New Orleans paper breaks down the game film

New Orleans Times-Picayune football writer Jeff Duncan has an article analyzing the game film from last Sunday's game.

A couple of points were interesting from the Lions' perspective -- though don't tell anybody anything they didn't see with their own eyes:

FRESH MEAT: The Saints ruthlessly attacked Lions cornerback Eric King, a last-minute replacement for Phillip Buchanon in the starting lineup. The first two touchdowns - a 9-yard catch by Marques Colston and a 39-yarder to Robert Meachem - came against King. Brees also victimized King on the 58-yard strike to Devery Henderson and caught him in single coverage for a 20-yard connection with Lance Moore, who made a spectacular leaping grab. The Saints also were trying to set up King on the failed flea-flicker pass, but rookie safety Louis Delmas did not bite and had Colston covered deep, forcing Brees to go to his second option, Devery Henderson. Further proof that Brees, while a nice guy off the field, is a cold-blooded assasin on it. He showed no mercy on King for four quarters.

Get well soon, Phillip Buchanon.

CALL OF THE GAME: The Saints' second touchdown was a perfect example of offensive deception. The Saints had run the ball on their past two first-down calls. On this play, they lined up in a two-tight end set with fullback Heath Evans and Reggie Bush in the backfield. The lone wideout was Robert Meachem, the team's best run-blocking receiver. The personnel package and alignment screamed "run." The Lions responded accordingly, packing nine defenders in the box. Brees faked a hand-off to Bushand was able to buy enough time in the pocket to find Meachem alone in single coverage in the end zone against cornerback Eric King. A tip of the cap to Sean Payton on that play call. Excellent work.

Did I mention Phillip Buchanon should get well soon?

Duncan said the refs blew it on calling Calvin Johnson out of bounds on that long pass that should have been a touchdown. And he did have words of praise for one Lion:

The Lions got a good one in rookie free safety Louis Delmas. He was all over the field for Detroit and showed tremendous instincts and play-making ability. He flashed excellent speed on his 65-yard fumble return for a TD and also laid out Bush, Moore, Bell and Shockey with big hits. The kid can play.

Discuss in The Den.

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Gunther goes off on defenders "turning down" tackles

Detroit Lions defense, 2008-style, will apparently not be tolerated.

Graham Couch of the Kalamazoo Gazette reports at MLive.com that new Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham was furious after looking at the film of the preseason loss last week to the Cleveland Browns.


"There's not going to be any excuses," Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham said Wednesday minutes after the Lions wrapped up training camp, at least officially. "I can't tolerate it, and I won't. They're either going to tackle, or they're not going to play on this team."

Cunningham was particularly upset about what he perceived as a lack of "want-to" from Lions defenders during an 81-yard run by the Cleveland Browns' James Davis on Saturday.

"I'm flat pissed off, if you want to know the truth," Cunningham said, fuming more and more as he thought about it. "I don't tolerate that. I cannot tolerate turning down a tackle. We had four guys on that play last week turn it down, not miss it, turn it down, in my opinion."

Cunningham said he "exploded" at his defense while reviewing film of the game.

Cornerback Ramzee Robinson was the first to miss Davis, followed by safety LaMarcus Hicks and two other unidentified players.

"What's it like?" Robinson said of being the subject of one of Cunningham's tirades. "I can't put it into words. Just know you want to go to the bathroom right before it happens and come back when it's over.

"No player likes to be called out and be the center of attention on a bad mistake."

This may help explain the play on which Lions rookie S Louis Delmas clocked RB Aveion Cason and started a rather large altercation at practice the other day -- that was the first practice for the defense after Cunningham's blow-up.

Here's hoping Cunningham follows through on his threat to not keep players who are timid when it comes to tackling. It seemed to be a pervasive problem during last year's run to 0-16. At a minimum, it's good to see Gun showing emotion about it, and sharing his feelings with Lions fans.

Last year's head coach Rod Marinelli would refuse to acknowledge stuff like this, would calmly say he'd have to check the film before discussing it, and then would never follow up with the public on his feelings or what he was going to do about it.

