Lions liking their jumbo RB package

The clunker in Cleveland had a few bright spots -- at least for Lions coaches.

Coach Jim Schwartz and others were pleased with a power-run package featuring FBs Terrelle Smith and Jerome Felton that gave the Browns trouble, Carlos Monarrez reports at Freep.com.

The success of the big boys against the Browns' 3-4 defense bodes well for the regular season, as the Lions play seven teams that primarily run a 3-4, Monarrez writes:

"I think it's going to be productive package for us," coach Jim Schwartz said Tuesday.

Schwartz explained that the gaps in a 3-4 defense push defenders to the side, forcing them to tackle at an angle.

"And when guys are making side tackles, you need north-south running backs that can run through arm tackles, real strong guys like that," he said. "And I think that package fits us real well in that circumstance.

"We really haven't broken it out in any short-yardage situations, but it's available to use there. We could use it in a lot of different plays: goal-line, short-yardage and also some attitude-type plays."

But Brian VanOchten at MLive.com apparently sees it differently. He calls a short-yardage back "a glaring need" for the Lions, and suggests they re-sign former Lion and Michigan Stater T.J. Duckett, who was just cut by the Seahawks.

My take? It's difficult to assess the Lions' running game in its totality because Maurice Morris, who will play a major role behind emerging Kevin Smith, has been injured. Anything the running game can do to take pressure off "asked to do everything" WR Calvin Johnson -- and maybe a rookie starting QB, Matthew Stafford -- is a big, big plus.

Discuss in The Den!

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Put The Nooses Away

Put the hemlock tea bags back up. Unload the 12 gauge. It wasn't that bad. Really.

Okay, so it was pretty bad, but if you maintain a comfortably pessimistic philosophy regarding the Lions, then it is actually pretty easy to find some of the bright spots in an otherwise uninspiring and borderline disastrous game. Drew Sharp, the only local writer I know of who is more cynical than me regarding the Lions wrote

It looks like they're already in regular-season form.

This is exactly why the Lions are certifiably nuts should quarterbacking savior du jour Matthew Stafford start when the March to 0-32 begins in earnest in New Orleans on Sept. 13. It's counterproductive exposing a rookie quarterback to a team apparently still hell-bent on creating as insurmountable an early obstacle as possible.

in an otherwise rambling column. He also wrote

If attitudes are indeed changing and Schwartz is indeed the right messenger, he should quickly make it clear that these Lions remain too fundamentally weak defensively to needlessly risk sentencing the future face of this franchise to the football gallows.

and while I agree, I fail to understand how this is surprising to anyone. Detroit's biggest flaw in 2009 was the defense, and not biggest by a little, but rather biggest by a lot. Despite multiple quarterback injuries, the Lions demonstrated a modestly decent offense last year with Calvin Johnson and Kevin Smith leading a reasonable two-way threat. It wasn't remotely good enough to overcome an awful defense, nor was it good enough to lead the way to any kind of contention even with a defense approaching average. It just wasn't the reason that Detroit went winless.

And over the winter Detroit followed their pattern of the last 8 seasons to fix the defense, they brought in a number of veteran free agents while waiting til the middle rounds to focus on their defensive holes. It is entirely predictable that their 2009 defense will resemble their 2008 defense. I expect it will be better, but nowhere near good.

So if we go into this whole thing accepting that it will be another long year, it is much easier to enjoy the small victories, knowing that the big ones aren't coming.

Stafford Okay, he didn't play well. Not even a little. But better for the faithful to see it now, then to have unrealistic expectations build throughout the preseason. The pressure for Detroit to play the kid is officially off and the Lions can go into the season with Stafford on a natural developmental trajectory, rather than a forced one that is more likely to end in disaster.

Jerome Felton He really played well, coming in with Culpepper midway through the 2nd quarter and immediately getting three consecutive runs for a first down. After an up-and-down rookie year exclusively at fullback I think we can hope that Felton may be able to fill a bigger role as part of a two-headed tandem that may really wear down opposing defenses.

Culpepper For the second consecutive week he looked very comfortable running the Lion offense. He showed great patience and good mobility in the backfield to stretch out plays. He was effective at waiting for plays to open and then throwing very catchable balls.

DeAndre Levy He whiffed on one of the Cribbs returns but otherwise was very effective, making plays all over the field including a great open-field tackle on special teams.

Jordan Dizon Is starting to really come on after a washed-out rookie season.

