Detroit Lions 2009 Thread

[rwfan007 18]

Well, we needed a TE too, but I thought O-line and LB would be more of a priority. Pettigrew should be good for the offense and I have heard he is a good blocker too.

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

Woulda picked up Oher personally. The line is the thing that needs the most improvement so I'm a bit surprised they didn't go there. Pettigrew seems like an alright pick.

[betterREDthandead 58]

Pettigrew?!?! Jesus H. ******* Christ. Does anyone remember last year's s***ty ******* defense? At all? The defense is dead ******* last in every ******* category imaginable and they've got two first round picks and they spend them on offense? What the f***?? f***. f*** f*** f***. Mayhew is a ******* slack-jawed idiot. Millen must be still making these picks, and the Eagles traded up to get Maclin cause they know it. Damn it. God damn it.

[Vincanni 1]

Would have preferred Oher, or any LB left other than Pettigrew. Can't wait to see what offensive need we'll be addressing with our 33rd pick *shudder*

[betterREDthandead 58]

Rant part 2. Tight end is the least important position on the team. The least. I'd rather have a Pro Bowl punter than a Pro Bowl tight end. Seriously. It's a god damn luxury. What do you give the team that has everything? A TE. What do you give the team that has the worst run defense, the worst pass defense, the worst defensive line, the worst linebackers, and the worst secondary in the entire ******* league? How about a ******* linebacker or something? I don't want to hear this s*** about how Stafford now has another weapon to throw to. Guess what, we gave Harrington weapons too. We gave him Roy Williams and we gave him BMW. You know what we didn't give him? Any damn protection or a defense that could get him the ball back or preserve a lead. This works out great. f***. The Lions are officially useless for another three years, minimum. Schwartz is f***ed. He'll run up a 10-38 record and never coach in this league again.

[betterREDthandead 58]

Would have preferred Oher, or any LB left other than Pettigrew. Can't wait to see what offensive need we'll be addressing with our 33rd pick *shudder*

Probably a goddamn kicker at this rate.

[Vincanni 1]

Probably a goddamn kicker at this rate.

Hanson is getting pretty old, so I honestly wouldn't be too suprised sadly

[BlakChamber 8]

Detroit Lions. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

I at least understand the mentality of taking Stafford at #1. The Lions need a face for the franchise and are hoping he can replicate what Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco did last year. Even though Stafford is a true junior and Ryan and Flacco were 5th year seniors. It makes a splash, I get why they did it. I think it was idiotic. Curry or Jason Smith would have been a way better pick. Stafford should just watch a video of Carr's first season with Houston. That's his future. Say hello to Joey Harrington 2.0.

And then a tight end at 20? What the f***?! At this point, I'm expecting the Lions to draft a WR or RB in the second round. God I hate the Lions.

[Vincanni 1]

Still holding onto the glimmer of hope that Rey Maualuga becomes a Lion tonight.

[rwfan007 18]

If Maualuga slips to the Lions at #33 and they pass, that will be an epic fail for the lions organization.

[Vincanni 1]

Would have liked Ziggy Hood too, but now that he's gone Maualuga is a must pick.

[rwfan007 18]

LOL WHO? WTF is up with the Lions?

Edited April 25, 2009 by rwfan007

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

And the Lions draft a guy.

[Vincanni 1]

...I hate this team.

[betterREDthandead 58]

I don't even know who this Delman guy is. I wonder who we'll take next year with the #1 overall pick.

Edit - or Delmas. Whatever.

[BlakChamber 8]

Here's what Yahoo Sports says about Delmas.

Analysis: The Lions have holes just about everywhere on defense and Delmas should be able to start right away. He is an explosive hitter with good athleticism, but has a tendency to gamble and will miss too many tackles.

Three picks and no offensive linemen. Hope Stafford likes the taste of the turf at Ford Field.

[betterREDthandead 58]

Looks like Stafford will wear #9. There's a picture in the Freep of his jersey on display at Ford Field. Interesting. I think the last Lions QB that wore #9 was Rodney Peete.

[Hockeytown Red Wings 245]

I hate the Lions. I hate William Clay Ford Sr. I hate letting myself feel some sort of hope each and every year.

Might some of these guys end up being solid draft picks, sure. But right now, I'm pretty underwhelmed. I mean, a Tight End? That was our most pressing concern?