They're talking about it in The Den!

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Tackling, secondary big concerns -- sound familiar?

Two snippets I found interesting from Detroit News football writer John Niyo's column today:

Special teams is an area of emphasis with the new coaching staff. But that was hardly apparent Saturday.

Josh Cribbs is arguably the NFL's best return man, but he made it look way too easy in the first quarter against the Lions, who are missing a couple of key coverage men in Cody Spencer (injured reserve) and Casey FitzSimmons (ankle). Cribbs' 95-yard touchdown return of the opening kickoff was called back because of a late holding penalty. But there were no flags on his 84-yard punt return for a score, just lots of missed tackles.

"There's no reason to start the game the way we did on special teams," Schwartz said. "It's a work in progress, but were going to find out who can tackle and who can't. That's going to be a major criteria for making this team."

Stan Kwan's return unit wasn't much better, averaging 18.6 yards on kickoffs. And that's a growing concern, with Aveion Cason perhaps getting too many reps and neither rookie Derrick Williams nor Aaron Brown distinguishing himself. When you have too many returners, Schwartz noted the other day, that means you don't have any.

A lot of us have been scratching our heads about why Cason is getting so much time as a returner. Maybe that's a reflection of the coaching staff's lack of confidence in Derrick Williams or Aaron Brown in that department. And that ain't good. Hey, let a rookie take kicks out to the 18 yard line rather than a veteran, I say. At least there's a potential for upside with the rooks.

While the defensive front seven's inability to get consistent pressure on the QBs or stop big running plays is already looking problematic, Niyo notes that the secondary may be the team's weakest link.

Five Browns wide receivers had catches of 20 yards or more Saturday night. Two came on the opening drive against starting cornerbacks Phillip Buchanon and Anthony Henry, but the depth behind them is a real worry, especially with Keith Smith (groin) still on the sideline.

"Our corners need to get up and challenge guys," Schwartz said. "We need to find out who will have the confidence to get up and challenge rather than playing cautious."

They also need to find another safety who can stop the run alongside rookie Louis Delmas. Kalvin Pearson had trouble again in run support Saturday, and LaMarcus Hicks didn't fare any better replacing him. It was the same against Atlanta in the exhibition opener. Marquand Manuel, who has a calf injury, should get a shot to start when he's healthy.

Noticing a theme to Schwartz's comments? Get up there and tackle. Challenge. Don't play tentative. Be decisive and make plays.

I refuse to get visions in my head of Bobby Ross saying "I don't coach that!" or Rod Marinelli saying "Put it on me."

Discuss in The Den!

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Louis Delmas' off-the-field hardships

Lions rookie S Louis Delmas had already beaten the odds before donning the Honolulu blue and silver, before he was drafted, and before he became a standout at Western Michigan.

Associated Press football writer Larry Lage provides a glimpse of the hard times Delmas had to overcome growing up.

"Detroit Lions safety Louis Delmas says he tries his best to forget about his childhood, including seeing his drug-dealing parents for the last time about a dozen years ago," Lage writes.

Delmas recounted to Lage being handcuffed as a child in Sarasota, Fla., "and taken to a police station where he saw his parents for the last time before they were deported to Haiti." Delmas credits the people who were positive influences in his life in Florida and Kalamazoo for getting him where he is today.

Lage's story is very short and leaves you wanting to know more. A.P. sometimes does that in advance of a longer story coming out later in the day. I'll keep an eye out for one.

Talk about it in The Den.

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Salary Cap Forum Updated - PREMIUM

2009 Lions Cap Status through August 6th

Transaction Log Updated through August 6th

Sammie Lee Hill Player Cost

Derrick Williams Player Cost

Louis Delmas Player Cost

Brandon Pettigrew Player Cost

Cap Adjustments

Follow Detroit's salary cap with expert George Ketchman here. (Requires premium membership to RoarReport.com)

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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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Lions Ink Delmas; Visit with Hackett

Seven down, three to go.

The Detroit Lions came to terms with rookie safety Louis Delmas on Thursday. Delmas' superagent, Drew Rosenhaus, was able to tweet the news, which was reposted (and re-tweeted) as Hot News by Scout.com's Adam Caplan, and is now being blogged to you here.

