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!
Levy signs; Lewand expects all draftees signed by Friday
Monday, July 27, 2009
Hall of Famer Lou Creekmur dead at 82
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Sad news for the Lions family.
Hall of Fame offensive lineman Lou Creekmur, who starred on the Detroit Lions' three NFL championship teams of the 1950s, died Sunday. He was 82.
The Lions said Creekmur, in failing health in recent years, died at University Hospital in Tamarac, Florida.
Creekmur played for the Lions from 1950-59, mostly at left tackle. He made eight straight Pro Bowl teams, was picked to the All-NFL team six times and was chosen for the Lions' 75th Anniversary Team in 2008.
Creekmur was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996, joining Lions teammates including Bobby Layne, Joe Schmidt, Doak Walker and Yale Lary.
"Lou always will be remembered as one of the true standout players in Lions history," Lions president Tom Lewand said Monday. "Offensive linemen often don't get the credit they deserve and, until his induction into the Hall of Fame, that certainly was the case with Lou. If you look at the number of All-NFL and Pro Bowl teams he was selected to, and at the success of the Lions' teams when he played, you know that Lou was one of the all-time great linemen in NFL history."
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Van Ochten: "Whole approach of the organization is different"
Friday, July 3, 2009
Highlights from Grand Rapids Press Lions columnist Brian Van Ochten's Two-Minute Drill podcast (which is kind of a dumb name since it's way longer than two minutes).
Van Ochten seems to be chugging the Kool-Aid:
"Obviously the talent is upgraded in a lot of places, just through the draft; just through some of the free-agent acquisitions that they have made," he said. "And one of the really noticeable things that to me just sticks right out is, the whole approach of the organization is different than it's been the last few years."
Van Ochten credits not just new Coach Jim Schwartz but vice president Tom Lewand. Somewhat noticeably absent from the praise is G.M. Martin Mayhew, but it doesn't appear to be intentional.
Lewand, at the recent OTAs, went out of his way to make himself available not only to writers but to the fans, Van Ochten said. Lewand stood and took the good and the bad, and answered fans' questions -- something that never happened under Millen, he said.
Lions writers are also getting a lot of access to Schwartz and to players -- quite different from Marinelli, Van Ochten said.
He notes that the Lions are still woefully short of depth -- which will become very apparent if they have any rash of injuries this season. But it's clear, Van Ochten said, that the Lions are putting building blocks in place. And the attitude change from everyone in the organization is noticeable.
Discuss in The Den!
William Clay Ford Sr. speaks out
Thursday, June 25, 2009
John Niyo at detnews.com has a fairly lengthy interview with Lions owner William Clay Ford Sr., Ford's first since the firing of team president Matt Millen early last season.
Among the interesting tidbits:
* Ford did get input from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after Millen's firing regarding a new front office leader. But he went with Millen holdovers Martin Mayhew and Tom Lewand because he knew them, liked them and found them qualified.
* An admission that both Millen and former Coach Rod Marinelli didn't have the necessary experience going into the job.
* That Ford relied on Millen to make the decision to hire both Marinelli and Steve Mariucci, but new Coach Jim Schwartz was his call and his alone.
* That Ford's son, Bill Ford's, public declaration that Millen would be fired were he in charge, days before Ford Sr. actually fired Millen, did not influence the decision. In fact, the elder Ford told Niyo, he had heard his son's dissatisfaction with Millen multiple times -- days before he went public with it; weeks; months; and years earlier.
* That Ford has never directed a coach or team executive to play or not play a player.
* That the supposed dispute over remaining money to be paid to Millen is resolved.
* That Ford feels for the fans, praises those who remain loyal to the team; understands those who have finally bailed out; and that he actually listens to the fan complaints.
A lot of meaty stuff here, obviously.
Ford's been psychoanalyzed in the past by armchair pundits. He certainly has a different way about him, and it shows through in the interview. He pays lip service to wanting to win and doing what it takes. But then he casually explains away sticking for years with Millen despite his abysmal failure at all levels, with the entire world including his son howling at him to make the necessary change.
We hear Ford casually talk about blowing off the NFL Commissioner's attempted help on not making another Millen mistake, and why his grand search for a way to turn around 0-16 ended at the end of his nose, with the front office guys right in front of him.
(Don't get me wrong; that might actually work out. That still doesn't make the lack of a real examination of the situation or a search outside of a 31-97 franchise any less maddening.)
I continue to think Ford doesn't have a clue how to win, and the bottom line of why it hasn't happened for decades is it's simply never been high on his priority list. We can only hope he's stumbled into the right people who can make this successful in Mayhew, Lewand and Schwartz.
They're talking about it in The Den!
Stafford's "guaranteed" money no sure thing
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
When Matt Stafford's deal was announced, the amount of "guaranteed' money dropped jaws around the league. Reported to be a staggering $41.7 million dollars, many shook their head at the foolishness of the Lions' front office. Despite Tom Lewand's long track record of crafting especially creative and clever contracts, despite the fact that agents typically release the terms of deals and Stafford is represented by power agent Tom Condon, and despite nearly a two-day stall in negotiations--reportedly over the structure of the guaranteed money--most fans, media, and journalists decried the Lions' awful negotation skills.
Well, blogger AdamJT13 has revealed (according to only him; as of right now there's been no confirmation of his numbers) the exact structure of Matt Stafford's contract, including a nifty 2010 option bonus. According to this excellent article, if Stafford rolled up to Allen Park in a new Toyota Tundra this morning, and Mr. Ford ordered his immediate release, Stafford would only be owed a lousy $17.05 million.
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