Saturday, January 26, 2008

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.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

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.

Friday, January 18, 2008

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

Thursday, January 10, 2008

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.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

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.

Friday, January 4, 2008

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.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

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.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

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.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

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.