The draft, need and talent line up finally!

[Rollingthndr]

Now that I can finally start a thread, I wanted to share my optimism about how the draft played out.

1) Ansah- The guy I wanted them to draft all along, Dee Milliner a strong second. DE's with that kind of size and natural ability don't come along often. He plays a lot like JJ Watt, if he doesn't get there, he will get his hands up. Avril or KVB NEVER did that.

2) Slay- Kind of flew under the radar but is a quick twitch athlete. Our CB position should be set for a few seasons.

3) Warford- Gigantic upgrade over Peterbum. Guy was an all SEC selection 2 years in a row.

4)D. Taylor- Not very athletic but has great length. Hopefully he gets coached on technique and can become a quality backup.

5) Punter- Straight up Millen pick.

6) Fuller,Riddick,Hepburn and Williams- All these guys should fight for spots on the bottom of the roster. All intriguing in their own way but wouldn't surprise me if any of these guys don't make the team.


Overall this draft should help get us into contention for the next few seasons. However, I feel we are one more draft away from contending for a super bowl. We need more talented players in the LB core to field a championship type defense.OL,#2WR and an impact TE are needed as well.

2013 prediction- 7-9. Schwartz and staff will be fired. Cowher or some big name coach will be hired. Pick #17 will be C.J Mosley-LB ALA.

2014- NFC championship/Super Bowl appearance.

 

[Microwahevo]

if he doesn't get there, he will get his hands up. Avril or KVB NEVER did that

Not entirely true. Avril did that often, it was his defense on running plays that sucked.

 

[tpaulus_2]

5) Punter- Straight up Millen pick.

I take it you don't think punting is important in the NFL then? You were happy with piss-poor special teams losing us at least 3 games last year?

For what it's worth, 8 of the top 10 punters last season were drafted players...

 

[tpaulus_2]

4)D. Taylor- Not very athletic but has great length. Hopefully he gets coached on technique and can become a quality backup.

You must be smoking too much dope... Taylor is very athletic for a man that size. What are you basing this analysis off of? Clearly not his combine numbers...

 

[Quackerjacked]

Second both things TP said. Clean up the punt team and we win two more games last year. Taylor is a crazy athlete; the question is how much of a football player he is.

 

[Old Lion]

The guy no one is really talking about yet is Steven Miller from App St. This kid is ridiculous. I think when everyone sees him in preseason, eyes are going to pop. I hope the Lions are smart enough to find a way to use him maybe as a returner and part time gadget guy. He will be much better than that waste product Stefan Logan.

 

[Rollingthndr]

I take it you don't think punting is important in the NFL then? You were happy with piss-poor special teams losing us at least 3 games last year?

For what it's worth, 8 of the top 10 punters last season were drafted players...

My point is you don't draft a DII punter, period. We could of signed him in free agency and drafted an Andre Ellington,Ricky Wagner or Bacarri Rambo, instead. Nobody was going to draft that kid (let alone 5th round!), let's be serious.

 

[Rollingthndr]

Not entirely true. Avril did that often, it was his defense on running plays that sucked.

Sorry, guess I never noticed him except for an occasional sack during unimportant times of a game. That is why he went to free agency and got squat. Only the Lions would pay that guy 10 million a year.

 

[Rollingthndr]

The guy no one is really talking about yet is Steven Miller from App St. This kid is ridiculous. I think when everyone sees him in preseason, eyes are going to pop. I hope the Lions are smart enough to find a way to use him maybe as a returner and part time gadget guy. He will be much better than that waste product Stefan Logan.

You know he is going to have to make it as a punt returner. Can't see him making the team over Bush,Bell or Lesuck.

 

[Rollingthndr]

You must be smoking too much dope... Taylor is very athletic for a man that size. What are you basing this analysis off of? Clearly not his combine numbers...

I haven't seen his combine numbers but I watched a couple games on you tube after we drafted him. He looked tall and lean but seemed to just run around the field and not make many plays. Guess that is why he went in the 4th round?