Sammy Lee Hill After an underwhelming first game, Hill seemed to consistently get a good push inside. He didn't show up on the stat sheet but he spent much of his time in Cleveland's backfield disrupting things.

Nick Harris Just killed it, averaging 50 yards over his 7 punts. Unfortunately the 22 yard average on returns ruined his net average, but that speaks more the quality of the two return teams and Josh Cribbs, rather than to Harris. He wasn't kicking line drives.

So see? There you go, a nice handful of positive takeaways from last night's game and that was only on one viewing. So forget the sleeping pills, don't lock yourself in the garage with the car idling. It's another day and the Lions are pretty much the same as they were two days ago.

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Position Battles: Offensive Backfield

As we close in on training camp I thought it would be fun to take a look at the different position groupings and discuss some of the position battles we have to anticipate. I'm going to concentrate a little more on more off-the-grid fights. Stafford versus Culpepper is certainly compelling, but that has already gotten a great deal of digital ink, and will certainly get a great deal more.

Third Quarterback

Drew Stanton v Himself. If there is any role on this team that is the cliche 'player's job to lose' it is this one. There has been a lot of disagreement both in The Den as well as in the popular press, talk shows, and ... well ... everywhere about whether Stanton has gotten a fair shake. Really that is all irrelevant though, going into this season. He has every opportunity to make enough of an impression on Schwartz and Linehan that they will be comfortable with him as the backup QB if the need arises. If the Lions start shopping for veteran backups in August then Stanton is probably bound for points Calgary.

Third Running Back

There seems to be little likelihood that 34k or Morris can be dislodged from their positions at the top of the depth chart so that probably leaves one spot for third back, with the potential for a fourth who can also return kicks.

The contenders:

Aaron Brown. The recently signed 6th rounder out of Texas Christian is somewhat unlikely to make the team on the back of his running skills. He alternated with Joe Turner last year at TCU, displaying some breakaway skills and receiving ability, so there may be some potential for him to develop into a 3rd down back. Brown appears to have been drafted for his kick return skills. He finished 8th in the country in KR average (over 10 attempts) while returning a handful of punts with more modest success. If Brown breaks camp with the team he will likely be the primary kickoff returner.

Allen Ervin. A rare holdover from 2008, Ervin was something of a training camp favorite last year before landing on the practice squad. He was never activated during 2008 and appears to be a significant longshot to make the team.

Aveion Cason. Long time veteran whose flexible range of modest skills see him popping back up on the roster every year or two. Perhaps (hopefully), this is the year that Detroit is able to replace him permanently. With the drafting of Brown and Derrick Williams, as well as the trade for Dennis Northcutt it appears that Mayhew/Schwartz place a premium on upgrading the return game, a goal that obviously bodes ill for Cason. Cason's best chance to secure a roster spot is probably as an in-season roster replacement, a role he has filled repeatedly. In his five Lion seasons he has only broken camp with the team one time.

Antone Smith. A message board favorite. An undrafted free agent out of Florida State he was a priority signing by the Lions after the draft. He led the Seminoles with 15 touchdowns in '08, complemented by a somewhat modest rushing total. At 5'8" , #190 Smith is a smaller back, fast but unlikely to break any stopwatches. Football Outsiders developed a metric called Speed Score that has a reasonable correlation to future NFL success for running backs (Bill Barnwell discusses it a bit Here). With a speed score of a bit under 98 Smith is a bit behind the curve. As a one cut runner lacking much elusiveness his NFL potential is fairly limited. He is probably more of a practics squad candidate than a true competitor for a roster spot.

If it appears that I am a little dim on the prospects for third running back out of this group it is because I am. Perhaps one of the younger guys will surprise and force his way on to the roster.

Fullbacks

Jerome Felton. The Lions could keep either one or both of these guys, so this may not be a true battle. Felton impressed enough to win the starting job in Colleto's offense to begin the year, before getting hurt and ceding the spot to Moran Norris. As a second year player Felton is probably a decent favorite to make the roster and would probably have to lose his spot at this point.

Terrelle Smith. Fresh from starting in the Super Bowl for Arizona Smith joined the Lions as a long-time veteran, having blocked for Deuce McAllister early in his career, Edgerrin James late, with a regular job with the Browns in between. Smith is an accomplished special teamer and a solid blocker and provides a very good option in the event that Felton is injured or cut.

Tomorrow: The wide receivers.

Discuss it Here in The Den.

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