The Lions Den

[tpaulus_2]

I just read this on Rant Sports 5 lions that wont make the 2014/15 team.

1. QB Kellen Moore- Cut
2.OT Michael Williams- Practice squad
3. CB Bill Bentley- Cut
4. RB Mikel Leshoure- Practice squad/Trade
5. WR Kris Durham-Cut

A lot of you probably already know this but I thought I'd share.. I did'nt know this.

Interesting.

Moore I can see, Williams to the P-squad makes sense, Bentley won't be cut, Leshoure isn't p-squad eligible after how many games he's started/dressed for so far in his career, Durham is about 50/50 right now, imo. Our WR situation is wide open right now...

 

[Dr. Evil-er]

1. QB Kellen Moore- Cut (agreed)
2.OT Michael Williams- Practice squad (agreed)
3. CB Bill Bentley- Cut (disagree)
4. RB Mikel Leshoure- Practice squad/Trade (disagree)
5. WR Kris Durham-Cut (disagree)

Reasoning behind my "opinion" on the topic at hand.
#1 Moore simply doesnt have the necessary skill set to be a successful NFL QB, even at the back up level. Although I believe he would be eligible for another year the Lions will not hold a practice squad position for him. That will go to the James Franklin who offers far more upside as a developmental player.
2. With the move to OT he will need time to adjust, learn, and put on size. PS is the perfect spot for him to do that for another year.
3. Front office is in job preservation mode. Cutting a third rd pick who is only entering his third year in the league does not look good. This is a make or break year for him. If he is a player he should show a significant jump forward this year. If that doesnt happen he probably isnt back next year, but he's safe this year.
4. He's a second rd pick who apparently didnt play not because of talent but because he was not a favorite of the coaching staff. If Bentley is safe then Leshoure certainly should be as well.
5. He got the chance in game action on the field to learn and develop. The question is just how much did he do of both. He was no worse than the guy who has an $18m/yr contract when it came to drop %. Did his route running get better and did he learn to use his size and speed better? He makes the team with CJ, Tate, Broyles, and Ogletree. Edwards and Wilson get cut and if Ross makes the team as a return man then Fuller and Jones are on the PS.

 

[gandydancer]

1. QB Kellen Moore- Cut (agreed)
2.OT Michael Williams- Practice squad (agreed)
3. CB Bill Bentley- Cut (disagree)
4. RB Mikel Leshoure- Practice squad/Trade (disagree)
5. WR Kris Durham-Cut (disagree)

Reasoning behind my "opinion" on the topic at hand.
3. Front office is in job preservation mode.

4. He's a second rd pick who apparently didnt play not because of talent but because he was not a favorite of the coaching staff.

5. He got the chance in game action on the field to learn and develop. The question is just how much did he do of both. He was no worse than the guy who has an $18m/yr contract when it came to drop %. Did his route running get better and did he learn to use his size and speed better? He makes the team with CJ, Tate, Broyles, and Ogletree. Edwards and Wilson get cut and if Ross makes the team as a return man then Fuller and Jones are on the PS.

I agree with Meow's opinions. Almost as if they were facts.

When it comes to Durham, which I hate would want to be cut. Some guys are not cut out to be #1 or #2 WR. He was put in that position last year and failed IMO. To defernd a guy I do not want, he may have the skillset to be a #4 or #5 type guy. He did have a lot of drops. Devil advocate is he got open against other teams best DB's. As a 4 or 5 he will see lesser talent (possibly) covering him. So his skillset may work out for a pass happy team.

A name I did not see who I believe is a goner is Montell Owens. Riddick showing he belongs in Lombardi's offense in OTA's and IMO thinking Leshoure becomes short yardage back. The writing is on the wall for Owens.

 

[broncosmitty]

Is he looking faster?

Too fast for the PS.

 

[Old Lion]

Sims is an above average guard. I'm fine with him on this team. No complaints here.

How can you be positive on this guy but not on our other O-Lineman? He was by far our weakest lineman last year. Would not surprise me if Austin beats him out this year. He did have some good years before last year, but he took a major step back. If he does not bounce back, he will finish his career as a backup.

 

[Old Lion]

Leshoure will get a chance in preseason to prove himself, but Bell has not been healthy so I think we may keep an extra RB.


Durham could possibly be cut as Cory Fuller is stepping up. I dont think so though as my guess is Ogilvy will not be back anyway. Broyles makes the team if he is healthy otherwise he could go.


Bentley stays and Williams goes to the PS. Not sure about Moore.

 

[tpaulus_2]

How can you be positive on this guy but not on our other O-Lineman? He was by far our weakest lineman last year. Would not surprise me if Austin beats him out this year. He did have some good years before last year, but he took a major step back. If he does not bounce back, he will finish his career as a backup.

I don't recall him being nearly that bad last season.

 

[LPinSLC]

Chris Houston Released

 

[tpaulus_2]

Jesus Tap Dancing Christ.