[betterREDthandead 58]

Maybe the Pettigrew pick was sheer genius. Most of the disappointment I felt about picking Stafford has melted away entirely, replaced by the utter disbelief and anger over totally pissing away the 20th pick on the least important position on the roster. I had just managed to convince myself that teams almost always get a really solid starter at 20th and we could get a linebacker or a lineman almost as likely to start and make an impact as Curry would have been. And then this. I'm sure Pettigrew's a fine player and all and he might well be a Pro Bowl tight end. Great. But can he stuff the run? No. We'll still be 33rd of 32 in rush defense.

[spydrwebb 0]

thoughts about yesterday...

not the draft i (or most of you) would have desired, yet three quality players.

those making comments about stafford and a lack of OL to protect him... he won't likely play this season. trades and free agency can bolster the OL. defense might be a little more difficult at this point but there couldn't honestly be one lions fan on here that thought the draft was going to drastically change this team. i'm reminded of the lipstick on a pig analogy and it fits.

this team is about 3-4 seasons from being a solid contender and the staff (i believe) is working on getting talent and character, to build around in future drafts and free agency.

scouts obviously know more about the players than we do and i had been hearing different reports about some of the marquee names that were passed up at 20 and 33. i'm not convinced it was a good decision to bypass people like oher or laurenitis but i trust the organization to do what they can with what they have. unfortunately, WCF really placed this team in a precarious position when they guaranteed stafford such a high paying contract. that DOES hurt our chances to possibly score some other big name free agents but apparently that's the direction the league is headed and there's no way around it without instituting a rookie salary cap. a cap is absolutely necessary before this gets any further out of hand.

the lions don't have a great track record of finding diamonds in the rough in late rounds but i'm holding onto hope that the new leadership is able to select kids that will work well together and not be a cancer in the locker room. my grade (on the surface) is a C+ at this point, but there's still 4 or 5 picks to consider and hopefully some signings post-draft that will improve the lions chances of winning some games.

let's face it, if the lions win 4-5 games it will be a stellar improvement from last season. a complete turnaround is possible (a la miami) but highly improbable given this personnel. i'm all for choosing versatile and impact players from this point forward, to expand on the re-building process that began at the end of last season.

[betterREDthandead 58]

I'll say this: I've certainly been wrong about drafts in the past. I hated the Charles Rogers pick but liked most of the rest of that draft. Thought Boss Bailey was an awesome pickup. I loved the '04 draft when we got Roy Williams, Kevin Jones, and Teddy Lehman. (Though in fairness, I think I would have been very much vindicated if Jones hadn't always been hurt, since Williams was a Pro Bowler.)

OTOH, I was none too happy about either the Charles Rogers or the BMW picks. I thought the '07 second round in which we had three picks was an absolutely pathetic waste. (Drew Stanton, Gerald Alexander, and that Ikaika guy.) And mark my words, trading out of a spot in which we could have taken Branden Albert last year and instead taking Gosder Cherilus - we will rue that pick for a while. That was a things-get-thrown-at-the-TV pick.

Anyway, it's not that I think Pettigrew will suck. It's that we need a damn defense and don't have one. And it's not that you can just brush off the lack of O-linemen by saying we don't need to protect Stafford this year because he won't play. We still have a quarterback to protect, whether it's Stafford or Culpepper. And if Culpepper gets hurt, what then? Do we throw injury-magnet Stanton out there for the sole purpose of keeping Stafford on the bench?

[spydrwebb 0]

Anyway, it's not that I think Pettigrew will suck. It's that we need a damn defense and don't have one. And it's not that you can just brush off the lack of O-linemen by saying we don't need to protect Stafford this year because he won't play. We still have a quarterback to protect, whether it's Stafford or Culpepper. And if Culpepper gets hurt, what then? Do we throw injury-magnet Stanton out there for the sole purpose of keeping Stafford on the bench?

my comment about OL was less to do with suggesting their lack of importance and more to do with stafford not being the one to take the hit. in other words, people are saying that we destroyed stafford's career by not protecting him... he won't be the one getting hit next season. to answer your question about the possibility of dante getting hurt... yes, i believe they will go with stanton.

none of this gets me excited but its our reality at this point... going 0-16 proved that this will be a LONG road to recovery.

