Jack Ikegwuonu wrecks knee...

There goes one of my favorite underrated corners in this draft. Jack Ikegwuonu tore his ACL in a training incident, and is likely out for 2008. He might be worth a 7th round flyer, but he might not sign and re-enter the draft next year. Corners are looking really strong, and the Lions should come away with at least one, hopefully two high-tier corners that would strengthen a unit that needs it. This is a quick list of the top cover two corners that would help the Lions....

1. Leodis McKelvin- Despite the small school stature, has showed all week at the SR Bowl practices that he should be a first round pick.
2. Mike Jenkins- I am leary of his off-field indiscretions, and whether he's a willing tackler or not. He gets the high grade, with an asterisk.
3. Charles Godfrey- Perfect 2nd round pick for the Lions. I love his size, his willingness, and cover ability.
4. Patrick Lee- Another candidate for the 2nd round, if their value doesn't increase too much. Great size and athleticism. Good ball skills.
5. Aqib Talib- I need his forty time. I need to know he can run well enough to cover in the NFL.
6. Tracey Porter- As a pure corner, he's pretty good. I don't know if he's tough enough to play the run. He's not a returner.
7. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie- A late riser, who might rise higher if he runs premium times. A physical freak who is rough around the edges. Great size and ball skills.
8. Antoine Cason- Another guy I'd really like a 40 time before assessing a final grade. He's a good returner, and has good ball skills.
9. Justin King- Good size-speed, he's had mental lapses that has hindered his play. He might have been dinged up, but he looks the part. I think he might be underrated.
10. Terrel Thomas- Great size, but isn't a burner. Good fit for cover two.

Senior Bowl Practices, Days 1 and 2....

After seeing both rosters for the Senior Bowl, I am much more impressed with the North team than I am the South team. After watching Colt Brennan Tuesday, he is completely off my draft board. He can't make NFL throws. He should have tried to sneak under the radar, not let people see him workout, because the practice here exposed him. The position of interest to me here is at corner, where there is an abundance of talent on display. Charles Godfrey has been particularly impressive, he's a big (5'11"; 207) corner who plays a nice physical game. Leodis McKelvin is also impressive, as is Terrell Thomas of USC. I'm also starting to like Terry Porter a little more, but he's not a physical cover two type of corner. Other corners I'm keeping an eye on down there are Patrick Lee of Auburn, Chevis Jackson of LSU, and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie of Tennessee State. He's a very rough version of his cousin, but he's got his size and athleticism.

Linebackers are also showing well in Mobile, especially on the North side. Keith Rivers is a smooth big man, and Dan Connor is a typical Penn State LB. I like Jordon Dizon of Colorado, although he needs to add weight (6'0"; 220 lbs) since I think he'd play well inside. There are different types of LBer's, a little bit for everyone. Shawn Crable is a 3-4 type, and on the other spectrum, Xavier Adibi at 6'2", 219 is more of a weakside 4-3 LBer. Other top LB's include Ali Highsmith of LSU, Phillip Wheeler of GT, and Ben Moffitt of South Florida.

Junior list is out...