First-round pick Brandon Pettigrew, third-rounder Derrick Williams and fourth-round project pick Sammie Lee Hill all remain unsigned with less than 24 hours to go before Friday's camp deadline. The Lions expect to have each in the fold by Friday morning.

The Lions also worked out receiver D.J. Hackett, according to John Niyo of the Detroit News, but Hackett reportedly left without a contract.

Excited about training camp? Discuss these topics and more in The Den, the most popular Detroit Lions message board on the internet.

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Levy signs; Lewand expects all draftees signed by Friday

Some good news heading into the start of training camp Friday: Lions team president Tom Lewand said he expects all of Detroit's rookies to be signed and in camp on time, Tom Kowalski reports at MLive.com.

Those yet to ink deals include first-round pick TE Brandon Pettigrew; second-round S Louis Delmas; third-round WR Derrick Williams and fourth-round DT Sammie Lee Hill.

"I feel confident that we'll have everybody in camp on time," Lewand said this afternoon. "We've been pretty close to meeting it every year. The last couple of years, we've missed a day or two at times and you certainly don't want to do that and I don't think there's any reason why we should this year. "We've got good relationships with the agents we're dealing with. They're established, credible, good agents who have good track records of their own."

Why wouldn't you want to report on time as a rookie on a team this bad? Where else do you have a better shot at playing time?

As if to prove Lewand's point, ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert reports on his NFC North blog that the Lions signed third-round LB DeAndre Levy to a three-year deal today.

Discuss in The Den!

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Niyo: 10 hot Lions topics heading into training camp

Lions writer John Niyo of the Detroit News lists 10 hot Detroit Lions topics heading into the start of training camp. I won't list them all here (follow the link to see them all), but a couple that caught my eye:

So, who are these guys, anyway? It's way too early to suggest the 2009 Lions can repeat the feat of the 2008 Dolphins. Miami rebounded from a 1-15 finish in 2007 to win the AFC East and make the playoffs last winter under rookie head coach Tony Sparano. And the key was a Bill Parcells-led purge that saw 27 new faces on the Dolphins' 53-man roster to begin last season.

Lions general manager Martin Mayhew is on a similar pace, with nearly half the players from last year's Week 1 roster (25 of 53) already gone -- and others sure to follow in the next six weeks. Mayhew has made five trades since last October, claimed seven players off waivers since the start of free agency in late February, and signed 27 new players, not including draft picks, since the end of last season. In short, he's trying to, as new head coach Jim Schwartz puts it, "take advantage of being crappy."

When you stop and quantify it like that, there really has been a lot done to try to turn over last year's awful team. Many of us were calling for a major roster overhaul to start the road back, a la the Dolphins or the Saints under Jim Haslett years ago. We sort of got that -- and like Niyo said, with more to come.

But who'll emerge as a playmaker on defense? There simply wasn't one last season, though defensive end Cliff Avril showed promise as a rookie. The Lions finished 2008 with a NFL-low four interceptions, with only one by a defensive back. Not surprisingly, the secondary is almost all new, and free-agent cornerback Phillip Buchanon, along with rookie free safety Louis Delmas (Western Michigan), will be counted on to make a big splash.

So will the revamped linebacker corps, with Julian Peterson and Larry Foote helping to free up Ernie Sims. And while the addition of Peterson, a five-time Pro Bowler, may have been the team's biggest offseason move outside of the draft, the more noticeable difference could be schematic.

The answers will all start to become clearer -- for better or worse -- very soon.

Discuss 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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Buchanon's titles: CB, Delmas Mentor

Good article on the revamped Lions secondary from Chrissie Wywrot at DetroitLions.com.

Wywrot points out that Coach Jim Schwartz has said the two units that need the most cameraderie and teamwork are offensive line and the secondary. Daniel Bullocks said the acquisition of players like CBs Phillip Buchanon and Anthony Henry have given the Lions a more veteran secondary. But the communication and chemistry between the older guys and the youngsters has been good.

