Are you happy?

[RobBase]

I think it depends on how you view elite I guess, I don't consider them all time elite, but if you are top5-10 at your position I think you are elite. I could not put up much of an argument is you moved Ansah to the potential section this year.

I think Ansah, Warford, Slay and Levy all end up with pretty mighty contracts based on recent success combined with future potential. I def don't see them all staying in Detroit.

 

[Mebert]

I think Ansah, Warford, Slay and Levy all end up with pretty mighty contracts based on recent success combined with future potential. I def don't see them all staying in Detroit.

I hope they can all stay, but I would not be shocked if we can't keep them all. Too much tied up into a middle of the road qb and Calvin Johnson.

One way to look at that though is good teams lose players in free agency. So if the Lions have hit that point it is a sure sign that they quality of the roster has increased a lot. I still don't think Mayhew is the GM to get the Lions to the next level, but he brought the team from joke to respected. A lot of missteps a long the way, but the Lions are better since he took over.

 

[RobBase]

I hope they can all stay, but I would not be shocked if we can't keep them all. Too much tied up into a middle of the road qb and Calvin Johnson.

One way to look at that though is good teams lose players in free agency. So if the Lions have hit that point it is a sure sign that they quality of the roster has increased a lot. I still don't think Mayhew is the GM to get the Lions to the next level, but he brought the team from joke to respected. A lot of missteps a long the way, but the Lions are better since he took over.

I know I'll get blasted for this, but it seems to me the level of talent in later rounds began to develop when Xanders was brought aboard. Ansah, Suh and Fairley were, IMO, all Schwartz picks. No telling who gets picked those years if it was just up to Mayhew.

 

[gandydancer]

So you're happy with Mayhew. All I'm asking.

I said above that I'm not a fan. I question his moves at times. However it is what it is Rob. I deal with things like the Ebron pick and move on.

Just not as optimistic as Yao, sometimes. That's not a knock on him either, I only wish I could find the good on every situation as quick as him.

 

[Moab]

As a Packer's fan, mostly.

The Lions kind of got screwed by being a bad team at the end of the last CBA. They picked the right players, but because of the stupid contracts they really didn't have that much control over, they ended up losing one of their 3 best players, and you could argue Fairly was one of the best and for sure one of the better players on the team. Their cap is still hamstrung by those rookie deals because to make them more cap palatable they've had to restructure to keep Stafford, Johnson and Suh as long as they could, and the cap bind is still there.

I guess it could be worse for you guys, you could go back to that Millen run where everything was or was turning to crap and the light at the end of the tunnel was a 50/50 proposition of being a train.

 

[Mebert]

I know I'll get blasted for this, but it seems to me the level of talent in later rounds began to develop when Xanders was brought aboard. Ansah, Suh and Fairley were, IMO, all Schwartz picks. No telling who gets picked those years if it was just up to Mayhew.

This is something that has been argued over time and again, but neither side can prove their case. You can't argue that late round picks got better after Xanders arrived. Where ever you fall with your views on Mayhew, I think most people agree that the next step probably will require a different gm.

 

[RobBase]

This is something that has been argued over time and again, but neither side can prove their case. You can't argue that late round picks got better after Xanders arrived. Where ever you fall with your views on Mayhew, I think most people agree that the next step probably will require a different gm.

Xanders first year was Ansah, Slay, Warford? This was also about the time we started snagging UFA lineman capable of starting (unheard of for decades previous). Then we grabbed Swanson in the 3rd. No, I can't prove it, but it sure seems like the Xanders effect started then.

 

[RobBase]

I guess it could be worse for you guys, you could go back to that Millen run where everything was or was turning to crap and the light at the end of the tunnel was a 50/50 proposition of being a train.

True. I guess we could be 0-16 again. That's one way to look at it.

 

[broncosmitty]

Are you crediting Freese to Xanders then Rob?

(I'll never be a fan of a guy that willingly drafted Tim Tebow in the first round.)

 

[RP-29]

As a Packers fan married to a Lions fan, this is perfection.
1) Packers
2) Lions
4) Vikings & Bears

 

[broncosmitty]

As a Packer's fan, mostly.

The Lions kind of got screwed by being a bad team at the end of the last CBA. They picked the right players, but because of the stupid contracts they really didn't have that much control over, they ended up losing one of their 3 best players, and you could argue Fairly was one of the best and for sure one of the better players on the team. Their cap is still hamstrung by those rookie deals because to make them more cap palatable they've had to restructure to keep Stafford, Johnson and Suh as long as they could, and the cap bind is still there.

I guess it could be worse for you guys, you could go back to that Millen run where everything was or was turning to crap and the light at the end of the tunnel was a 50/50 proposition of being a train.

On the brighside, Staff and CJ no longer are the duo with most guaranteed money still owed. They're second, behind Romo and Dez now.

 

[RobBase]

On the brighside, Staff and CJ no longer are the duo with most guaranteed money still owed. They're second, behind Romo and Dez now.

We'll see for how long Mayhew allows this to happen before he extends one or both of them.

 

[RobBase]

Are you crediting Freese to Xanders then Rob?

(I'll never be a fan of a guy that willingly drafted Tim Tebow in the first round.)

Tebow was all McDaniels. One of the reasons Xanders became available. I think Mayhew prob told Xanders to find him a K, so ya.

 

[Moab]

On the brighside, Staff and CJ no longer are the duo with most guaranteed money still owed. They're second, behind Romo and Dez now.

That's something I don't quite understand. While those 2 are fantastic WR's, is there really that much of a gap from them to the next group that is playing for 70% of the money? I understand there are other teams that will pay that, but I don't see the reasoning to play Russian roulette just because others are.

 

[Moab]

Here is the list...and take a look at the guys making $7m or less, would you rather have 2 of them or 1 of Dez or Thomas?

Wide Receiver Contracts and Salaries | Over The Cap

 

[RobBase]

Here is the list...and take a look at the guys making $7m or less, would you rather have 2 of them or 1 of Dez or Thomas?

Wide Receiver Contracts and Salaries | Over The Cap

Megatron's agent really got one over on Mayhew. Jesus.

 

[RobBase]

That's something I don't quite understand. While those 2 are fantastic WR's, is there really that much of a gap from them to the next group that is playing for 70% of the money? I understand there are other teams that will pay that, but I don't see the reasoning to play Russian roulette just because others are.

Dez is a freak. His physical tools are elite. But he's also completely retarded. His brain doesn't justify the money. I'm not sure how Thomas got paid like that.

 

[Moab]

Megatron's agent really got one over on Mayhew. Jesus.

Most of that is due to his rookie contract and how much those top 5 picks were paid under the old CBA. The difference between the Lions cap and the Jags cap is mostly the CBA and sucking at the right vs wrong time.

 

[RobBase]

Most of that is due to his rookie contract and how much those top 5 picks were paid under the old CBA. The difference between the Lions cap and the Jags cap is mostly the CBA and sucking at the right vs wrong time.

For sure. But just seeing that massive gap between him and no.2 is insane.

 

[Moab]

Dez is a freak. His physical tools are elite. But he's also completely retarded. His brain doesn't justify the money. I'm not sure how Thomas got paid like that.

I just don't quite understand why teams do that to themselves. Let somebody else overpay for what is considered the elite of their position. Outside of QB, it doesn't make much sense to me. You can't have a team of less than replacement value players, but it doesn't make sense to have 3 guys eat 50% of your cap and the rest of the team is below replacement value talent.