Did the Lions make the best free agent moves?

Is the NFC North turning into the best division in football?

With the Vikings and Packers (dependant on Favre returning and the Packers doing something about their Oline) standing at the elite end of the NFL rankings and the Bears and Lions making huge moves to better themselves, I can't think of a division that can be more competitive and talented than the black and blue (I'm including the media hyped NFC East in that by the way).

If the Lions can add Shu/Mccoy and some DB's in the draft, they should/could have a much better D this year.

Obviously the bears are somewhat restricted in the draft but they could easily pick up a decent CB in the 3rd round and plug other holes with their remaining picks.

The Packers need DB help, Olb and Oline in the draft, all of which is feasible with their picks.

The Vikings could do with some interior Oline help, some Olb help and certainly some DB help but as with the Packers, all are available in the draft.

The Packers need corner and safety depth. Guys who will turn into starters. If they have to trot out Bush as a starter again (because of injury), that won't be acceptable.

If you are Mike Holmgren, why do you trade a D-lineman when your own defense suffers? Answer - because Corey Williams complained and whined. He only started two of the sixteen games he played in. He did nothing in 2008 after the Packers traded him. You take a wait and see attitude where the Lions are concerned. I guess when you start in a hole any positive movement looks fabulous.

The Bears still need to upgrade their defense more. If Favre comes back to Minnesota, then the NFC North could be the second best division next year. But the Lions are still far away. VandenBosch is past his prime, and will only help if Corey Williams and Suh/McCoy play up to their full potential (which is a rarity amongst free agents that sign with the Lions).

But their running game is still suspect. And their secondary and linebackers are subpar.

mack,

I see you're doing the Cleveland thing of bagging on one guy to explain why one of your teams didn't win the championship this year.

Look, Cory Williams simply is a 4-3 lineman, and cannot play the 3-4. It happened with Romeo. It happened with Mangini. I know this is going to come as a shock to you, but responsibilities in the 3-4 are different then the 4-3 for defensive linemen.

Now please check out nba.com. They may have some slam dunk links up there. You know, where 6'10" and taller guys with hands that can palm a basketball travel up to the basket and slam the ball down into the 10 foot high basket. You can say things like "he's a beast" and congradulate yourself on your sports knowledge.

But the Lions are still far away. VandenBosch is past his prime, and will only help if Corey Williams and Suh/McCoy play up to their full potential (which is a rarity amongst free agents that sign with the Lions).
_________________

You might want to give Jim Schwartz a chance.

He seemed to do pretty well in his last position working with defensive players.

Then again - a crackerjack NFL following publication like the NFP might want to give the Lion GM some credit for signing free agents. I didn't know that it was the head coaches job.

Howard

I'm not a Browns fan

Corey Williams had a good year two seasons ago and the Packers chose not to keep him over Cullen Jenkins. He is a Tackle and in the 3-4 you still need one of those. He just simply has underwhelmed. We are not talking about an End having to play Linebacker in the 3-4 or an End with different assignments in the 3-4 vs the 4-3.

But while we are comparing conversions, lets look at the Packers again. Looks like their guy Pickett who was a Tackle in the 4-3 did pretty well in the 3-4. So much so that he was Franchised

Thanks for stating the obvious and adding the pointless NBA reference

I think the Broncos have had a better off-season; Justin Bannan is highly underrated, Nathan Jones adds depth. But they achieved the most by doing the least - a 1st round pick for Brandon Marshall.

While I agree Burleson give the Lions a much better #2 and a possession guy for Stafford, this team is still atleast 2 years away from making a playoff push, which is why I question the Vanden Bosch move. Being a leader and a Schwartz-guy (together in Tennessee) will only take you so far, the Vanden Bosch I saw last year was no longer a pass-rusher. The effort was there, but he didn't have any kind of an outside pass rush, and I don't think you can give that kind of money to a guy in his 30's who's a 1-dimensional pass-rusher at best.