Rookie safety Louis Delmas and veteran cornerback Phillip Buchanon are both new to the Detroit Lions this year. Buchanon was one of the team’s first free agent signings while Delmas was the club’s first defensive pick in the draft.

Buchanon has taken priority to guiding Delmas as he breaks into the NFL, schooling him on what it takes to become a professional in the league. The pair will work out together for the remainder of the offseason at the University of Miami.

“We’ll talk about some personal stuff, we’ll talk about some stuff that I think he should do, some mistakes that I made so he can actually not make those mistakes,” said Buchanon. “Then we’ll get into some football; talking and communication and stuff like that. We’re going to get our quality work in and we’re going to come back and be ready to play.”

Henry added that Delmas has been doing great, but people shouldn't forget it's a big jump from the Mid-American Conference to the pro game:

“He’s been doing a great job as far as communicating and stuff like that,” said Henry. “The certain thing that he’ll get used to as his career goes is the speed of the game. In certain situations in the red zone, the coaches are telling him to look outside and then get back to the tight end.

“Well, it’s happening so fast ... he’s doing what they’re telling him to do, but he’s not used to the reaction time. I think as it goes along, he’ll be a lot better at that.”

And one secondary who's got his colleagues raving is perhaps a surprise: Kalvin Pearson.

“Kalvin is a big-time guy,” said Buchanon. “He’s physical, he does whatever it takes and he’s somebody that you can depend on. He’s definitely a leader in my eyes; he understands the game pretty much on the same level that I do because we played together. Since we were coached by some of the same people we kind of see things the same way. I actually love playing with him. He’s a guy I can actually go to battle with.”

My take? On a historically bad team last year, the secondary was perhaps the worst unit of all. The Lions made a lot of changes that can't help but be positive. But as Schwartz has said, it's all about cohesion with the secondary. How quickly these guys can mesh together will be critical to how well the turnaround for the team goes.

Talk about it in The Den!

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Delmas could end the Lions' decade of disappointment in second round

Dean Holden at NFLTouchdown.com calls 2009 Lions second-round pick, S Louis Delmas, one of the most promising second-rounders to hit Detroit in a long time.

While former Lions president Matt Millen's failures in the first round of the draft were well-publicized, he was also rather awful in the second rounds. Holden notes that Delmas could break a string of second-round picks that range from careers cut short by injury to not reaching their potential to somewhat disappointing to brutally bad.

Kind of a lengthy post, with analysis of each year's second-rounders since 2000, so I won't copy-and-paste here. I urge you to follow the link and give it a read.

With the exception of Dominic Raiola and Shaun Rogers in the second round of 2001, it's been pretty darn close to a whiff. Too soon to say that about the recent choices like Ikaika Alama-Francis and Jordon Dizon, but they haven't exactly lit things up. And Drew Stanton? He still has his believers, but ...

Discuss in The Den!

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New Era Scouting: Lions need 3rd RB; physical DBs

An interesting read from David Syvertsen at New Era Scouting, giving a team-by-team analysis of offensive and defensive needs of every team in the NFC North.

For the Lions, Syvertsen singles out a need for a compliment to Kevin Smith:

The future is in Matthew Stafford’s hands and the future may very well begin right away on September 13th. Keeping that in mind, the Lions are need to have a few components set in place for Stafford to succeed. Just look at what the Ravens and Falcons did in 2008 with their respective rookie quarterbacks. They pounded the football and took advantage of durable, powerful running backs. Kevin Smith and the Lions offensive line really turned it on late in the 2008 season and if they can pick up where the left off, Stafford’s transition to the NFL game will be much easier. However Smith and his record setting amount of carries in college need break here and there. Maurice Morris was signed to take some carries away but beyond him, the Lions have nobody worth giving the ball to. If they can bring in a back with some youth, their offense appears to be set for the early portion of the Stafford era.

Hey Maurice Morris ain't chopped liver. And a lot of teams' RB depth falls off after the second guy. I would say of far more concern is whether the Lions have capably filled out their WR corps to take any kind of pressure off Calvin Johnson. (And I will again say, and say forever, that it is absolutely amazing what Calvin did last year with virtually no help from his fellow WRs and with four different, not-very-good QBs throwing to him.)