http://www.gbnreport.com/juniors.htm

PLAYER	POS	H/W	SCHOOL	CL
Darren McFadden	RB	6-1, 215	Arkansas	JR
Ryan Clady	OT	6-5, 320	Boise State	JR
Rashard Mendenhall	RB	6-1, 210	Illinois	JR
Vernon Gholston	DE	6-4, 260	Ohio State	JR
Derrick Harvey	DE	6-5, 250	Florida	JR
Kenny Phillips	FS	6-1, 205	Miami	JR
Felix Jones	RB	6-0, 207	Arkansas	JR
Calais Campbell	DE	6-8, 280	Miami	JR
DeSean Jackson	WR	5-11, 175	California	JR
Malcolm Kelly	WR	6-4, 220	Oklahoma	JR
Mario Manningham	WR	6-0, 180	Michigan	JR
Ray Rice	RB	5-9, 195	Rutgers	JR
Curtis Lofton	LB	6-0, 240	Oklahoma	JR
Steve Slaton	RB	5-9, 200	West Virginia	JR
Aqib Talib	CB	6-1, 205	Kansas	JR
Jonathan Stewart	RB	5-10, 230	Oregon	JR
Pat Sims	DT	6-3, 315	Auburn	JR
Jamaal Charles	RB	6-0, 200	Texas	JR
Kevin Smith	RB	6-1, 212	Central Florida	JR
James Hardy	WR	6-6, 220	Indiana	JR
Reggie Smith	DB	6-0, 205	Oklahoma	JR
Earl Bennett	WR	6-1, 205	Vanderbilt	JR
Devin Thomas	WR	6-1, 215	Michigan State	JR
Jake Ikegwuono	CB	6-0, 200	Wisconsin	JR
Phillip Merling	DE	6-5, 275	Clemson	JR
Justin King	CB	5-11, 185	Penn State	JR
Martellus Bennett	TE	6-7, 255	Texas A&M	JR
Branden Flowers	CB	5-9, 180	Virginia Tech	JR
Jerod Mayo	LB	6-1, 235	Tennessee	JR
Anthony Collins	OT	6-5, 310	Kansas	JR
Adrian Arrington	WR	6-2, 190	Michigan	JR
James Davis	RB	5-10, 210	Clemson	JR
Ryan Grice-Mullins	WR	5-9, 185	Hawaii	JR
Davonne Bess	WR	5-9, 195	Hawaii	JR
Erin Henderson	LB	6-2, 236	Maryland	JR
Geno Hayes	LB	6-2, 220	Florida State	JR
Branden Albert	OG	6-6, 336	Virginia	JR
Mario Urruttia	WR	6-6, 220	Louisville	JR
Jeremichael Finley	TE	6-5, 240	Texas	RSO
Darius Reynaud	WR	5-9, 200	West Virginia	JR*
DaJuan Morgan	FS	6-1, 205	North Carolina State	JR
Lamar Myles	LB	6-0, 220	Louisville	JR
Jonathan Dingle	DE	6-3, 275	West Virginia	JR
Chili Rachal	OG	6-5, 315	Southern California	JR
Joe Scandrick	CB	5-11, 190	Boise State	JR
Letroy Guion	DT	6-4, 295	Florida State	JR
Franklin Dunbar	OT	6-5, 345	Middle Tennessee State	JR
Taj Smith	WR	6-0, 190	Syracuse	JR
James Banks	WR	6-2, 205	Carson-Newman	JR
Bobby Reid	QB	6-3, 215	Oklahoma State	JR
Xavier Lee	QB	6-4, 232	Florida State	JR

Early off-season thoughts...

The Lions need to get faster, everywhere on defense, special teams and offense. They need to get it throughout the draft. Take the Packers for instance. They pick up Tramon Williams off the street, and he's a special teams freak. Has the makings to be a top corner also. He was an UDFA picked up from the Texans of all people. This is the type of pickup the Lions need to make, and they can't miss any more. They had a run of missing on first round picks three years in a row that killed them. Other picks haven't made up for them. They had the right idea last year, when through hook or by crook they wrestled 3 picks away in the 2nd round, but they didn't do anything with the players they selected. The Lions can't afford to miss on 2nd round picks, even in a bad draft such as last year. There are very few pass rushers in this draft, and the upper tier corners are a bit iffy. No burners, but some solid guys, so the Lions can afford to go for a top pass rusher like Vernon Gholston (if he comes out, he's the only one I'd consider), or a tackle such as Ryan Clady or Michael Oher. The Lions can get just as good a corner in the 2nd (Aqib Talib, Charles Godfrey and Brandon Flowers) as they would the first round. Other positions of importance are RB, LB, kick returner, etc. If the Lions get a few extra picks via trade of their current roster, they would have to replace that player first.

