Pure Michigan Sports

While this year’s draft may lack the talent and buzz from drafts in years past, without free agency this is the first chance for teams to improve themselves.  The Detroit Lions ended the season with momentum and hope to use this draft to continue to add quality talent to their roster.  They may not be in the best position to select an blue chip prospect, they can certainly add a player who can make this team better at number 13.  All offseason Lions GM Martin Mayhew has been preaching to anyone who will listen that the Lions are committed to drafting the best player available when it’s their turn to pick, however the number of directions they could go in is endless.

Associated Press

Ideally the Lions would like to find an impact cornerback, linebacker, defensive end or offensive tackle with their first round pick, but since few teams appear locked in to any player picking ahead of the Lions its hard to predict who might still be available.  The top names associated with the Lions have been cornerback Prince Amukamara, offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo and defensive end Da’Quan Bowers.  All three address needs and all have the potential to be high impact players immediately.  Unfortunately they also come with risks, does Amukamara have the second level speed to become a shut down corner?   Is Castonzo worthy of such a high pick and is he even the best offensive lineman to select?  Is Bowers knee healthy?  While all three players are interesting options, one player who could improve the Lions in many areas is the multi-dimensional Aldon Smith.

He spent the bulk of his college career wrecking havoc as a defensive end at Missouri, but has the size and speed to drop back as an outside linebacker as well.  Finding a player who can disrupt the passing game and slow down the running game would be an ideal fit for the Lions.  Smith’s versatility would give the Lions endless options and many different looks to throw at opponents.  Not to mention wherever he lines up on the field he has a nose for the football and is an excellent tackler.  His ability to play become a playmaker at both positions would allow the Lions to the lessen the load on veteran defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch as well as give them another linebacker to pair with DeAndre Levy.  Obviously Smith’s rare talent make it possible for another team to select him, but if available the Lions shouldn’t hesitate.

The Lions have many needs and adding any of the aforementioned players could play a major role in helping the Lions make a push towards the playoffs.  It will certainly be interesting to see what options present themselves on draft day, but Aldon Smith is an intriguing option that should not be ignored.

When the Detroit Lions drafted Ndamukong Suh last year they had visions of him eventually becoming a star player along their defensive line.  However, in his rookie season he was able to hit the ground running, playing a major role in turning the Lions defensive line into one of the best units in the league.  While the Lions still have a long ways to go to even be considered a contender, they can confidently move forward knowing they have the face of their defense and franchise in place.  This week Suh was awarded the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year Award as well as the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year Award thanks to his 66 tackles, 10 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception and 1 touchdown.  Although the Lions horrific history quickly any Super Bowl dreams Suh has been the dynamic playmaker they have been missing.

Daniel Mears / The Detroit News

While it is impossible to understate the importance of Matthew Stafford finally solving the team’s quarterback woes, Suh has become the franchise player.  Despite their offensive intentions the Lions best player is a defensive player, Suh’s tenacity and skill will provide has provided the franchise with their most dynamic player since Barry Sanders.  He is determined to turn this team into a winner and officially restore the roar in Lions football.  While he has the talent to make a difference on his own, he is smart enough to know he can’t do it on his own.   He may have only finished his rookie season, but he already plays and acts like a veteran.

While Detroit may be HockeyTown don’t think Detroit isn’t a football town.  This city has been eagerly awaiting the Lions to finally end their Super Bowl drought and may finally be on the right track. This franchise  has never had a player or leader like Suh and if they can continue to build pieces around him he will do everything he can to make them suhper.

As the NFL gets closer to Super Bowl Sunday, the amount of mock drafts and possible targets for the non-playoff teams begin to grow.  For only the 4th time in the last 11 years the Lions will be picking outside of the top 1o in the draft.  Despite an emergence from the defense this season, the teams greatest weakness is adding more talent on the defensive side of the ball.  It would be a dream scenario for the Lions to find a shut down corner, but their current position in the draft order makes it appear that they will have to go in another direction unless they get lucky (not exactly a Lions strong suit).  The Lions could also stand to add talent and depth along the offensive line, but it the 1st round pick will more than likely be all about defense.

Although the Lions have the #13 in the draft there should still be plenty of playmakers still on the board during their pick.  The top positions the Lions will likely target include; defensive end, cornerback, and linebacker.  Ultimately the Lions will probably take the best play available from these positions.  The players that currently stand out the most are as follows:

Cornerbacks-

Prince Amukamara – Nebraskas Cornhuskers: While he may be a long shot to drop the Lions at 13, if he does there will be no hesitation from them to select Ndamukong Suh’s former teammate.  Amukamara is one of the most talented cornerback prospects in years and would instantly improve the teams secondary in a big way.  Currently it remains unclear if the Lions would consider trading up to select him, but it’s safe to say the team would rather use the draft to fill multiple holes and not trade multiple draft picks for one player.  Despite the unlikely hood of him being available he will still be the team’s ideal choice.

Brandon Harris- Miami Hurricanes: He hasn’t received as much publicity as Amukamara, but he couldn’t be a bad consolation prize.  He is an aggressive play maker who has a nose for the ball and has made breaking up passes look extraordinarily easy.  He lacks the height of the top two cornerbacks in this draft, but his swagger and confidence would force quarterbacks to simply not throw the ball his way.

