Detroit Lions: Could This be the Year (Madden 09)

[Heisman316]

System: PS3
Rosters: EA's Roster Update with a couple of changes
Sliders: Undecided. Either My Skill or Heelfan's

More info coming soon!

[Heisman316]

Re: Detroit Lions: Could This be the Year (Madden 09)

Detroit
Projected Finish
(3-13)

Detroit has not made the playoffs since 1999 and has won ONE playoff game since 1957 (FIFTY YEARS). Detroit is just 31-81 over the last seven years. In 2006 the Lions brought in their 3rd HC in five years inrookie Rod Marinelli, who is a disciplinary defensive-minded coach. The Lions had 6 straight years of double digit losses and 3 major draft busts with their #1 pick in that span. There were a ton of factors pointing to a much improved 2007 as they were -9 in TO's in 2006, had SIX net close losses and had an NFL high 100 starts lost to injury. QB Jon Kitna called for 10 wins in 2007 and stunningly the Lions opened 6-2 after blowing out the Broncos 44-7. The 2nd half of the season did not go so well as they went 1-7 but did almost upset the Cowboys at home. They were #19 on offense and #32 on defense. In the process they became the first team since 1992 to lose 4 games by 30+ points. They let OC Martz go and did not make major upgrades in the offseason so it could be back to a double digit losing season after flirting with .500 last year.

2007 Rankings

TOT OFF 19th
OFF Rush 31st
OFF Pass 9th
TOT Def 32nd
DEF Rush 23rd
DEF Pass 31x
SACKS VS 29
SACKS BY 8
Turnovers -1

2008 Draft

RT Gosder Cherilus
OLB Jordan Dizon
RB Kevin Smith
DT Andre Fluellen
OLB Cliff Avril
WR Kenneth Moore
FB Jerome Felton
DT Landon Cohen
SS Caleb Campbell

Additions

TE Michael Gaines
RG Corey Hulsey
DT Chuck Darby
LB Gilbert Gardner
CB Leigh Bodden
CB Brian Kelly
SS Dwight Smith
SS Kalvin Pearson

Deletions

QB JT O'Sullivan
RB Kevin Jones
RB TJ Duckett
WR Troy Walters
LG Blaine Saipaia
RG Damien Woody
OT Barry Stokes
DT Shaun Rogers
DE Kalimba Edwards
LB Boss Bailey
LB Teddy Lehman
CB Fernando Bryant
SS Kenoy Kennedy

Offeason Grade: C

[Heisman316]

Re: Detroit Lions: Could This be the Year (Madden 09)

Lions dedicated to giving running game a chance


The Lions are looking for more out of the ground game in 2008 with depth at running back.

1. Pound the rock

This is a message posted in bold letters on a wall outside of the Lions' locker room at their training complex. It is a message they are feeling each day in physical, grinding run-game drills in practices.

There is a need. A year ago, the Lions ran the football 324 times, last in the NFL. That was 31 fewer attempts than San Francisco, which finished 31st league-wide and 59 fewer than Kansas City, which ranked 30th. It was a stunning 219 fewer attempts than league leader Minnesota. That makes little sense for a no-nonsense, fundamental, back-to-basics football coach like Rod Marinelli and he is bent on changing the approach.

The Lions have options in the run game. Their offensive line is adequately seasoned and tailbacks Tatum Bell, Artose Pinner, Aveion Cason and Brian Calhoun along with rookie Kevin Smith give the attack diversity. The intense competition among them is exactly what Marinelli desires. The Lions have moved to a zone-blocking run scheme that especially favors Bell, since that is what he used during his career in Denver before being traded to the Lions in March of last year.

Marinelli described the Lions' training camp as "punishing," especially in view of the run-game emphasis. Bell said the team has already had two goal-line practices, something he has rarely experienced in his previous four NFL seasons. The Lions believe that this ground-rooted approach will color their entire effort and production across all avenues in their season. I agree.

2. Martz out, Colletto in
The reason for the Lions' pass-happy penchant (263 more passes than runs last season) is traced directly to their former offensive coordinator, Mike Martz, who now holds that job in San Francisco. Martz, in most corners, is not missed here. Jim Colletto takes over for Martz.