As for the Lions' defensive needs, I think Syvertsen is right on the money -- Physical DBs:

When looking over the Lions depth chart and comparing it to what Jim Schwartz built in Tennessee, one has to believe he is lacking the kind of defensive backs he needs for this unit to succeed. The cornerbacks will have a tough time playing physical at the line and running downfield with their cover assignment as most of them lack the complete package. Phillip Buchanon has done a nice job reviving his career but can he play within the physical scheme Schwartz has brought in? Eric King and Anthony Henry have proven to be quality, reliable cover men but how will they do when matched up with the division’s more physical receivers? With a defense that had nowhere to go but up from a dismal 2008, the defensive backs are going to be relied upon to come up and make tackles at the edge. Outside of the oft-injured Henry, none of these starting caliber defensive backs can give you that kind of confidence outside of rookie Louis Delmas.

Our DB corps would seem to be much better. But how could they not be over last year? Whether "better" will equal "good enough," we'll soon know.

Agree or disagree with Syvertsen's assessment? Discuss 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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Atticus: Delmas, Pettigrew Could Be Great

We love sharing the insightful opinion from knowledgeable fans, and it typically doesn't get any better than The Den user Atticus, who shared the importance of Detroit Lions rookie safety Louis Delmas and tight end Brandon Pettigrew in what has become a hot topic on the message board.

First -- let's talk ... baseball.

LOL.

There are some rare commodities in baseball -- used to be even more rare -- but still pretty rare.

I'll list 2.

A shortstop who is a notably good fielder AND a notably good hitter with good power. A catcher who is a notably good fielder AND a notably good hitter with good power.

It's just such a plus for a team to have such a Shortstop or Catcher. You don't have to put up with mediocrity in one area to have the other area. A good hitting catcher who's crap in throwing out runners or calling the game. Or a great fielding catcher who barely hits his weight and who has warning track power. Same for SS. Pettigrew. There are perhaps 15 notably productive TEs in terms of receiving numbers. So getting a TE who can give you that -- is itself not that easy to find. The number of TEs who are notably good in both blocking AND receiving production?

Count them on one hand. I'll list Witten as my example guy. He helps Dallas in so very many ways. He's a very rare guy to have on your team.

That's what Pettigrew hopes to become, I think. A really good all-around TE -- similar to Witten. I think most folks think he'll do exactly that. Perhaps not get quite the receiving numbers -- though Witten's not really all that fast and wasn't a guy with big numbers in college either.

Pettigrew is a version of Alex or Pudge Rodriguez. Rare talent. Great value to his team (leaving aside Alex's problems in the post-season of course).

Delmas. He's a safety who we believe has the tackling/run-help ability of some of the better safeties AND he has cover abilities that rival many of the better safeties. So -- using the above analysis -- he's got it all as well (we think). And it's fairly rare. Thus -- Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu, Bob Sanders are extremely valuable to their teams.

And that's what we've seen in the NFL -- the emergence of Safeties as bigtime values to their teams -- the really good safeties. There aren't that many of them. The Lions have floundered at safety (along with lots of other positions) for years and years. Certainly throughout the Millen era. And I'd actually go back to Blades in the early 90s.

In today's NFL, safeties can be a great and valuable asset to a team and defense. The all-around guys will fit any system. The main problem with such guys is that a team is likely to take them for granted. Then pay a huge price if the guy goes down to injury. The drop-off will be glaring -- that's how rare they are -- and how valuable they can ultimately be to their teams.

Is Delmas in the class of Polamalu, BobS and Ed Reed? Again -- I think the brass think so ... and a lot of draft sites agree.

I grump around about the DT situation and CB2 -- but that's more a failing overall of the draft and free agency efforts (and the inability to deal with every need in one year -- an understandable situation). I have NO issue at all with Pettigrew or Delmas. BPA's at the time? Certainly among the BPAs IMO. NEED? Yes. I think clearly they also help us in areas where we clearly needed help.

