Doug Farrar of the Shutdown Corner on the Aaron Berry situation:

The Lions should thank Aaron Berry for finally pushing them hard enough to make them draw a line. I disagree with Farrar's assessment that "there's only so much a front office can do". Consistency is the key. Just be consistent that behavior that crosses a certain line won't be tolerated, and it will resolve itself. And the team will be a better football team because of it, too.

... unless he was referring to something in the CBA that limits how much a team can discipline a player(?) ... IDK, I didn't understand why they were tolerating so much of that BS before finally pulling the trigger ... hopefully this means they'll be more consistent in the future.

 

[Sciz]

Oh look. Suh got sued!
Ndamukong sued | ProFootballTalk

 

[SloMotion]

Oh look. Suh got sued!

yeah, but it's civil court, not criminal, so he gets a pass ... and he was drafted 2010, not 2011, .

 

[mayoclinic]

With the Lions off to a 1-3 start and giving up an average of over 28 PPG, all of a sudden people are criticizing some of their draft picks, including picks that would have been considered above reproach not so long ago, such as Ndamukong Suh:

A 1-3 start for the Detroit Lions has brought out the critics. An anonymous general manager and other "league executives" ripped Detroit's defensive line to shreds in Pro Football Weekly.

"I have listened to the media hype about (Ndamukong) Suh since he got in the league -- what has he done?" one GM asked. "Even the year he had all those garbage sacks, the guy took a million plays off and got pushed around in the run game. I have never thought he was a very good pro player."

We agree that Suh's rookie season was highly overrated. He made a ton of big plays but gave up just as many in the running game. His second year was disappointing, and Suh hasn't been a dominant player this year.

Suh wasn't the only part of the defensive line that drew the anonymous ire.

"They don't have enough good players, and the players they think are good are not that good. Suh belongs on the All-Hype team. (Cliff) Avril is not that good -- put on any game and you can watch him get blocked time and time again. Corey Williams is solid, but nothing that wows you or makes you wonder how you are going to block him. The other guy (Kyle Vanden Bosch) is a try-hard guy getting up in years that does not really threaten you. For as much as people talk about that D-line and all its depth, where are all the players?"

Other than that, the anonymous GMs love the Lions. Including GM Martin Mayhew and coach Jim Schwartz.

"(Mayhew and Schwartz are) both overrated. What has he (Mayhew) really accomplished? Matt (Millen) never said he did a good job -- he was not ready for it. He did not have enough good people around him."

Oh boy. When an anonymous source is using Matt Millen's opinion as a source to prove his point, you know things have gone terribly awry.

Rival GM: Ndamukong Suh belongs on 'All-Hype' team - NFL.com

 

[mayoclinic]

More Lions off field issues:

Suh is accused of sideswiping a car, leaving scene of accident | ProFootballTalk

 

[patsfaninpa]

More Lions off field issues:

Suh is accused of sideswiping a car, leaving scene of accident | ProFootballTalk

2012 Driver of The Year

 

[Ochmed Jones]

Reading stuff like this is just making me think how perfect a Pats prospect that Barrett Jones is looking and hopefully a 2013 Pats 1st round draftee!

Let's hope teams continue to underdraft interior linemen and he drops to #32. What a beast, I can't wait to see him line up against the stud LSU DT's and then take on the Florida stud DT's in the SEC championship game.

If by some miracle South Carolina makes the championship game against Alabama, then I hope Saban moves Jones back to OT so I can watch Jones and Clowney go man on man for 60 minutes. Wow!

 

[mayoclinic]

Lions are putting bad boy Titus Young in "timeout" for a game for unspecified "bad behavior":

Lions send Titus Young home for a week for bad behavior | ProFootballTalk

The speculation at the time this thread was started was that the Lions would regress in similar fashion to the 2011 Tampa Bay Buccaneers under Raheem Morris. The Lions are now 4-6. The Bucs are now 6-4 under Greg Schiano, who has re-established some discipline and a team-first mentality.

 

[mayoclinic]

This thread was posted 7 months ago. The prediction was that based on their offseason problems, the Lions were likely to experience a tumultuous decline from their 2011 playoff level due to a lack of discipline. Well, I think it's fair to say that that prediction came true: a 4-12 season and a top 5 draft pick, 8 losses in a row to end the season, and numerous examples of lack of player discipline and sloppy coaching. It's a great example of how a talented team underperforms, making them the NFC's version of the Jets. There are reports of a rift between HC Jim Schwartz and GM Martin Mayhew and the possibility of the Lions firing Schwartz, but it looks like they are probably going to bite the bullet and keep the status quo, having given Schwartz a contract extension not too long ago.

A great example of how to perennial draft high and still field a losing team. It will be interesting to see who they target with their top 5 pick this year.

 

[patsfaninpa]

This thread was posted 7 months ago. The prediction was that based on their offseason problems, the Lions were likely to experience a tumultuous decline from their 2011 playoff level due to a lack of discipline. Well, I think it's fair to say that that prediction came true: a 4-12 season and a top 5 draft pick, 8 losses in a row to end the season, and numerous examples of lack of player discipline and sloppy coaching. It's a great example of how a talented team underperforms, making them the NFC's version of the Jets. There are reports of a rift between HC Jim Schwartz and GM Martin Mayhew and the possibility of the Lions firing Schwartz, but it looks like they are probably going to bite the bullet and keep the status quo, having given Schwartz a contract extension not too long ago.

A great example of how to perennial draft high and still field a losing team. It will be interesting to see who they target with their top 5 pick this year.

From a character perspective I might go with Manti Te'o. They could use a good cb and Milliner would seem a good fit. If Joeckel slips to 5, maybe him.

 

[mayoclinic]

From a character perspective I might go with Manti Te'o. They could use a good cb and Milliner would seem a good fit. If Joeckel slips to 5, maybe him.

If they're serious about a culture change they'll take someone squeaky clean with a high motor and a lot of leadership potential. IDK who that is right now. Defense is clearly where they need help, and a lot of it. There's plenty of talent on that team, but they find ways to lose, consistent with their lack of discipline.

 

[BritPat]

If they're serious about a culture change they'll take someone squeaky clean with a high motor and a lot of leadership potential. IDK who that is right now. Defense is clearly where they need help, and a lot of it. There's plenty of talent on that team, but they find ways to lose, consistent with their lack of discipline.

The defense needs discipline and leadership. If he's there at 5, Te'o has to be their guy.

Schwartz had a guy like him in Tenn which helped overcome lunatics like Pacman and Haynesworth. I'm sure JS would love a Keith Bullock right about now.