God I love these smileys

 

[Quackerjacked]

He wasn't a dII punter. D1 Championship division, but whatevs. He must not be good because he didn't play d1. Sort of like the current Super Bowl MVP.

 

[Microwahevo]

Sorry, guess I never noticed him

That doesn't surprise me.

 

[Microwahevo]

He looked tall and lean but seemed to just run around the field and not make many plays. Guess that is why he went in the 4th round

So basically we shouldn't draft anyone after the 3rd round by your standards? I'm going to go out on a limb here, but I bet our front office and scouting department watched a bit more than a YouTube clip when deciding to draft him.

 

[tpaulus_2]

And how does this "block poster" feature work? I think I've found my first one I'm actually going to have to block.

I thought I actually missed rollingthndr, but apparently his goal is to be nothing but negative about the Lions now that he's on this site.

I can't understand how so many of our own "fans" get so much enjoyment out of trolling like this. Yes, people respond a lot when you type garbage about our team, but it's our of annoyance/anger, not because they respect your opinion and want to discuss it.

Let's look at all the negative things you've had to say just in this thread alone:

1.) He plays a lot like JJ Watt, if he doesn't get there, he will get his hands up. Avril or KVB NEVER did that.

Our coaches specifically coached them not to, because their theory was that it slows down the pass rush. I'm not kidding either, I was floored when I read those comments last year (I believe it was from SLH, who seemed a little pissed off that he was getting in trouble in practice for getting his hands up).

KVB was good two years ago, but time caught up with him hard last season. Avril was a good pass-rusher, and that's all he was asked to do in the wide-9. His ability against the run was an unknown because he wasn't asked to play the run, just rush the QB as hard as he could on pretty much every play. He became the scapegoat last year when he held out over his contract, and suddenly his play took a huge nosedive in the view of a lot of fans who weren't accustomed to players holding out...

2.) 4)D. Taylor- Not very athletic but has great length. Hopefully he gets coached on technique and can become a quality backup.
We already covered why this one is simply wrong. I'm going to guess that you knew that, though, and just wanted a rise out of somebody.

3.) 5) Punter- Straight up Millen pick.
Covered this one too. Being that you're a casual fan, I suppose I can see why you'd be upset that we drafted a punter. Not understanding the finer points of the game makes drafting a punter a little confusing, I'd imagine.

6.) My point is you don't draft a DII punter, period. We could of signed him in free agency and drafted an Andre Ellington,Ricky Wagner or Bacarri Rambo, instead. Nobody was going to draft that kid (let alone 5th round!), let's be serious.
Building on #5... A- He's not a DII punter. No wonder you're so upset, you don't even know what school the kid went to. I'll let you in on a little secret: the internet is full of info about players. That way you don't have to fill in the gaps in your knowledge bank with incorrect guesses and look like even more of a troll on here because of it! Try that next time... B- How do you know nobody was going to draft him? Because Mel Kiper didn't have him getting drafted? These "expert" analysts that get some of you to hang on their every word are analysts because they're not good enough to be real NFL personnel people. They sound like they know what they're talking about and look good on TV, but a whole lot of their job is just selling us guesswork and informing us about prospects.

7.)Sorry, guess I never noticed him except for an occasional sack during unimportant times of a game. That is why he went to free agency and got squat. Only the Lions would pay that guy 10 million a year.
Could have stopped after "Sorry, guess I never noticed..." because that sums up a lot of your issues with the team. You operate on assumptions and snap-decisions/opinions made by watching a guy do poorly on a single play, then he's a scrub forever in your book it seems.

8.) Can't see him making the team over Bush,Bell or Lesuck.
There's a great example of those... um...unusual opinions I just mentioned above. Mikel Leshoure had over 1,000 yards from scrimmage and 9 TDs in his ROOKIE SEASON and he already sucks according to you? These are the kind of fans I have no patience for. Good lord, the kid was coming off an injury that used to be a career-ender, still has a productive rookie season, but he he's "Lesuck"... wow.

9.) I haven't seen his combine numbers but I watched a couple games on you tube after we drafted him.