Defensive Ends-

Robert Quinn- Nother Carolina Tarheels: His versatility would allow the Lions to use him at either defensive end or outside linebacker.  His speed making him a threat to make a big play every snap and his tackling his relentless.

Adrain Clayborn- Iowa Hawkeyes: He doesn’t have the fastest first step and did assault a cab driver before this past college season, but his motor and foot/hand work are on second to none.

J. J. Watt- Wisconsin Badgers: Watt plays with the passion and aggressiveness that any coach would love to have on their defense.  This maybe a little early for his services, but his attitude and skill set will make him a very intriguing option.

Da’Quan Bowers Clemson Tigers: He is one of the most talented players in this draft, but he lacks the motor of some of his competition.  Despite all of his talent Bowers has developed a history of disappearing in games, but the upside he presents in his power and speed will be tough to ignore.

Linebackers:

Akeem Ayers- UCLA Bruins: He is a beast who tracks the ball well and punishes the ball carrier at the point of attack.  Ayers has tremendous speed and would give the Lions much needed help for fellow linebacker DeAndre Levy.

Dont’a Hightower – Alabama Crimson Tide: He has tremendous versatility that allow him to play inside and outside.  He handles short passes as well as the run and is an absolute freak of nature.  Hightower’s main weakness is dropping back into coverage playing in space, but that is something he could certainly improve on.

Not only have the Detroit Lions seemed to have turned a corner with their 4 game win streak to end the season, but they are also slowly climbing the ranks as a destination for free agents.  Obviously Detroit is a long ways from becoming one of the league’s top spots for free agents, but they are definitely taking a step in the right direction.  Last season the Lions signed two of the top free agents in wide receiver Nate Burleson and defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch, although Vanden Bosch was lost for the end of the season both players had a very positive impact on the team.  Vanden Bosch is a leader for the defense and helped set the tone for a unit that turned into one of the top defensive lines in all of football.  While Burleson had his struggles early on he eventually turned into the play maker the Lions craved to have along side Calvin Johnson.  Neither player may be a household name, but this success in free agency shows that Detroit isn’t a place for careers to die anymore.  Granted it’s only one season, but when you put these successful signings alongside the young nucleus the team has created with Ndamukong Suh, Calvin Johnson, Jahvid Best, Brandon Pettigrew, Louis Delmas, Cliff Avril, DeAndre Levy and Matthew Stafford all the sudden one of the least talented teams is only a few players away from contending.  Coach Jim Schwartz also explained to WDFN’s Matt Shepphard other reasons why Detroit will be a draw for free agents:

“I really don’t think the record has as much to do with it as much as the organization, coaching staff, the other players that are on this team and the city.  All of those things will make this an attractive place for free agents.”

First and foremost the Lions most focus on signing their own free agents, locking up Cliff Avril must be a top priority, and it’s impossible to predict what the free agent market could truly look like until we know if there will be a season or not.  However despite early criticisms of both GM Martin Mayhew and coach Jim Schwartz, both have done an excellent job of identifying talent and making players want to play for what used to be one of the sorriest teams in football.

Robin Buckson / The Detroit News

The Lions have finished the season on a 4 game winning streak, and finished the season tied for 3rd in the NFC North, going 6-10 on the year.  Celebrating a 6-10 season in the NFL is rare, but considering the Lions are coming off of 2-14 and 0-16 seasons it is definitely a step in the right direction.  The Lions were supposed to use this season to prove they were finally on the right track, a goal they have seemingly achieved. While it remains to be seen if Matthew Stafford can stay healthy the Lions offense has shown enough signs to be successful without him.  Granted the Lions are far better off if he is healthy, but towards the end of the year the team was able to efficiently pass and run the ball, with Shaun Hill, Drew Stanton and their numerous play makers in Calvin Johnson, Jahvid Best, Brandon Pettigrew and Nate Burleson.  However the main positive that can be taken away from this season has been that the Lions have learned how to win.

They spent the bulk of the season playing their usual style where they do there best to find new ways to lose, but the final 4 games they were able to find the right chemistry to finally close games out.  While there victories came at the end of the season which makes it harder to interpret the interest of their importance the Lions can only focus on themselves.  For the longest time they have been their own worst enemy, constantly helping teams beat them.  Winning in the NFL is hard enough, but as the Lions have proved, it’s nearly impossible when you constantly make life easy for your opponents.  Hopefully the Lions this recent success will transcend to next season.

Heading into the offseason the Lions are in need of another successful draft and would be wise to use free agency to add depth (assuming there is a season next year).  Defensively the Lions appear to be some help in the secondary away from one of the better units in the league.  The Lions will likely use the draft draft to focus on acquiring a cornerback (possibly Nebraska’s Prince Amukamara), linebacker to help out DeAndre Levy, another safety and offensive lineman (amazing how much having a solid guard like Rob Simms has transformed this line to be above average).  Cleary the Lions still have plenty of work to do, on and off the field, but it would appear the team can take pride in finally being on the right track to success.  Of course this could also be just another way for the Lions to break their fans hearts, but we won’t worry about that, with out hope what would Lions fans have?