Rare talents -- and we got them at 20 and 33. In the same year. I think we got Spielman and Blades at 29 and 3 in 1988. I think these guys -- Pettigrew and Delmas -- will prove to be just as great as Lions in the NFL. Toss in that guy we took at #1OA ... and the 2009 draft of Mayhew/Schwartz may well prove to be the best in Lion history. But only time will tell.

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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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Showing the rooks what -- and who -- it's all about

Terry Foster of the Detroit News highlights something very cool and under-the-radar that Lions Coach Jim Schwartz recently did -- and apparently hoped would remain a secret.

Schwartz took top Lions draft choices Matthew Stafford, Brandon Pettigrew and Louis Delmas to the Dearborn Truck Assembly Plant, where they sat for two hours and signed autographs, took photos and passed out Lions gear to surprised workers.

He wanted this to be part of his players' education on the NFL and the city of Detroit.

Schwartz is a different cat. After a month of planning, he took his high-profile rookies to meet the rank-and-file. His goal was to do more than just spread good will to Ford employees. He wanted his rookies to touch hands with regular people in Detroit. He wanted them to see the hardened Rouge plant that has pumped out thousands of cars and trucks over the years.

"The other day, Dominic Raiola talked about how he fell in love with the city," Schwartz said by phone from Maryland. "He said how much he loves the people and I thought it was important for these guys to experience the same feel and things like that. We did not want cameras there because we thought it would have ruined the whole dynamic of it."

Schwartz, 43, wants his rookies grounded ... "We wanted them to know who they were playing for," Schwartz said. "We wanted them to meet the people who were paying their paychecks."

I think this is just fantastic. If Schwartz handles football games as well as he's handled the other stuff so far, 0-16 will soon become a very distant memory.

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Schwartz: Delmas has "mastered" defense already

Lions Coach Jim Schwartz just laid some MAJOR praise on rookie S Louis Delmas, according to Nicholas Cotsonika at Freep.com.

Delmas apparently already has the mental aspects of the game down, before the Lions even get into pads:

“There’s nothing that’s done in the NFL that we don’t do,” Schwartz said. “We have about every coverage invented. We run about every blitz package invented.

“A lot of times in college, they’ll play a couple fronts and a couple coverages. It’ll be a lot more limited.

“He’s not only learned it but mastered it maybe as quick as I’ve ever seen a young player in the secondary do it.”

Talk is cheap. But I obviously respect Schwartz's opinion. It's hard not to get excited about this. Did we just snag the next Bob Sanders?

Talk about it in The Den!

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It's on now

A mandatory 3-day minicamp for the Lions begins today in Allen Park. And as Nicholas Cotsonika at Freep.com reports, the competitions for jobs begin in earnest now.

Previous weeks have been preoccupied with veterans learning the new coaching staff and its wants; rookies getting caught up; and the Lions' front office turning over to a great extent the largely atrocious roster from last year's 0-16 season.

Coach Jim Schwartz has pointed to this minicamp -- the end of the off-season program -- as the time to start making it count, Cotsonika says.

The battles won't begin in full force until camp opens in late July with the players in pads. The players will be in helmets and shorts this week. No hitting.

Things I'm looking to see:

1. How much do OLs Ephraim Salaam and Jon Jansen have left in them? Enough to push Gosder or even Backus? Or at least to be very strong backups? The problems last year weren't just Backus' and Gosder's inconsistency. It was a lack of quality depth, the inability to rotate in effective players as the starters got tired. If Salaam and Jansen show something -- even if they don't unseat the starters -- the Lions might have a much better rotation available to them in the second halves of games this season.

2. How much better will the Lions' secondary be this year? (It can't be much worse.) With two new CBs -- Phillip Buchanon and Anthony Henry -- and highly touted rookie S Louis Delmas.

3. Will one of the veteran WRs -- Bryant Johnson or Ronald Curry -- emerge as a legitimate threat on the other side of Calvin? It's incredible what Megatron accomplished last season with no other Lion receiver seriously taking any pressure or attention off of him.

Discuss in The Den!

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