Detroit Lions 345 15: January 2012

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

2012 Lions under contract and restricted Free agents

Lions under contract

Player	College	Pos	#	con
Berry, Aaron	Pitt	CB	32	1
Carey, Don	Norfolk State	CB	31	1
Houston, Chris	Arkansas	CB	23	1
Smith, Alphonso	Wake Forest	CB	27	1
Weaver, Ross	MSU	CB	38	1
Chinasa, Ugo	Oklahoma State	DE	69	1
Jackson, Lawrence	USC	DE	94	1
Vanden Bosch, Kyle	Nebraska	DE	93	2
Young, Willie	NC State	DE	79	1
Fairley, Nick	Auburn	DT	98	3
Suh, Ndamukong	Nebraska	DT	90	3
Williams, Corey	Arkansas State	DT	99	1
Hanson, Jason	Washington State	K	4	1
Durant, Justin	Hampton	LB	52	1
Hogue, Doug	Syracuse	LB	57	3
Norris, Slade	Oregon State	LB	49	1
Gandy, Dylan	Texas Tech	OC	65	1
Gerberry, Dan	Ball State	OC	64	1
Raiola, Dominic	Nebraska	OC	51	2
McClendon, Jacques	Tennessee	OG	63	1
Peterman, Stephen	LSU	OG	66	2
Sims, Rob	Ohio State	OG	67	3
Cherlius, Gosder	Boston College	OT	77	1
Culbreath, Johnny	South Carolina St	OT	72	3
Fox, Jason	Miami	OT	70	1
Donohue, Ryan	Iowa	P	6	2
Stafford, Matthew	Georgia	QB	9	3
Bell, Joique	Wayne State	RB	35	1
Best, Jahvid	Cal	RB	44	3
LeShoure, Mikel	Illinois	RB	25	3
Logan, Stefan	South Dakota	RB	11	1
Williams, Keiland	LSU	RB	34	1
Delmas, Louis	WMU	S	26	1
Silva, Ricardo	Hampton	S	39	2
Spievey, Amari	Iowa	S	42	1
Wendling, John	Wyoming	S	29	2
Heller, Will	Georgia Tech	TE	89	1
Overbay, Nathan	Eastern Wash	TE	46	1
Pettigrew, Brandon	Oklahoma State	Te	87	2
Scheffler, Tony	WMU	TE	85	2
Burleson, Nate	Nevada	WR	13	3
Harris, Marcus	Murray State	WR	10	1
Hughes, Nate	Alcorn State	WR	86	1
Johnson, Calvin	Georgia Tech	WR	81	1
Toliver, Terrence	LSU	WR	19	1
Young, Titus	Boise State	Wr	16	3

Restricted Free Agents

Player	College	Pos
Hill, Sammie	Stillman	DT
Hilliard, Corey	Oklahoma State	OT
Levy, DeAndre	Wisconsin	LB
Palmer, Ashlee	Ole Miss	LB

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Look who is on the Detroit Lions Website

Can you find Mr. C?

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Lions sign 9 to future contracts

The Lions signed the following players:

Gerberry can see the light at the end of the tunnel

Dan Gerberry OC-OG He is out of practice squad eligibility after spending three years on the squad. Will challenge Dylan Gandy for the back up center spot.

Chinasa at Oklahoma State

Ugo Chinasa DE Has two years left on practice squad. He was in camp with the Panthers. Unlikely to stick next season.

Harris at Lions Camp

Marcus Harris Wr 2 years left. In camp out of Murray State this summer. Resigned to Practice squad. Player that reminds of Nate Burleson.

Overbay with the Bucs

Nathan Overbay TE one year left. After time with Bucs and Broncos. Making this squad will be tough next year.

Slade With Raiders

Slade Norris OLB. He is out of practice squad eligibility. Has 7 games of NFL experience with the Raiders and Jags. Will fight it out for a back up spot.

Toliver at LSU

Terrence Toliver WR 2 years left Signed with Texans out of LSU. Big bodied WR that has a chance to stick.

Weaver with Cowboys

Ross Weaver CB 1 year left. Signed late in the season. A Southfield High and MSU grad will get a look.

Nate Hughes WR Out of Practice Squad eligibility. Quick WR with return ability.

Jacques McClendon OG 1 year left. Active with the Lions for 4 games this season. Did not see action. Has a chance at back up guard.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Linebackers

Contracts and Evaluation of the linebackers:

Stephen Tulloch UFA MLB
Best middle linebacker since Earl Holmes got hurt. Played well in both phases. He had 3 picks and 5PBU. I would try to re-sign him for 2 years. He has miles on those shoulders. We need a speed guy at will backer.

DeAndre Levy RFA OLB
I thought he was on the brink of being a very good player this year and that did not happen. He looked slow and did not match up in nickel packages. Probably best suited for a backup swing guy.

Justin Durant SLB 1 year left
Improvement over Julian Peterson. Had his worst game against the Saints. Played great at times this season and replaced Levy in the nickel package.

Bobby Carpenter UFA SLB
Hero of the Cowboys game but fell off after that. Struggled when Durant was hurt against Atlanta and San Fran. Best suited as a back up and special teams guy.

Ashlee Palmer RFA MLB
Swing inside backer who played well special teams. Showed he could be a NFL backer replacing Peterson last season. Will be resigned to back up Tulloch.

Doug Hogue 3 years left Will LB
Started off slow but really improved on special teams. Can he play backer? Time will tell.

Isaiah Ekejuba UFA OLB
Veteran special teams guy. Limited ability to play backer. When he was hurt special teams suffered. Unlikely to be back.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Lions Defensive Line. Contract Situation and Evaluation

Defensive Line

Ndamukong Suh 3 years left. $9.25 million. Played well against the run and pushed the pocket against the pass. Not nearly as productive this season but still a force.

Corey Williams 2 years left. $4.9 million Played well the first half, injuries limited him the second half. On the wrong side of 30 and makes over $4 million next season. Could be asked to take a pay cut.

Nick Fairley DT 3 years left. Aorund $2 million. Hobbled by a foot injury all year. Had 1 sack. Showed potiential in flashes, can be a force.

Sammie Hill Restricted Free Agent. Sammie finished strong with good push inside. A rotational player who can play 20-30 quality plays.

Andre Fluellen UFA Likely will not be back. Had an opprtunity to show his worth and did not do a whole lot. Probably will sign elsewhere.

KyleVandenBosch DE 2 years left. $5 million Solid year for KVB. However, $5 million in salary with Cliff Avril needing to be signed. He is not strong against the run and will over pursue.

Cliff Avril DE UFA Great year rushing the passer. He is not strong against the run. Big question is how much is he worth? Could be slapped with the dreaded franchise tag.

Lawrence Jackson DE 1 year left around $ 1 million. Solid rotational player. Our best End vs. the run. Can rush the passer in spots. Could replace KVB.

Willie Young 1 year left. $490,000 Spot pass rusher when healthy. Made big plays vs. Dallas and the Saints. Part of the puzzle.

Overall: A lot of $$$$$ is tied up in the Defensive Line. The main question is with the age of KVB and Corey Williams can we afford Cliff Avril. Another scenario is to draft a young DE and release KVB.