It is now the morning after............

[TrustMeIamRight]

And I'm still as confused at the Lions pick as I was last night. I'm not upset about the pick, as I've come to grips that our front office is going to continue to do off the wall things.

I just don't understand spending a top 10 pick on a one dimensional TE. I mean, Eric Ebron himself, said he was surprised to be picked 10th, as he thought someone would take him in the 18th to 20th range.

I hear how he will basically be our 3rd WR, but in a draft that is extremely deep at the WR position -- Why not use your 2nd round pick and take an actual 3rd WR?

I would be able to accept this pick a little better if we hadn't re-signed Pettigrew and if we didn't have an undrafted rookie TE that had 7 touchdowns last year.

To me, Ebron is a luxury pick. Unless the Lions plan on running 2 TE sets all game long -- he is only going to be on the field on passing downs. Also -- why in the world waste cap space signing a FB, if you were planning on drafting another TE?

Can someone please make sense out of this pick for me?

 

[lionstop1]

"King wrote that Ebron told a team he recently visited with that*he expected the Detroit Lions to select him*in next month’s NFL Draft."

Wrong! You must have missed where Ebron said he thought the Lions would pick him. It was last week.You are aware that Ebron was ranked pretty high on a lot of teams boards, right?

 

[lionstop1]

And I'm still as confused at the Lions pick as I was last night. I'm not upset about the pick, as I've come to grips that our front office is going to continue to do off the wall things.

I just don't understand spending a top 10 pick on a one dimensional TE. I mean, Eric Ebron himself, said he was surprised to be picked 10th, as he thought someone would take him in the 18th to 20th range.

I hear how he will basically be our 3rd WR, but in a draft that is extremely deep at the WR position -- Why not use your 2nd round pick and take an actual 3rd WR?

I would be able to accept this pick a little better if we hadn't re-signed Pettigrew and if we didn't have an undrafted rookie TE that had 7 touchdowns last year.

To me, Ebron is a luxury pick. Unless the Lions plan on running 2 TE sets all game long -- he is only going to be on the field on passing downs. Also -- why in the world waste cap space signing a FB, if you were planning on drafting another TE?

Can someone please make sense out of this pick for me?

No offense, but I think your logic is a bit off-base here, as you only see things your way and not the big picture.

The Lions needed to sign Pettigrew as they did not know for sure who they would be drafting. Pettigrew has some tools that the Lions can use, but he is no Ebron. In certain situations, Ebron can take coverage away from Pettigrew, allowing him to make plays. Just toss out the idea that Fauria is the answer at TE. He's decent but isnt what we make him seem like.

 

[Thruthefog]

It is now the morning after....

....and I realize it's going to take two more days to sleep this one off.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

"King wrote that Ebron told a team he recently visited with that*he expected the Detroit Lions to selecthim*in next month’s NFL Draft."

Wrong! You must have missed where Ebron said he thought the Lions would pick him. It was last week.You are aware that Ebron was ranked pretty high on a lot of teams boards, right?

Lionstop -- go watch his post draft interview. It is on the freep site. Ebron, himself, said he was expecting to go somewhere around the 18th pick.

Also -- you have no idea where Ebron was ranked on any teams board other than the Lions, nor do I.

 

[lionstop1]

I'll give you as many reasons as I can think of to why it makes sense:

1. Hard to argue that Ebron wasn't one of the top offensive players in the draft, as many analyst had him right there within the top 10.
2. He was the best option for the Lions considering how the draft played out. Teams should follow their boards and never reach for needs.
3. Lions must have an athletic TE to implement a N.O style offense. Its an important piece.
4. Ebron is a good route runner and can fill both the TE role and WR role if needed.
5. If Calvin comes out the game, the Lions now have a legitimate option outside of Tate.
6. Lions now have the ability to incorporate tons of packages and looks on offense.
7. Defenses now have to game-plan for a team with a dangerous TE.
8. Ebron is a mis-match for nearly all LBs and team's 3rd CBs and safeties.
9. Everyone on offense just got better, as Ebron opens up the field for the WRs, RBs and gives Stafford another go-to player.
10. Lions have just got better with red-zone efficiency.
11. Lions have just got better with 3rd down efficiency.
12. The team now has more depth.
13. The offense is faster.
14. Ebron gives the team another beast.
15. Ebron could be the best TE in the division.
16. Ebron can make plays after the catch.
17. N.C players are pimps

 

[whywork2]

Isn't there a pill for just this?

 

[lionstop1]

Ok, well he said both then. Why does it even matter that he thought he would be picked later? What does that mean?

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

No offense, but I think your logic is a bit off-base here, as you only see things your way and not the big picture.