Ray Rice joining the fray...

RB wasn't a very strong position in this years draft with the Senior class, but now it's very deep now that Ray Rice has announced his intention to forego his Senior year to enter as a Junior. This is a nice class of Running Backs, with a nice mix of speed and size. I would expect more Juniors to enter the draft by the deadline next Tuesday.

My top pick for the Lions at 15...

My top 30 Tigers Prospects...

1. Rick Porcello, RHP, West Michigan
2. Jeff Larish, 1B, Toledo
3. Scott Sizemore, 2B, Erie
4. Danny Worth, SS, Erie
5. Yorman Bazardo, RHP, Detroit
6. Charlie Furbush, LHP, Lakeland
7. James Skelton, C, Lakeland
8. Michael Hollimon, 2B, Toledo
9. Francisco Cruceta, RHP, Detroit
10. Cale Iorg, SS, Lakeland
11. Brandon Hamilton, RHP, West Michigan
12. Deik Scram, CF, Lakeland
13. Matthew Joyce, RF, Toledo
14. Casey Crosby, LHP, Rehab
15. Kody Kaiser, RF, West Michigan
16. Luis Marte, RHP, Lakeland
17. Jeremy Laster, LF, Lakeland
18. Noah Krol, RHP, Erie
19. Jonah Nickerson, RHP, Lakeland
20. Brennan Boesch, RF, Erie
21. Jefferey Gerbe, RHP, Erie
22. Ryan Strieby, 1B, Lakeland
23. Jon Kibler, RHP, West Michigan
24. Justin Henry, 2B, West Michigan
25. Brett Jensen, RHP, Erie
26. Clete Thomas, CF, Erie
27. Casey Fien, RHP, Lakeland
28. Duane Below, LHP, Lakeland
29. Virgil Vazquez, RHP, Toledo
30. Jordan Tata, RHP, Toledo



I included positions and 2008 destinations where I would put them.

Derrick Harvey declares for NFL draft...

Still waiting for Vernon Gholston, whom I feel will be the best pass rusher to come out. Harvey was man-handled by Jake Long in U-M's victory over Florida, and he's too lanky to be an every down DE. Harvey is more likely to fit a 3-4 scheme as an OLB.

Mike Martz has been fired...

According to ESPN.com, Mike Martz has been fired, with Jim Colletto being named the Offensive Coordinator, basically taking care of the running game, with Kippy Brown being promoted to Assistant Head Coach while both Brown and Colletto keep their positional duties. Obviously Martz's downfall will also take Wilbert Montgomery and son Tim Martz with him. Martz has been linked to the OC job in SF, and I don't expect him to be a HC candidate any time soon. The Lions are expected to simplify their schemes on offense, but there is a long way to go still. The Lions have work to do on the offensive line, backup running back, Tight End, let alone take care of all their defensive shortcomings. I don't expect they'll be able to fix everything this off-season, nor should they try to. Just get as many good players as possible.

Bowl report on offensive prospects...

Chad Henne was as good as I've ever seen him, he's got to have opened some eyes when it comes to where the QB's rank right now. If his shoulder is sound, I'd rank him #1, but he won't be ranked that high by others. Regardless, he's a first round high quality QB right now. A couple of others who impressed today and over the weekend include such RB's as Jonathon Stewart of Oregon, Ray Rice of Rutgers, and Rashard Mendenhall of Illinois. Two that disappointed were Mike Hart of U-M, and especially Darren McFadden of Arkansas. Hart lacked burst, and even fumbled twice, which is his main selling point. Arkansas had a terrible game altogether, as they were completely mismatched by underrated Missouri. A few other other offensive players caught my eye, such as TE Fred Davis of USC, Tony Temple of Missouri, and Graham Harrell of Texas Tech. I was disappointed with Erik Ainge, who didn't look very accurate, and missed some easy throws.