Lions OFFICIAL 2015 NFL draft thread.

[gandydancer]

Not to really shit on Bell, but Abdullah can do some shit Bell cant cme close to. If you watch him (even his YouTube highlights), you can see his ability to find and get through even the smallest holes.

That would have been awesome last year to have. There seemed to be a lot of small holes at times.
It could be a good thing this year also. Sure there are upgrades across the line, but will be young may take a few a games to gel together. The last time went pretty good with new pieces in place. Hopefully it does this time also.

 

[broncosmitty]

It seems like Bell doesnt have many fans. I tell you what, I like Bell. He does lack speed, but he is excellent at breaking tackles...he made a lot of people miss last year. I think with some blocking he could really be a work horse. He also is a pretty good receiver. Im excited about our running game next year.

He musta been awesome in the 3/4 of the Bears game I didn't watch.

(When you have to start with "He does lack speed" it's prolly gonna be followed by some homer nonsense. Imo.)

 

[gandydancer]

You must have watched him play a lot more than I did to see him run-blocking then. I didn't see a bit of that, and since run blocking is a FBs primary responsibility, that's kind of important.

We drafted a FB, and have another FB on the roster the staff likes already. To me it doesn't make sense to try to change Zenner into something he isn't and to marginalize what he's best at to move him to a position where we don't have a big need, whereas at his natural position, RB, we do still have a need for depth. I vote we keep the square peg in the square hole, and use the round pegs we already have for the round hole..

First I will ask how many times did Mullet boy really get used as a traditional FB? Not very often. Lombardi last year did a terrible job with Riddick. He showed pass every time he was in the game. Tipped his hand all too much. I watched Zenner pick up many blitzes. Which is normally LB and DB. Which is your usual block for a FB. You see a FB blocking Suh regularly, well your OC is a terrible play designer. Hell, in goal line he used extra OL and not Jethro last year. Will Lombardi tip even more plays with Burton? That drove me crazy last year down the stretch with Riddick.

Do I know it will work? Hell no. I really like the kid and I like Riddick. Will Caldwell keep 4 RBs and a FB on active roster? Not sure? So I am sure some of this is just trying to do anything to keep Zenner around. Zenner can offer more on the roster than Burton if Lombardi really does not intend to use him regularly. The one edge I give Burton is a special team ace apparently.

I don't really what pegs you use. When the defense knows what you are going to do with those pegs. Success is usually not the outcome.

 

[gandydancer]

I am seeing the Ameer pick and his fumbles in college being compared to Ebron and his drops in college. Most here remember how that went all summer.

There was only a choice few who did not complain about that pick. Hell, I think Smitty and Old Lion actually called the pick. Other than them two, not many agreed at first with that pick.

 

[Old Lion]

I am seeing the Ameer pick and his fumbles in college being compared to Ebron and his drops in college. Most here remember how that went all summer.

There was only a choice few who did not complain about that pick. Hell, I think Smitty and Old Lion actually called the pick. Other than them two, not many agreed at first with that pick.

I called it, but he was not the guy I wanted. Thought we needed a CB more. Never know when Mathis will hit the wall. I can live with it, but that was living dangerously at the time IMO.

 

[broncosmitty]

I'm calling Riddick getting moved to the slot right now.

 

[Gulf of Brazil]

 

[Old Lion]

View attachment 15240

I'm calling Riddick getting moved to the slot right now.

If it puts Ross on the street, I will be down with that.

 

[broncosmitty]

If it puts Ross on the street, I will be down with that.

That'd be some nice collateral damage we'd have to suffer, wouldn't it?

They only seemed to trust Riddick in a pass catching role anyway. And it could leave Fuller to more deep, situational routes. Plus eliminate Ross altogether.... (Not really buying AA as the return man though. Seems risky on an important offensive player for a full time gig back deep.)

Provides a reason to keep Zenner (FB or HB version for sake of no argument), Bell, Abdullah and Rutgers active every week.

 

[gandydancer]

There you go Smitty. Great outside the box thinking. Actually remember somebody saying something along these lines about Riddick during a game thread last year.

It could eliminate Ross and keep Zenner around. Riddick is a peg that can fit into two holes.

 

[gandydancer]

Y'all some horn tooting sumbidges... I called my daughter earlier. Does that count?

 

[Thruthefog]

I'm not sure why, but I'm getting this feeling that Old Lion isn't very enamored with Ross.

 

[Old Lion]

I'm not sure why, but I'm getting this feeling that Old Lion isn't very enamored with Ross.

That's a good way of putting it. I think he lost his Mojo at the end of last year. He really has had had very few good returns and most of them in 1 game in the snow. Same goes for his slot play. I will reserve final judgement until at least pre-season is over, but I got a feeling he could be a liability going forward.

 

[gandydancer]

He's not the only guy in that line. I view Ross about two steps above a piece of fecal matter. Which is only one step higher than Mike Thomas.

 

[broncosmitty]

Ross fumbles as much as Bell.

That's sad.

 

[jdwills126]

Maybe we could trade Ross to Jacksonville for a 4th round pick, return the favor to them!

 

[jdwills126]

Maybe it's just his size but Diggs reminds me of the Honey Badger. A step slower but much stronger.

 

[Coach_Ed_LPW]

He musta been awesome in the 3/4 of the Bears game I didn't watch.

(When you have to start with "He does lack speed" it's prolly gonna be followed by some homer nonsense. Imo.)

Maybe you should go back and watch again. He broke alot of tackles. He constantly made the first guy miss. The problem was blocking. And there are alot of good backs who don't have breakaway speed...and lots of really fast running backs who get tackled by a blade of grass. Otherwise just draft the fastest back and go home. Arian Foster for example ran a 4.68(the same as Bell), but he makes people miss. I think with some holes to run through Bell could be in that mold.

 

[Thruthefog]

Bell may not be the most talented RB on the planet, but his effort is remarkable.

 

[Coach_Ed_LPW]

Detroit Lions' Joique Bell ranks among top 10 RBs in broken tackles thanks to powerful lower body | MLive.com

The Contrarian - How Much is a RB Forced Missed Tackle Worth? | ProFootballFocus.com

Underrated Game-Breaker: Joique Bell | ProFootballFocus.com


I would also like to point out...Bell had 15 or fewer carries in 10/16 games last year. He had some pretty good yardage totals in some of those games too. I'm just saying, he had nowhere to run do to piss poor blocking. With some holes and some carries he could be getting 100 yards consistently.