I hate to disagree with you Matt, but I think the Lions' moves were terrible. They way overpaid for a journeyman WR. Then they committed an obvious mistake by letting the coach latch onto an aging, over the hill player who once was his guy. Every team has these disputes, with the coaches wanting to keep older guys who are on the downhill side and the front office wanting to go young. It's one thing when you are talking playoff teams, but there is no earthly reason for a crap team like the Lions to bring in older guys.

The Lions also need to turn their first rounder into two first rounders if possible. I may be a minority of one, but I don't see Suh or McCoy as obvious Pro Bowl talents. Suh in particular looks like a guy who could be neutralized by decent NFL O linemen. He's not Albert Haynesworth. I haven't seen McCoy play, but he came up small in the bench press at the combine.

Vanden Bosch needs interior help to pass rush. Without Haynesworth VB was double teamed all season. The Titans gave him no help and no other pressure. Sure he's passing his prime but he's only 31 (1 year older then Peppers), he signed a reasonable deal and in Detroit he's going to play SDE which means more run coverage. That helps keep his value since speed is needed for pass rushing DEs and speed declines more with age. A d-line of VB, Suh, Williams/Hill & White/Peterson is pretty solid. I wouldn't be surprised if in round 4 Detroit takes a pass rushing DE to develop.


Mack,

Williams didn't play NT in Cleveland, he played DE. Rogers played NT, so comparing Williams in Cleveland to what he's expected to do in Detroit makes no sense. Look at what he did in GB. And GB traded him because Cleveland offered a 2nd rounder for him. They didn't hope to move him, they just got a good deal.

Meateater,

No team in the league will move up for a top 3 pick. The fact that you think it's feasible tells me you either know nothing about football or are pie in sky with reality. Last year Detroit wanted to move their 1. They were told me a team outside of the top 5 that they'd have to trade their 1 and 2 to move back. Top 3 picks are way too expensive no team wants them! Suh isn't a NT so comparing him to Haynesworth is ridiculous. Suh is just over 300 lbs, Haynesworth is above 340. Suh is much more comparable to Kevin Williams.

Ditto Howard, but Cleveland played the 43 when they traded for him.

CW I'm looking forward to you eating your words.... right now I have the Bears and Lion battlin 4 third in the division with the improvements with the Lions... we have a 1st and 2nd rounder that should close the gap.. yes you have Peppers and Taylor.. Taylor will meet our new Lions wall... Our weakness is getting a strong OL right now.... if that is addressed da Bears may shift to last in the NFC North... hopefully tomorrow we'll have a CB... with a better DL our CB's job will be slightly easier... I look forward to seeing a ton o sacks by the NFC North most improved team... THE DETROIT LIONS. They are jokes no more

CW:
"But their running game is still suspect. And their secondary and linebackers are subpar. "

Obviously you haven't followed the Lions at all...the linebacking corps was the one strong suit on defense. Foote wasn't all that, he was overhyped, but they plugged in Levy and he great next to Peterson and Simms as a rookie. With the DL improvements, the LB's are only going to get better. I agree, secondary is weak, but what secondary isn't weak when your front four can't pressure the opposing QB? Two top tier DE's can make any DB's look great in this league. They go hand in hand.

The Lions also need to turn their first rounder into two first rounders if possible. I may be a minority of one, but I don't see Suh or McCoy as obvious Pro Bowl talents. Suh in particular looks like a guy who could be neutralized by decent NFL O linemen. He's not Albert Haynesworth. I haven't seen McCoy play, but he came up small in the bench press at the combine.

Thanks too much for the detailed post. The main idea is quite clear. And it's difficult not to agree with the author. You've managed to capture me, though I don't consider myself to be a sports fan. I don't believe actually that sport exists. It's all about business and money. But I've got interested. I can't thank you enough. The author's reflections are worthy indeed. :)

150 years ago, Louis vuitton luggage, pioneer, as modern waves travel time prediction. In 1932, Louis vuitton nowitzki officially opened replica handbag Evans. Inspiration for essien's Noah Noah (French). First, the third generation of seed Louis vuitton Gaston - sir Louis vuitton is champagne wine for the design requirements of his luxurious champagne bottles can accommodate solid and lasting bag. Therefore, essien bag was born. For large replica handbag under the narrow lace, wide string, pocket tie, installing a future five bottles of champagne.

