Lions to "shut down" Bullocks

Lions S Daniel Bullocks just can't seem to shake his injury troubles.

Tom Kowalski at MLive.com reports that what Lions Coach Jim Schwartz had to say about Bullocks wasn't really specific, but wasn't really good, either:

"We're going to shut him down for a little while and then sort of take it slow again with an eye toward with getting him back on the field," Schwartz said. "He's not day-to-day, he's a little bit longer than that, but I'd like to get him back on the field sooner rather than later."

Since a major right knee injury in a preseason game in 2007, Bullocks has had trouble with the knee, Killer reports.

Schwartz is not planning to move on without Bullocks at this point, but acknowledged that "every day he misses, he's missing things and he's getting a little bit farther behind," according to Killer's article.

Obviously you hope for the best for Bullocks, but unfortunately, there's nothing to indicate more rest in the preseason is going to help his knee. This has been going on for years now. Marquand Manuel, Stuart Schweigert or Kalvin Pearson will likely need to step up on the other side of Louis Delmas.

Discuss in The Den.

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Delmas, Others, Miss Wednesday's Practice

The Detroit Lions held out several players from Wednesday morning's practice session, including rookie safety Louis Delmas, according to mlive's Tom Kowalski.

Delmas had swelling in his knee following Tuesday's afternoon practice. The injury isn't considered serious, and he will be listed as day-to-day. The same applies to receiver Calvin Johnson (right hand), who told Kowalski "I'm fine, it's not bothering me. Fellow safety and possible starter Daniel Bullocks (knee), tight ends Brandon Pettigrew (thigh) and Casey FitzSimmons (ankle), DT Grady Jackson, and RB Maurice Morris (leg) also missed practice, according to Kowalski. The Lions don't anticipate any of the players missing much practice time. Most of the moves were for precautionary reasons.

Discuss Lions training camp, and your thoughts on the 2009 season, in The Den message board.

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Will Delmas' partner at S please stand up?

Culpepper vs. Stafford? Nah. We all know how that one ends, eventually.

What's shaping up to be the biggest competition of training camp is who will start at safety opposite rookie Louis Delmas (who's already looking great and cemented his position).

Tom Kowalski at MLive.com reports that while there's no official depth chart yet, Kalvin Pearson has been playing with the first unit opposite Delmas. Daniel Bullocks, who started 15 games last year, has gotten time with the second and third units, Killer writes -- but that could be just because he was limited in practice due to injuries earlier in the year.

Then there's newcomer Marquand Manuel, who started 14 games with the Denver Broncos last year.

Writes Killer:

Pearson averaged 10 tackles per game in his first four games of full-time duty but then his play started to drop off. Before a season-ending 10-tackle game against the Green Bay Packers, Pearson was averaging just five tackles for the previous seven games.

Pearson is 5-foot-9 and 200 pounds, and his lack of size might have been a contributing factor, but Pearson doesn't buy it. Neither does Schwartz.

"If you said size was an issue last year for (Tennessee cornerback) Cortland Finnegan, he's 5-9 and maybe 185 pounds, but he's incredibly durable," Schwartz said. "I don't want to put (Pearson) into a box, so to speak, and say he can't hold up for the season. I want to keep an open mind and give him an opportunity."

Pearson puts his production drop on his playing every special teams down while starting.

And the winner is ... Anthony Henry? A lot of folks speculate Henry's future is at safety. But I'm starting to think that might not happen, for the simple reason that CB doesn't look like a position of depth or strength. If a third CB can emerge allowing Henry to be shifted, the Lions abysmal secondary will get slightly deeper and a little more talented.

Talk about it in The Den!

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Training Camp Battles: Defensive Backs

Today I'll take a look at the safeties and cornerbacks and try to make hay of how the position group might settle out. The defensive backs are probably the toughest group on the team to project out because not only is it unsettled, it is mostly composed of veteran castoffs and young players set adrift by other organizations. Detroit figures to go into the season with 8-9 dbs on the roster and right now it is hard to really argue more than about five guys have better than tenuous positions on the team.

Safeties

Louis Delmas. I can't possibly write anything that hasn't been discussed exhaustively in the Den and elsewhere. scottallen222 started a thread that got extensive contributions Here. Chance of making roster: 100%

Kalvin Pearson. Earned some impressive copy out of the OTAs, Pearson is probably the favorite right now to win the second starting job. He's limited and probably shouldn't be a full-time player but for now he's the best Detroit has. Chance of making roster: 90%

Marquand Manuel. I expect him to compete hard for the starting spot opposite Delmas, and I also don't expect him to win it. He really isn't very good. He's got a lot of experience with a number of teams, none of which were too motivated to keep him. He was cut two years ago after the first year of a five year deal. Yeesh. Even so, I think he'll show enough that Schwartz will have a hard time cutting him. Chance of making roster: 80%

Daniel Bullocks. That Bullocks is the most experience returning safety is a testament to [something]. I don't think anyone outside of Allen Park has either a great feel for exactly how talented Bullocks is or how much potential remains. I expect we'll have a better idea after this summer. I expect Bullocks to make the roster as the fourth safety but it wouldn't be a huge upset to see him cut. Considering that Gerald Alexander was competing against Pearson, Manuel, and Bullocks it is a bit scary that he was expendable so quickly. Chance of making roster: 75%