Do I even have to respond to this? You insulted yourself for me...


I initially was glad to see you finally made it over here. But apparently you're on a mission to be a royal douche bag, so I recant my initial gladness. Now I hope kharma gets you for being such a dickhole about the team you're supposed to like and support, and you get an ear infection, or someone backs into your car or something else harmless yet really inconvenient...

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

3.) 5) Punter- Straight up Millen pick.
Covered this one too. Being that you're a casual fan, I suppose I can see why you'd be upset that we drafted a punter. Not understanding the finer points of the game makes drafting a punter a little confusing, I'd imagine.

Come on TP. The guy gives his opinion and you jump all over and put him down. It isn't as if he is the only person questioning the Lions draft pick in the 5th round. I laughed when I saw the pick. I could understand if they took Ryan Allen from La Tech, as Locke from UCLA was gone -- the guy averaged 48 yards a kick, was a unanimous 1st team all-american and was named the top punter in the NCAA in back to back years.

Martin averaged 40 yards a punt his 1st two years -- wasn't until last year his numbers went up and still weren't in the same ballpark as Ryan Allen. Why not draft the guy named the best punter in the NCAA the last two years and led the NCAA at 48.0 per punt?

And I would guess -- the reason he said no one would have drafted him is -- after Martin -- No punter was drafted. Locke and Martin were the only 2 guys drafted.

With an open spot at Punter -- i'm guessing Detroit would have had a chance to pick from any of the FA punters. That is just a guess though, but it seems that is what these rookies would be looking for -- a chance to come in and make a team immediately.

Spending a 5th rounder on a punter -- it had better be a guy who is going to step in and win the starting job. Not to knock Martin, but outside of one year, he averaged 40.0, 39.7, and 40.8. Is that consistent enough to spend a 5th round pick on?

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

And just so you don't think -- all I do is post negative comments. I loved the Lions 2nd and 3rd round picks and I think in a couple years, Ansah can be a beast (I just don't see him putting up double digit sacks as a rookie, as some believe he can do). I also think Taylor has a chance to contribute as a rookie out of the 4th round.

 

[Thruthefog]

(1) If a punter has been a 40 yard per punt guy all his career, then suddenly starts averaging 45, wouldn't you say something has changed? Or do you think this was an abberation?

(2) Just like there is more to playing DE than how many sacks one gets, there is more to punting than average yards per punt. Ever hear of hang time? Directional punting?

 

[Rollingthndr]

TP, are you serious?

Or did you just read around all the positives I said in the opening title? Kind of like I gave the Ansah pick a 10/10 and was thrilled, also with the Warford selection. Then going on to say I think this draft WAS GOOD and should set us up for contention. But instead you saw only the one negative thing I said about THE PUNTER of all things, and figured a way to turn it into an argument.

So thanks for sifting through the entire thread just to point out a couple negative things. Sorry I am not in love with every player on the roster but if someone sucks than they need to be called out, Leshoure,Peterman,KVB,Levy. Sorry I can't somehow spin Deandre Levy being good, it's not trolling. He just isn't good.

I saw people on Mlive yesterday bitching about CJ because he has a big contract and isn't worth it yadda yadda. Pretty big difference between complaining about drafting a punter in the 5th round and complaining about CJ. Now sir THAT IS JUST BEING NEGATIVE. Sorry if I offended you but I put a lot of positive and "some" negative points. You seemed only to focus only on the negative points, maybe that says more about you than it does me?

 

[Rollingthndr]

TrustMe also went on to prove another point I was going to make. No other punter was drafted after Martin. It's just annoying to know we could of signed Martin (more than likely) off waivers and took a shot on a proven play maker in Bacarri Rambo from the SEC.
Rambo had character issues but if he screwed up, cutting a 5th rounder is no big deal. If he pans out, we got a possible pro bowl talent in the secondary.

 

[Thruthefog]

I can't speak for TPaul, but I would be willing to bet he doesn't mind a difference of opinion. I'm betting it's the wild assumptions being made, and the derogatory nicknames used.