Colletto has coached college or pro football since 1967. He spent time as the head coach at Purdue and was also Baltimore's offensive line coach during its Super Bowl XXXV championship season in 2000. Colletto was the Lions' offensive line coach last season. Everyone around the Lions notices the change. Colletto is in line with what Marinelli is demanding and in the team's preseason opener against the Giants (a 13-10 victory) showed it. The first-team offense ran the ball seven times in its 14 plays. For the game, it was 35 rushing attempts in 59 plays. That is a major reversal from these Lions games last season where the total rushing attempts were as follows: Arizona (8), Minnesota (7) and San Diego (9), all road losses.

With more than 40 years of coaching experience, Colletto is a solid choice to simplify, implement, teach, lead and kick the Lions' mental attitude about its rushing game into gear.

3. Details, details, details
Detroit began last season 6-2. Playoff visions were dancing in their heads. But they failed to finish, limping home with a 1-7 record in the season's second half that included a six-game losing streak immediately after the sixth victory. Marinelli insists that the lousy finish was in the details. Or lack of them.

"I looked at that long and hard, how you start that way and finish that way, and we just didn't do things the right way under pressure," Marinelli said. "We played lights out in some of those losses but we simply did not do things correctly in some of our details. We've emphasized that."

He is optimistic that the message is being received based on the preseason action against the Giants, especially by the defense. It was disciplined it its approach and worked hand-in-glove as a unit, critical to the Cover-2 scheme.

Linebacker Ernie Sims continues to be the team's most flashy and dependable defensive playmaker and the secondary has been transformed. Newcomers in cornerback Leigh Bodden via a trade with Cleveland and free-agent signee safety Dwight Smith from Minnesota have given the secondary teeth. And there are impressive, noticeable young players in the unit, among them safety Daniel Bullocks (6-feet, 212 pounds). He was injured all of last season but has returned and is turning heads.

4. In Kitna they trust
Is Jon Kitna a franchise quarterback? That is a question debated in several NFL circles. Often, the answer is no. But not here. The Lions believe in Kitna, trust him, and are certain that on and off the field they possess one of the league's most capable and inspiring quarterbacks.

His career included stops in Seattle and Cincinnati before he became a Lion for the 2006 season. He has started each of the Lions' 32 games over the last two years and has finished with 3-13 and 7-9 records. He passed for 4,208 yards with 21 touchdowns and 22 interceptions in his first Detroit season. He threw for 4,068 yards with 18 touchdowns and 20 interceptions last season.

He told the world the Lions would win more than 10 games last season and then looked silly when they did not. Kitna survived it. Now he hopes the Lions run game opens the passing game and that he can deliver.

"We started pressing to make the playoffs last season and kept digging a bigger hole," Kitna said. "We have a core group here now who knows more about what it takes. I have to be more patient. I'm really excited about where we are and where we are going."

Kitna knows this is a big season for him to reward the Lions' trust. He knows this is a season where his production must outweigh any predictions. He features the temperament and tools to succeed.

5. Devestating duo
While watching the Lions' Wednesday morning practice with their Hall of Fame tight end Charlie Sanders, I was surprised by something he said about Lions receivers Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams.

Sanders, without blinking, stated: "This is the best pair of receivers on one team that I have ever seen. Ever. You come out and watch them practice every day and it is like watching a good movie. There is no pair in the NFL that is bigger, faster, stronger and with better hands. Ever."

Wow. This duo in on-field production has not come close to supplanting ones like Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne in Indianapolis or Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzedeh in Cincinnati or Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin in Arizona. But in raw talent and potential, Sanders is correct.

Williams (6-3, 211) is a dynamic, fearless receiver. Johnson (6-5, 239) is not quite like any receiver in the game, commanding in presence and in his combination of strength, quickness and speed. In practice on Wednesday morning, he was running free throughout the day, open, seemingly, on nearly every play.

With the Lions seeking to run first, their hope is that Williams and Johnson will catch defenses napping and hit 'em when and where it hurts most. It is a nice plan, less actually meaning more. If both can stay healthy for the entire season, we all just might see that the assessment by Sanders is not a fluke.

Johnson said: "Our receivers coach Shawn Jefferson always says that hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard. We know why we both are here. That's what we're here for. We expect big things."

This is from NFL.com

[GoldenJet]

Re: Detroit Lions: Could This be the Year (Madden 09)

that was a big update, nice, check out my Pens and Legends dynasty's on the easports board

[RAZRr1275]

Re: Detroit Lions: Could This be the Year (Madden 09)

I'm following!

[cubsfan203]

Re: Detroit Lions: Could This be the Year (Madden 09)

I'll be following, give Kevin Smith some playing time!