if the lions are able to pull out 2 solid starters from the 3rd round and later... we have to consider this a benefit to our team. thinking this team was going to make a run in the division (not directed at anyone personally, general point) is crazy, bottom line. what's more is the constant hate this organization receives from people who count them out before the season even starts. these people call themselves fans but i call them insane.

one fine example of premature conclusions is the absolute lack of support the franchise received when they drafted calving johnson. he was considered by many to be "just another damn receiver that detroit didn't need." yeah, i would say he's more than proven himself.

this is of course one example in a pool of several failures so i'm not trying to base our potential on one case... but i am saying that these people need to be given their fair opportunity to showcase on the field before they have to endure senseless ridicule from pathetic fanatics who claim to support the lions.

when you step back far enough you begin to see just how many cry baby lions fans are out there, who always (not exaggerating) think they know more and can do more than the people who are paid to perform on the sidelines.

i'm more realistic. a fan, not a fanatic.

followed this team for 31 years... through good, bad, and indifferent.

these people who piss and moan today are no different than the fairweather fans who disowned the wings when they were known as the "dead wings" and then later marched back into their arms with the inception of the russian 5, claiming to have never left.

anyway, in 2-3 years we'll know more about the value of these picks. the day after the draft is NOT a time to be making premature judgment(s).

[betterREDthandead 58]

my comment about OL was less to do with suggesting their lack of importance and more to do with stafford not being the one to take the hit. in other words, people are saying that we destroyed stafford's career by not protecting him... he won't be the one getting hit next season. to answer your question about the possibility of dante getting hurt... yes, i believe they will go with stanton.

none of this gets me excited but its our reality at this point... going 0-16 proved that this will be a LONG road to recovery.

if the lions are able to pull out 2 solid starters from the 3rd round and later... we have to consider this a benefit to our team. thinking this team was going to make a run in the division (not directed at anyone personally, general point) is crazy, bottom line. what's more is the constant hate this organization receives from people who count them out before the season even starts. these people call themselves fans but i call them insane.

one fine example of premature conclusions is the absolute lack of support the franchise received when they drafted calving johnson. he was considered by many to be "just another damn receiver that detroit didn't need." yeah, i would say he's more than proven himself.

this is of course one example in a pool of several failures so i'm not trying to base our potential on one case... but i am saying that these people need to be given their fair opportunity to showcase on the field before they have to endure senseless ridicule from pathetic fanatics who claim to support the lions.

when you step back far enough you begin to see just how many cry baby lions fans are out there, who always (not exaggerating) think they know more and can do more than the people who are paid to perform on the sidelines.

i'm more realistic. a fan, not a fanatic.

followed this team for 31 years... through good, bad, and indifferent.

these people who piss and moan today are no different than the fairweather fans who disowned the wings when they were known as the "dead wings" and then later marched back into their arms with the inception of the russian 5, claiming to have never left.

anyway, in 2-3 years we'll know more about the value of these picks. the day after the draft is NOT a time to be making premature judgment(s).

I actually really liked the Calvin Johnson pick. As a UVA fan I watch a lot of ACC football and saw more Calvin Johnson than I ever wanted to see over four years and he was always one of those guys you just knew would be a stud in the NFL. Total, complete domination, and always a top character guy too. Joe Thomas was my #1 choice for that draft but I was really happy to have Megatron.

I don't senselessly ridicule the players. I ridicule the management. I'm tired of giving them the benefit of the doubt. They no longer deserve it. When the Wings were the Dead Things they were under incompetent, apathetic management from ownership on down and nothing changed until management changed 100%. The Lions are the same.

Hm. The Lions just traded the 3rd round pick.

[BlakChamber 8]

If I recall, when CJ was picked, people were pretty pleased, even it was another WR. It was clear that Rogers and Fat Mike Williams weren't going to cut it, so taking Johnson was a good pick. I don't claim I know more than the guys running the show, but when you've constantly been one of the worst run professional sports teams, why on earth should I think they do have a clue?

[HomeNugget 2]

when you step back far enough you begin to see just how many cry baby lions fans are out there, who always (not exaggerating) think they know more and can do more than the people who are paid to perform on the sidelines.

Can you blame them? What have the people-paid-to-perform-on-the-sidelines done to prove they know more than me? I could build an 0-16 football team easy.