I was just reading some of the comments on the Mlive story about Houston getting cut... those people, whomever they are, write some of the stupidest things I've ever seen, bar-none. The worst part is that they post it as if it's gospel, rather than what it really is- casual fans who couldn't name 6 guys on the Lions roster making asses of themselves.

Here's a few to mull over:

sparky252-

Well, well, well. I realize that no one can foresee the future, but someone close to the situation obviously had an inkling of what was to come. When it's your job to know your players and that's what you do for a living, a little foresite might go a long way. The Lions RAN up to the podium when it was their turn. I think a little creativity, effort and flexibility might have paid off in an effort to trade down for what was your teams biggest need. It was inexcusable to pick a TE who can't block when you had the needs we have had, year after year. A TE? Really? THAT is a luxury pick. Last I checked, we never approached luxury status.

PS: We WAY overpaid Houston on that contract. He was never a true #1. He may have all we had, but he was never worth $5M

I hate the term "Luxury Pick." All that tells me is that you watch a few games a year and probably played HS ball where the TE was a glorified o-lineman. There's no such thing as a luxury pick in the NFL. Every spot is too valuable.

Also, we WAY over paid Houston? C'mon man, look at the franchise tag numbers for a CB and then re-evaluate your statement. We paid him market rate for a decent CB. He certainly didn't get anywhere near top-dollar. Get with the times, it's not 1996 anymore; a $25 million dollar deal for 5 years is pretty team-friendly for your best CB. That's like 4% of your salary cap for a starter at a very crucial position.

RunningGame

Why be an NFL fan anymore? Three years later and essentially your entire roster has been turned over. College football teams have more stable rosters. It might as well be blue team vs. red team out there, or picking captains and teams before the start of a game.

Stupidest reply ever. Find Doc Brown, dust off the Delorean, and go back to the 1980s before free agency. Who gives a shit about releasing an aging CB who was good, then sucked, then got hurt? We didn't even draft the dude in the first place!


I digress... but there's dozens just like these on every Mlive article. It amazes me how utterly naive people can be, yet they still feel the need to make a fool of themselves by acting like they have these great ideas and/or insight that nobody else has ever considered.

Everyone here give yourselves a pat on the back- even the least knowledgeable of us would blow away Mlive's best...

 

[gandydancer]

Everyone here give yourselves a pat on the back- even the least knowledgeable of us would blow away Mlive's best...

Thanks for the compliment brah!

 

[tpaulus_2]

SMH... maybe I'm being too hard on the Mlivers. I was just reading about Brandon Flowers' release on PFT and this sequence of wording really jumped out at me:

The Chiefs announced they had released the high-priced cornerback Friday afternoon.

Flowers was scheduled to make a $5.25 million this year, and because of those numbers, the Chiefs were willing to trade him.

That's not high priced for a damn CB! I feel like national-level writers should know that. The guy was a fucking Pro-Bowl CB a couple of years ago, and $5 million a season is a deal on a CB of that caliber.

He got released because, much like Houston, his play fell way off last season, and he's just too damn small to be an outside CB in today's NFL. He can be as sticky as he wants, but when he's giving up 8" to the Megatrons, Vincent Jacksons, Alshon Jeffires', Brandon Marshalls, Mike Evans', etc... that are taking over the league that's just not going to cut it.

He'll make a helluva nickel back somewhere, or perhaps a starter on a zone team (he'd be fine in a tampa-2 defense that doesn't press), but he's going to have to take a pay cut to do it, even though he wasn't nearly as high-priced as this hack writer apparently thinks. I think some people just look at raw numbers comparative to regular people's wages, rather than looking at a player's cap hit relative to the overall cap...

 

[themuzzer]

How can you be positive on this guy but not on our other O-Lineman? He was by far our weakest lineman last year. Would not surprise me if Austin beats him out this year. He did have some good years before last year, but he took a major step back. If he does not bounce back, he will finish his career as a backup.

I make a positive remark and still raked over the coals, I can't win for losing.

 

[broncosmitty]

Who the fuck is Ogilvy?

 

[themuzzer]

Who the fuck is Ogilvy?

Pretty sure he played for the bad news bears.

 

[BUD]

Check out @barstoolsports lions fan gets 2015 Lions SB tattoo He has a positive outlook but thats going to hurt coming off and skin grafting isnt cheap. I believe in the Lions, but i dont think a SB is in the near future for them.

 

[BUD]

Remember the fool that got the KY 2014 NCAA Baskeball champs tat.

 

[Old Lion]

Pretty sure he played for the bad news bears.

LOL, Sorry, meant Ogletree.

We could use a catchy theme song like the BNB had though.

 

[gandydancer]

Who the fuck is Ogilvy?

This is him today. Think Oglivie can catch a Stafford fast ball?

 

[gandydancer]

Check out @barstoolsports lions fan gets 2015 Lions SB tattoo He has a positive outlook but thats going to hurt coming off and skin grafting isnt cheap. I believe in the Lions, but i dont think a SB is in the near future for them.

Still not as bad as these 2 cats.

 

[gandydancer]

bad sport tatoos - Bing Images

Look at some of these other dumb fucks.