J PAT CARTER / Associate Press

Heading into this season Calvin Johnson was looking to bounce back from a dismal 2009 season and prove he deserves to be considered amongst the league’s elite.  Not only was this supposed to be a big season for Johnson, but also a break out year for quarterback Matthew Stafford.  Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford were going to use this season to jump start the Lions offense and put them on track to finally winning.  Unfortunately Stafford didn’t make it out of the first half and the Lions lost the game after Calvin Johnson apparently didn’t complete the process with the game winning catch.

It would have been easy for Johnson to blame another sub par season on playing the bulk of the season with 2nd and 3rd string quarterbacks, but Johnson did the exact opposite.  Johnson is on the verge of a career best season, only needing 2 catches to top his personal best (78)  and has already achieved career highs in touchdowns (12) and yards (1, 120).  It’s no surprise to see Johnson take the league by storm considering his many talents, but the fact that he was able to have this kind of success while playing 3 different quarterbacks, puts him on a whole other level.  He is the first wide receiver to make a Pro Bowl with 3 different starting quarterback since the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Jimmy Smith did it back in 1998.

Although the Lions season didn’t turn out the way many had predicted they have used this season to identify their strengths and weaknesses.  The Lions will have to wait until next season to give Matthew Stafford another shot at staying healthy, but after all of those seasons of drafting wide receivers it looks like they have finally found their star receiver in Calvin Johnson.  Last season will be the final year of his rookie contract, and many have suggested the Lions entertain trading their star to re-build the team, but Johnson is too special to not build around.  Despite all of their struggles the Lions have finally begun to learn how to win games as this season comes to an end, and Calvin Johnson has been one of the biggest reasons for their success.

The Lions have always been on the cusp on owning this city, the only thing standing in their way is winning.  While the Red Wings have been far and away the most successful team of late, their steady dominance has been easy to take for granted.  They have found the perfect blend of leaders in the front office and players to build and maintain a winning team over the last 20 years, arguably better than any other franchise in all of sports.  However despite this success they still find themselves struggling to keep up with the popularity of delusional Lions fans.

While they occasionally have their games blacked out the Lions still find ways to sell more tickets than every Detroit team.  The Lions have been the opposite of the Red Wings, as they have been poorly run and consistently put one of the least talented teams on the field.  It’s hard to believe that fans are now begging for the success of the Wayne Fontes and Bobby Ross era’s, where the team was at least always in the mix for a playoff spot.  I suppose the Lions fall the last decade as one of the worst teams in sports will do that. Needless to say no other team dominates Detroit radio shows, newspapers and media coverage like the Lions do.  Fans have been so patient and desperate for this team to finally turn it around that no one wants to give up on this team in fear of missing the team that finally turns things around.

Robin Buckson / The Detroit News

One of the greatest tragedies in Detroit sports history was the Lions not finding a way to build a winner around Barry Sanders.  He was one the best running backs in NFL history, a must see player who had this city’s attention from day one.  Unfortunately the Lions inability to win drove him to an early retirement and subsequently led to the Lions most recent decent.  The team has failed to obtain a similar player who has the talent to lead this team back to even a .500 record.  However this past offseason the Lions finally drafted another franchise player in Ndamukong Suh.  Although his career is only 12 games old he is already playing on a Pro Bowl level, and is quickly establishing himself as one of the best defensive tackles and most feared defenders in the NFL.  Suh has also played a major role in turning the Lions defensive lines into one of the better units in the league.  Aside from his talent on the field he has also embraced the Detroit sports community as he is frequently seen at Pistons and Red Wings games.

This team will clearly need plenty of help from Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson, Cliff Avril, Louis Delmas and to add help in the secondary and on the offensive line, but Suh is taking over as the team’s leader.  As Barry Sanders proved it will take more than one player to turn this tortured franchise around, but Ndamukong Suh is proving to be the building block who can finally lead this team to becoming relevant once again.

Daniel Mears / The Detroit News

Although rookie Ndamukong Suh has stolen all of the headlines, and rightfully so, the Lions have another young star emerging in defensive end Cliff Avril.  In his third year in the league he brought tenacity to the Lions defense, developing constant pressure on the quarterback and turning into quite the playmaker.  So far this season he has produced 7 sacks and should reach the match his sack total of the last 2 years (11.5) with ease before the season is over with.  While there has been few highlights for the season as the Lions continue to struggle to find ways to win games, they can take solace in how improved their defensive line has become.

Expectations rose for Avril this offseason after the Lions drafted Ndamukong Suh, and signed Kyle Vanden Bosch this past offseason.  However he has stepped up to the challenge and taken his game to the next level.  Avril may be in a contract year, but he has been steadily improving the past two years, and now that the Lions actually have talent on their defensive line defenses are struggling to contain him.

He had a breakout game yesterday against the Bears contributing 3 sacks, 4 tackles (3 for a loss) and constantly put pressure on Jay Cutler all game long.  The Lions will have many issues to address this offseason (cornerback, linebackers, offensive lineman and adding depth), but re-signing Avril must be one of their top priorities.