Stuart Schweigert. Had a couple of really promising years for the Raiders before going over a cliff a couple of years ago, losing his starting gig and then getting cut twice in training camp last summer. He was signed by Detroit to replace LaMarcus Hicks so I guess he might have a better shot of making this year's team but I don't think his odds are good. Chance of making roster: 30%

LaMarcus Hicks. Still has some practice squad eligibility, and Detroit might stash him there until they need him. Chance of making roster: 20%

Tra Battle. It is tough to distinguish his chances from Schweigert's or Hicks'. Like Hicks, Battle still has practice squad eligibility so he may find a spot there. Chance of making roster: 20%

Cornerbacks

AtticusSpeaks provided an excellent treatment of the Lions' corners a few days ago. I could do the same but it would look very familiar to those who read Atticus'. Instead I'll just roll through the suspects with only a couple of comments.

Philip Buchanon. Starter. Chance of making roster: 100%

Anthony Henry. Starter by default. His presence might force Schwartz and Gunther to keep one more corner and one fewer safety. Chance of making roster: 100%

Eric King. Nickel. I sort of think he will be starting before the end of the year. Chance of making roster: 90%

Keith Smith. Dime, I guess. Chance of making roster: 60%

Ramzee Robinson. Mister Irrelevant. Chance of making roster: 30%

Chris Roberson. Practice squadder. Chance of making roster: 5%

As Atticus points out, the cornerbacks are a wasteland. A year ago Detroit arguably had better corners than they do today. While it is impossible for this year's group to be worse than the '08 flavor, it is just as easy to argue that they won't be much better, particularly as injuries expose their lack of depth.

Discuss this Here, in The Den

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Marquand Manuel says don't hold his frequent travels against him

Good little article from Nick Cotsonika at Freep.com on new Lions S Marquand Manuel.

The Lions are Manuel's sixth team in eight seasons.

But as well-traveled as he has been, he has also played well enough to appear in 111 games -- regular season and playoffs combined -- and to start 55 of them, including Super Bowl XL at Ford Field.

"Some people look at it like, 'Oh, you've been on a lot of teams,' " Manuel said. "I've started on every team I've been on -- not one game, not two games, but 14, 15, 16 starts."

Manuel said it was coaching changes and free agency that led to all of the movement.

Manuel said his experience has helped him pick up the Lions' defense, which is similar to what he ran with the Seahawks.

It should help him compete for playing time against rookie Louis Delmas and veterans Daniel Bullocks, Kalvin Pearson and Stuart Schweigert.

My take? Safety is shaping up to be one of the bigger question marks on the team. The Lions most definitely need somebody to emerge as solid on the other side of Delmas. I suppose Manuel has as much of a shot as the others.

Discuss in The Den!

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Tom K.: Lions would have cut Alexander anyway; safety looking weak after Delmas

MLive's Tom Kowalski seems to think the Lions trade of S Gerald Alexander for WR/KR Dennis Northcutt was worthwhile, if only because Alexander probably wasn't going to make the Lions' roster anyway, and if he did, he wouldn't have seen a lot of playing time.

The Lions checked the tape on Alexander to see if there was any noticeable decline in play before his neck injury last year. They "didn't see much difference in his production," and "didn't feel that Alexander had enough playmaking ability to be a factor in the defense," Killer says.

As it stands now, Louis Delmas is the only solid starter at S, according to Killer. Kalvin Pearson has been taking number-one reps opposite Delmas, but is viewed as more of a backup. Like Alexander, another former second-round pick at S has something to prove, 2006 draftee Daniel Bullocks.

My take? I'm beginning to understand the drafting of Delmas more and more. With offseason roster changes smoke clearing, it looks like safety is one of the weaker spots left on the team.

If Pearson and Bullocks don't have major bounce-back years; if Delmas isn't all that's advertised; or if Marquand Manual and/or Stuart Schweigert don't show up and make plays, things could get ugly -- again.

What's your take? Discuss it in The Den!

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Killer: Bullocks has a lot to prove

A fairly nasty fly has been found in Lions' fans' collective optimism ointment.  It's been widely presumed that rookie safety Louis Delmas will occupy a starting spot next to returning young veteran Daniel Bullocks--but apparently that's far from settled.  Oh, Delmas can be pencilled in, alright, but it's Bullocks's job that's in question.  While most who watched the games intently last year remembered seeing flashes of "the old Bullocks" early on, apparently that didn't last all season.  Killer goes on to insinuate that Bullock's bad angles and bad tackling were the cause of the long runs we saw reeled off against the Lions by Carolina, Tennesee, and other teams.

This is disheartening.  Between this, and the question marks around Gerald Alexander, safety has gone from a position where the Lions had two talented young starters, to having one talented young starter and a pile of questionably-useful veterans.  Indeed, after spending three secound-round draft picks at safety in four years, the Lions still might have a hole back there.

Discuss it here, in The Den!

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