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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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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Lion Youth Movement? Not So Much.

Last year the Lions suffered a double-whammy of not only being the worst team in the league but also one of the five oldest overall. While Detroit did shed a number of the older veterans that were on the opening day '08 roster, they were in large part replaced by equally old veterans. Daunte Culpepper, Grady Jackson, Bryant Johnson, Larry Foote, Julian Peterson, Anthony Henry, and Philip Buchanon are all newcomers expected to start and as a group average 31 years old.

On opening day 2008 Detroit's starters averaged 27.9 years, the 8th oldest starting corps in the league, with eight starters at 30 years or older. Projecting out the 2009 opening day starters is a little tricky, but reasonable guesses can be made.

B Johnson      28
Pettigrew      24
Backus         32
Cook           30
Raiola         31
Peterman       27
Cherilus       25
C Johnson      24
Culpepper      32
Felton         23
K Smith        22


Avril          23
Darby          33
Jackson        36
White          29
Sims           24
Foote          29
Peterson       31
Buchanon       29
Bullocks       26
Delmas         22
Henry          32

The ages are as of 9/30/09. I'm sure some of The Den faithful might argue with Darby or possibly Cook, but it is equally likely a veteran player like Devries starts in place of Avril or that Kevin Carter supplants Darby so overall the average wouldn't be affected much either way.

The average age of the projected offensive starters right now is 27.1 years. Defensive starters 28.5 years for a composite 27.8 overall average, an overall decline in average age of 0.1 years. With this lineup Detroit would go from eight starters aged 30+ to seven.

It also isn't clear that the bench will be much younger than last year. Younger players such as Dan Orlovsky, Gerald Alexander, Shaun Cody, and Anthony Cannon were allowed to leave while older backups such as Eric Hicks (33), Terrelle Smith (31), Cody Spencer (28), Marquand Manuel (30), Ephraim Salaam (33), Jon Jansen (33), Ronald Curry (30), and Dennis Northcutt (31) acquired to replace them. While it is unlikely that all of these veterans make the team, it seems clear that Mayhew and Schwartz intend to rely heavily on greying veterans to bridge the gap to their rebuilding plan. It is very possible that this year's version of the Lions is even older than the '08 flavor that rapidly broke down and lost effectiveness.

Ongoing discussion Here in The Den

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