Fantasy meets Reality...

[Tha Franchise]

There are some really great minds on this forum. Many of which I believe could do a better job than our beloved Mayhew. I am tired of waiting for news, and then trying to sell myself on it. Mayhew tried to cover his rear by insinuating it was a great move to let Avril walk because we signed "2" players for that price. Really?

We paid Chris Houston, Jeff Backus, and Lawrence Jackson less than KVB last year. Who paid KVB? The Ravens just paid Flacco enough money that they could have resigned half their D. Knowing that we got BOTH Delmas and Willie Young for Avril's money doesn't make me feel better, it infuriates me.

FYI- drafting isn't that hard

1. Eric Fisher
2. Kyle Long
3. Barrett Jones

Pair them with Rieff and Sims. Cut Raiola, keep Nagy, Fox, and Hilliard for depth. Bet OL in Lions history.

Sign Osi with remaining cap money, and take a flier on Will Gholston in round 4. Draft DBs in rounds 5 and 6, and in round 7 draft a FB and TE for depth and special teams.

My point? We are pretending some kid like Ansah or Millner is going to change something. They won't because the problem is Gun. Coaching is everything. Payton starts calling plays in New Orleans and Drees Bree's becomes a Hall of Famer. What about the Texans D losing Mario Williams and becoming twice as good? It is Phillips scheme.

Drafting Ansah won't help anything. He won't have the support, coaching, scheme, or leadership to progress....

QB is vital don't get me wrong. Coaching can enhance that position, but not create ability. Teams reach for the Ponder, Gabbert, and Weeden types because they are desperate to land their Franchise face. Yet it is blatantly obvious that Ponder is not physically or mentally comparable to Luck or Matt Ryan, and they do it anyway out of desperation.

Remember the DHB pick?
The Tyson Alualu pick?
Ted Ginn?
Big Mike Williams?

We as fans know when a stupid pick was made. Just the eyeball test should help avoid some of those blunders. Aaron Gibson being 400 pounds t 22 years old should have been a sign. Claret was a head case, fat, and ran a 4.7 forty. The broncos still drafted him in 3. How many thought Atebow was a first round QB? DHB had like 600 yards in the ACC with questionable hands and route running.

We could also draft

1. Dee Millner
2. Jonathan Cyprien
3. Sio Moore
4. Will Gholston

Assume we didn't sign Delmas

We sign Avril.

DE- Avril/Young
DT- Suh
DT- Fairley/late round pick
DE- Jason Jones/Gholston

OLB- Sio Moore/Tahir Whitehead
MLB- Tulloch/Lewis
OLB- Levy/Palmer

CB- Millner/Bentley
FS- quin/Spievey
SS-Cyprien/?
CB- Houston/Green

You build to a strength. Pick one. OL or DB should have been the focus, but letting Avril walk cheap created another hole we shouldn't have had...

[SadLionFan00]

So your whole point was we shouldnt have let Cliff walk?

I disagree. We offerred him what the FO thought he was worth, he took more elsewhere. It happens.

Besides, our scheme is so DE friendly we can find an adequate replacement. No, not as good as Avril, but a guy to get the job done.
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[LionsFTW]

Letting Avril walk infuriates you? He didn't even want to be here anymore and frankly, I didn't even want him back. He was given the franchise tag last year, which puts him in the same category as Julius Peppers, Michael Johnson, Richard Seymour, Jared Allen, etc. and he responded with a season that graded him out as the 8th worst 43 DE in the NFL last season. And he did this rushing the passer next to Suh and Fairley.

Mayhew did what he needed to do. Let him go. He was turning into a Darelle Revis, as he has complained about a contract each of the last 3 seasons, but hadn't come close to being the product Revis is.

Good riddance, imo.
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[LD26Nasty]

Avril is a product of an above average interior defensive line. I fully expect Willie Young to put up comparable numbers if given ample PT.
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Adopt a Lion: Lawrence "LoJack" Jackson

[WE-R-Lions]

I'm fine with letting Cliff walk based on cost. It would have been great if he stayed because he knows the Def scheme, but as a third rd pick and his talent level I feel he's reached his playing ceiling.

Although it's another hole, the draft is so deep with DE's this year we should be able match/exceed his talent level at a lower cost. Long term it was a good move considering the cap and the added players.

[stylish313]

[stylish313]

[IDOG_det]

Avril isn't worth what he wanted, and I'd have a hard time giving him the 2 years 15 million. Also, you say drafting is so easy, but draft picks don't always pan out. Drafting 3 lineman could bolster our line for years, or all 3 could bust because they weren't worth their draft slot. Are Fisher, Long, and Jones guaranteed to be good players? Hell no. Should we rely on 3 rookie OLmen? HELL no. Besides, Delmas is a better S than Avril is a DE and came cheaper. And, why can't Ansah be a good player here? Because there no leaders? That's not a good reason at all. If he can play, he can play.
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Kate Upton for sexy President!!!
Travi$ Scott is better than you

^^^^Kempes on the sig^^^^

"The original Ezekiel Ansah fan"

[MrDirt]

[skatebeanz]

OL can still be a strength.

I'm not sure where you are going with this. Avril didn't get a contract form anywhere. He is getting paid 2/13M the year after we offered him 3/30M. He wasn't that good last year so he wasn't paid like it.

Also fans can't draft either.

How is Aaron Curry or Jason Smith doing? 2 safe picks that the fans wanted. What about Rolando McClain? He is a stud huh?

There is more than just picking names. The staff needs to make sure they fit into our schemes.

As far as the coaching... Of course coaching matters. Our "D" is Jim's scheme IMO. Not Gunny's. Houston is stacked with talent too. Barwin is being paid more after leaving there than any defender on our team not named Suh. That was a guy they let walk. After leaving there Mario Williams is making more than any defender in the NFL. Good teams have good players. There is no Oregon football in the NFL where they win and win and win yet have no All Americans (All Pros).

The best teams have some of the best players.
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[WE-R-Lions]

[LionsFTW]

[stylish313]

[stylish313]

[Laimbrane]

I'd also like to point out some "stupid" picks teams made...

Mario Williams over Reggie Bush
Matt Stafford over Aaron Curry
Bruce Irvin was a "terrible reach," yet had 8 sacks last year as a rookie.
The Panthers "reached" for Cam Newton.
The Falcons gave up WAAAAY too much for Julio Jones
Everyone called Trent Williams a reach, but he's a team captain and a Pro Bowler.
Many called JPP a reach
Sam Baker and Chris Johnson were considered reaches.
Dwight Freeney may be the most famous reach of all time.

Enjoy this one: http://www.nfl-draft-site.com/2008/05/2008-nfl-draft-grades.html

It goes both ways - some picks are good, some are bad, and it's this way for every team. Some are surprises that pan out. Other guys get labelled definite "steals" but never have pro careers that amount to anything. We fans are working on limited information - we don't know what medical records, interviews, etc. reveal about a player. We've never talked to people around them. We see video tape (mostly highlights), listen to the net experts, and base our opinions on that, but there's SOOO much more to scouting that we don't have access to. (We've also been burned by nearly a decade of bad drafting with Millen and his cavalcade of coaches looking to "coach up talent.")

If drafting wasn't that hard, GMs would nail the picks every time. But they don't, and fans are no better than they are.