Preseason game 1 thread

[Old Lion]

I want to see what Caraun Read and Larry Webster look like these days. Of course Tomlinson and Abdullah as well on the offense.

 

[tpaulus_2]

I want to see Burton light someone up and clear some holes! Word on the street is that he is far more physical than Jed Collins was for us last year.

The coaches reportedly also like Emil Igwenagu's development, so we're suddenly two-deep at FB after a few years of having no fullback in the offense. Grailknight must be tickled pink! I'd wager that Igwenagu will be a practice squad addition in case Burton goes down during the season.

The back-up RBs usually get a lot of action in the first preseason game, too, so we should get to see how Winn, Zenner, and Martin look in that battle for the 4th RB spot. It sounds like it's Winn's job to lose at this point, given that he's a 4-phase special teams guy. I think Zenner would be another practice squad lock if he clears waivers.

 

[Old Lion]

I hope Zenner beats him out. I would hate for another team to snatch him away for the bubble. Especially with Bell's health. I think they just need to make Riddick a WR as he is useless in pass-pro. Just make some trick plays for him to run the ball. He just is not a decent all around back. This would make room for another RB.

 

[Old Lion]

One guy we will not be seeing is David (Sn)Ausberry. He is done for the season so we are down to 3 TEs already and that assumes Fauria gets healthy as he is hurt too.

 

[gandydancer]

One guy we will not be seeing is David (Sn)Ausberry. He is done for the season so we are down to 3 TEs already and that assumes Fauria gets healthy as he is hurt too.

Dagnabbit... I was hoping he beat Fauria out.

 

[tpaulus_2]

I hope Zenner beats him out. I would hate for another team to snatch him away for the bubble. Especially with Bell's health. I think they just need to make Riddick a WR as he is useless in pass-pro. Just make some trick plays for him to run the ball. He just is not a decent all around back. This would make room for another RB.

I think Winn offers much more on special teams, and from what I've read he's the harder runner thus far through camp. I wouldn't worry a ton about Zenner getting snatched up if he's not showing much in camp; I think a season on the practice squad adjusting from 1-AA ball to the NFL is just what he needs.

The advantage to keeping Riddick a RB and giving him a token carry here and there is that it keeps the defense honest and creates miss-matches. When we run him out there as a RB, the defense has to counter him with a LB, whereas if we just go ahead and move him to WR, the defense will counter with a nickel package when he's out there, which negates the mismatch of Riddick being covered by a LB instead of being covered by a nickel back.

Just my $.02, though...

 

[gandydancer]

I'm going to pay attention to the RT battle. No so much to see who emerges as the starter. It's to see how Robinson and Williams are doing and will one be okay as a backup until Waddle is ready.

Having three viable RT's (Waddle/Lucas/Robinson) should only increase productivity. Knowing a guy is waiting to take your spot. I love competition.

Also see how Van Noy is.

 

[tpaulus_2]

One guy we will not be seeing is David (Sn)Ausberry. He is done for the season so we are down to 3 TEs already and that assumes Fauria gets healthy as he is hurt too.

We still got a few other guys- Maxwell, Thompson, and Pierce- that were right there with Ausberry as far as odds of making the final roster went, so not much to worry about there. Ausberry had long odds of making the cut, and I believe Thompson was on the active roster last year, so he may well have been ahead of Ausberry in that regard anyhow...

 

[Old Lion]

We still got a few other guys- Maxwell, Thompson, and Pierce- that were right there with Ausberry as far as odds of making the final roster went, so not much to worry about there. Ausberry had long odds of making the cut, and I believe Thompson was on the active roster last year, so he may well have been ahead of Ausberry in that regard anyhow...

I think Pirece is the better receiver, but we really need someone else who can block. He is the only one that could supplant Fauria. We could carry 4 and take 1 of the other 2 as well, but I think they are leaning more towards 2 FBs instead

 

[Old Lion]

Cant believe the first game is tomorrow night. NFL network showing it 5AM EST on Friday for those who want to tape it or watch it.

 

[Dr. Evil-er]

Just my $.02, though...

 

[tpaulus_2]

Detroit Lions love physicality George Winn continues to bring to RB position, special teams | MLive.com

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

I will be watching Mickey Mouse with my son. I will learn about as much about the Lions as anyone watching the preseason game.

I may watch the 5 AM taping though. That is about the time my boy has been waking up and his shows don't start til 7.

Needless to say -- I'm not a fan of preseason football. Teams are playing to not get their players hurt and to appease the league, so the owner's can line their pockets with a few extra games. Everything is vanilla, the only players playing hard are the guys fighting for a roster spot. Let the teams have two extra weeks of camp and cut the preseason games in half.

 

[tpaulus_2]

The greatest RB ever weighs in:

http://m.detroitlions.com/s/30846/260?itemPos=4&itemUri=729627956/88998565121012621371558915

 

[Old Lion]

I will be watching Mickey Mouse with my son. I will learn about as much about the Lions as anyone watching the preseason game.

I may watch the 5 AM taping though. That is about the time my boy has been waking up and his shows don't start til 7.

Needless to say -- I'm not a fan of preseason football. Teams are playing to not get their players hurt and to appease the league, so the owner's can line their pockets with a few extra games. Everything is vanilla, the only players playing hard are the guys fighting for a roster spot. Let the teams have two extra weeks of camp and cut the preseason games in half.

I agree Mike. I have been saying cut the games down to 2 weeks for years. Starters would really only need a quarter of the first and half of the second game tops. The remaining time is plenty to sort out the rest of the team

 

[tpaulus_2]

I think the preseason games are invaluable to sorting out the bottom end of the roster. The starters get their tune-up work in, but that's not much; basically the 4 preseason games are the NFL's version of a developmental league...

 

[broncosmitty]

I will be watching Mickey Mouse with my son. I will learn about as much about the Lions as anyone watching the preseason game.

I may watch the 5 AM taping though. That is about the time my boy has been waking up and his shows don't start til 7.

Needless to say -- I'm not a fan of preseason football. Teams are playing to not get their players hurt and to appease the league, so the owner's can line their pockets with a few extra games. Everything is vanilla, the only players playing hard are the guys fighting for a roster spot. Let the teams have two extra weeks of camp and cut the preseason games in half.

It's on at Midnight tomorrow on FoxSports Detroit too. If you're tired of Mickey Mouse by then.

(I might watch it live. No Tigers tomorrow.)

 

[Rollingthndr]

The coaches reportedly also like Emil Igwenagu's development, so we're suddenly two-deep at FB after a few years of having no fullback in the offense.

 

[Rollingthndr]

Gonna be awesome watching Abdullah shake and bake some hoes tonight!

 

[tpaulus_2]

I like that our RB group literally runs from "AA" to "ZZ" right now. It would be awesome if Zenner develops enough to take over Bell's role in a year or two. We'd have a pre-packaged slogan all set-up for our RB group...