The Lions needed to sign Pettigrew as they did not know for sure who they would be drafting. Pettigrew has some tools that the Lions can use, but he is no Ebron. In certain situations, Ebron can take coverage away from Pettigrew, allowing him to make plays. Just toss out the idea that Fauria is the answer at TE. He's decent but isnt what we make him seem like.

What is off base? Did the Lions not draft Pettigrew with the 20th overall pick a few years ago, then re-sign him to a 4 year 16 million dollar contract this offseason?

And why in the world would Ebron take away coverage from Pettigrew? Am I missing something? Since when did teams start double covering Brandon Pettigrew? Or are you insinuating that teams will now not cover Pettigrew at all?

I didn't say Fauria 'was the answer' at TE -- I said as an undrafted rookie, he had 7 touchdown catches. Do you know how many TD catches Ebron had at UNC in 3 years? 8.

I have no problem saying Ebron is a better pass catching TE than Pettigrew. His speed alone makes him better than Pettigrew. Why in god's green earth do you have to spend a top 10 pick on a pass catching TE? That is a luxury, not a necessity. Pettigrew has shown he can put up solid numbers from the TE position. Did we really need to spend a top 10 pick on the position?

As I said when the pick was made -- Only 5 TE's have been drafted in the top 20 in the last 10 years. Detroit is now the proud owner of 2 of the 5 TE's and to make matters worse, they have drafted both of them in the past 6 years.

 

[Old Lion]

I think Lombardi and Caldwell must have thought they needed him to make their scheme work. Fauria just is not fast enough to play that role. He may have to from time to time, but obviously he is not the same type of TE. Don't be surprised if he does not make the team either. We may take another UDFA TE to fill that role and keep Pettigrew as the blocking TE.


Personally I was a bit disappointed we did not trade back to 18. The Jets wanted this kid bad and we could have done it for cheap as we knew at least 1 of either Dennard and Verrett would still be there at 18 (turns out they both were). I would have taken as little as swapping our 3rd for their second and their 3rd.


You can lead a horse to water but you cant make him drink.

 

[lionstop1]

Why are some of you so caught up in who they drafted before? Nothing states that you cant do it again. Maybe Pettigrew wasn't the best pick but the team didnt have a TE at the time. They signed him back because he has some good qualities that the teamcan use.

When I say Ebron can take coverage away from a player, I mean that he creates more room for others because teams will have to make sure they are covering him. Ebron, just like Calvin should be able draw some deep coverage, allowing others to work underneath.

Im willing to bet you Ebron will score 7 tds or more, collect a starting role and have more yards than Fauria in 2014. Its not even close. Stafford threw him tons of jump balls that he should win.

Im not really one for the past, I look at the here and now. What does all that stuff mean?

 

[lionstop1]

Old Lion,

We, as fans are guilty of a lot of assumption. Maybe they didnt like the odds on moving down and the players that could be there. Its still a risk to move down. You dont just move down and take whoever is there, you move down when you think you can get the player you like.

 

[Old Lion]

Old Lion,

We, as fans are guilty of a lot of assumption. Maybe they didnt like the odds on moving down and the players that could be there. Its still a risk to move down. You dont just move down and take whoever is there, you move down when you think you can get the player you like.

I am sure they must have liked either of those CBs. 2 completely different types of player. Plus an extra 2nd in this type of deep draft would be huge.

 

[lionstop1]

Until someone gives me a player that would've been better, I'm not buying into the madness. Several of their other suspected targets were off the board by 10. Be mad at those teams for knowing that the Lions had interest in them. Im sure the Vikings, Buffalo, TB and Cleveland feel as if they stole some great players away from Detroit.

 

[lionstop1]

I dont think they liked Dennard that much.

 

[Thruthefog]

It is now the morning after....

....and I wonder why circus music keeps playing in my head.

 

[gandydancer]

It is now the morning after....

....and I realize it's going to take two more days to sleep this one off.

 

[black_magic]

Pettigrew's guaranteed money is done after this year anyway. We could always cut ties with him after the season.

 

[Thruthefog]

It is now the morning after....

....and I'm hoping they can pull another Warford out of their ass.

 

[gandydancer]

I didn't say Fauria 'was the answer' at TE -- I said as an undrafted rookie, he had 7 touchdown catches. Do you know how many TD catches Ebron had at UNC in 3 years? 8.
.

I saw LeShoure have 9 TD's rushing to not sniff the field. Fauria had 11 other recs. He has worth in red zone not between them. Don't get caught up in one stat without looking at the picture. I would imagine in practice Ashlee Palmer covered him with ease. This sure would not happen with Ebron.

As much as I wanted defense. Ebron does give the Lions 2 receiving threats besides Calvin and still have Bush and Bell coming out of BF.

My fear is they still have Moobs throwing the rock...