Lovie Smith, Julius Peppers and GM Jerry Angelo of the Chicago Bears a good team! Good job!

Thank you for the article! Very interestiong Discussion ! +1 for "Comparing Williams in Cleveland to what he's expected to do in Detroit makes no sense."

I agree with the author. You've managed to capture me, though I don't consider myself to be a sports fan. I don't believe actually that sport exists. It's all about business and money. But I've got interested. I can't thank you enough. The author's reflections are worthy indeed. :)

That's nice thx for sharring.

I am happy to find so many useful information here in the post, thanks for sharing it here. I hope you will adding more.

Louis vuitton luggage, pioneer, as modern waves travel time prediction. In 1932, Louis vuitton nowitzki officially opened replica handbag Evans. Inspiration for essien's Noah Noah (French). First, the third generation of seed Louis vuitton Gaston

I agree with the author. You've managed to capture me, though I don't consider myself to be a sports fan. I don't believe actually that sport exists. It's all about business and money. But I've got interested. I can't thank you enough. The author's reflections are worthy indeed. :)

well the Packers need corner and safety depth. Guys who will turn into starters. If they have to trot out Bush as a starter again (because of injury), that won't be acceptable.

Its my great pleasure to visit your blog and to enjoy your great posts here. I like it a lot. I can feel that you paid much attention for those articles, as all of them make sense and are very useful

That was exactly what I was looking for. You have done a wonderful job communicating your message. Keep up the good work.

Hey just a thought, you would probably get more readers if you interviewed controversial people for your blog.

I found this page bookmarked and really liked what I read. I will surely bookmark it too and also read your other articles tomorrow.

You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this topic to be really something which I think I would never understand. It seems too complicated and very broad for me. I am looking forward for your next post, I will try to get the hang of it!

I appreciate for your post! I am focus on you. I also want to make friends with you and share my favorite replica Cartier watches to you.

Excellent read, I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing a little research on that.

It's so refreshing to find articles like the ones you post on your site. Very informative reading. I will keep you bookmarked

Its my great pleasure to visit your blog and to enjoy your awesome posts here. I like that a lot. I know that you put much attention for these articles, as all of them make sense and are very useful

Just found this blog. excellent article. how long have you been writing? this is good writing. are you a journalist aswell? anyway, thanks again. subscribing to the rss :)

Hey This is some great thing never tought of it like that

Your web site is top-notch I will have to read it all, thank you for the diversion from my classwork!

Thank you for posting this great blog. The subject is intriguing to me. I hope you post more about it soon. It gave me good deeper insight.

Where did you got this much info on your blog from?? Also can i take the initiave to take the feeds from your blog for my own website?? But cant find the RSS feeds link here!!

Hello, I have browsed most of your posts. This page iswhere I got the most useful information for my information gathering. Thanks for posting, maybe we can see more on this. Are you aware of any other websites on this subject

I am totally agree with your oppinion.this blog post is very encouraging to people who want to know these topics.

It's so refreshing to find articles like the ones you post on your site. Very informative reading. I will keep you bookmarkedYour web site is top-notch I will have to read it all, thank you for the diversion from my classwork!

Merci pour le bonne article, Votre website est super.

Lions are the most intelligent & scary animal. They can kill anybody and make their prey. I am very much afraid of them.

While I agree Burleson give the Lions a much better #2 and a possession guy for Stafford, this team is still atleast 2 years away from making a playoff push, which is why I question the Vanden Bosch move. Being a leader and a Schwartz-guy (together in Tennessee) will only take you so far, the Vanden Bosch I saw last year was no longer a pass-rusher. The effort was there, but he didn't have any kind of an outside pass rush, and I don't think you can give that kind of money to a guy in his 30's who's a 1-dimensional pass-rusher at best.

Good points all of them. However, there's still no way the Lions can take Green Bay or Minnesota.

It is a great articles. it gives me a lot of information. before reading this article, I do not know about it. but now, after reading your article, I get it. Thank you..

Hey am I here the only one who does not get the gist of what this guy is talking about?

Hey am I here the only one who does not get the gist of what this guy is talking about?