[OliDegu2008]

Re: Detroit Lions: Could This be the Year (Madden 09)

Yes! A Lion's franchise! STANTON STANTON

[Heisman316]

Re: Detroit Lions: Could This be the Year (Madden 09)

I will be posting my own post-preseason Update and Depth Chart, as well as players I tried to improve on the most throughout the preseason later on today!

[Heisman316]

Re: Detroit Lions: Could This be the Year (Madden 09)

Regular Season Week 1 Depth Chart

QB: Kitna, Stanton, Orlovsky
RB: Smith, Bell, Calhoun
FB: Felton, Bradley
WR: Williams, Johnson, Furrey, McDonald, Ellis, Moore
TE: Gaines, Campbell, McHugh
LT: Backus, Scott
LG: Mulitlo, Ramirez
C: Raiola, Hulsey, McCollum
RG: Peterman, Dunn
RT: Cherilus, Foster



LE: Devries, Alama-Francis
RE: White, Avril, Smith
DT: Redding, Darby, Cody, Fluellen
LOLB: Lenon, Lewis
MLB: Trotter, Dizon, Davis
ROLB: Sims, Cannon
CB: Bodden, Kelly, Fisher, Smith, Wilson
FS: Bullocks, Alexander
SS: Smith, Pearson



K: Hanson
P: Harris
KR: Moore, Calhoun
PR: Ellis, Moore
KOS: Hanson, Harris
LS: McCollum, Hulsey
3DRB: Bell, Calhoun

[Heisman316]

Re: Detroit Lions: Could This be the Year (Madden 09)

Transactions

Preseason Week 1
Broncos: Signed J. Carney (K)
Cardinals: Signed T. Sauerbrun (P)
Chiefs: Signed B. Cundiff (K)
Redskins: Signed S. Player (P)
Texans: Signed C. Naeole (RG)

Preseason Week 2
Bills: Signed D. Culpepper (QB)

Week 1
Lions & Chiefs: The Lions have traded L. Hicks (FS) to the Chiefs for a 5th and 6th round draft pick
Lions: Signed J. Trotter (MLB)

[Heisman316]

Re: Detroit Lions: Could This be the Year (Madden 09)

Lions Make Room for Veteran Trotter

As soon as the Preseason was wrapping up, the Lions traded 3rd stringer and perhaps a future star inL. Hicks to the Chiefs for 2009 5th and 6th round draft picks to make room for a veteran MLB in Jeremiah Trotter.

During the Press Confrence when the Trnasaction was made public, Trotter had very kind words to say about his new home in Detroit, and had lofty predictions about where he can lead this team and future MLB Jordan Dizon.

[Heisman316]

Re: Detroit Lions: Could This be the Year (Madden 09)

2008 Season Preview
By: Heisman316

The Detroit Lions have not had much success in a very very long time. It's been 50 years since they last won a playoff game and they still do not have a determined path for the team. Every year, it seems that the Lions change their gameplan along with their direction where the team was headed. After a decent 7-9 season, Detroit was thought to be on the right path, but once again that direction seemed to change during the offseason.

Detroit released many key players and didn't sign many to replace them. All of the experts predict the Lions to go back to a double-digit loss season, but not me.

The Lions actually look like a good balanced football team this season. HC Marinelli shows faith keeping Kitna at Quarterback, and getting rid of all the draft bust WRs. They also got rid of Kevin Jones. The Offense looks revamped upon first look, but now they seem to be more balanced than in recent memory. Tatum Bell and Kevin Smith make a nice young RB duo. Kitna is mentoring Stanton, and Roy Williams along with Calvin Johnson make a devestating WR duo. We can't forget Furrey or McDonald either. The O-Line is experienced and hasa future with Cherilus. This Offense is going to be explosive and keep Detroit in most ball games this season.

The defensive side of the ball looks a bit more questionable. The only real standouts are Redding, Bodden, and Sims. Devries is a veteran but is about to lose his starting position if he dosen't step up his game. Newly signed Jeremiah Trotter will help out in the long run by mentoring rookie MLB, Jordan Dizon. Safety is occupied by a young talented group made up of Bullocks and Alexander along with seasoned vet, Dwight Smith. With the blend of age and youth, this is a promising and under-rated defense.

Overall, the Lions are under the radar this upcoming season, and maybe this could be the year of the Lions!!!!!!

[Heisman316]

Re: Detroit Lions: Could This be the Year (Madden 09)

I'll be updating over the weekend, stupid me forgot to save my frnachise, so the Transactions maybe different. But I may wind up doing a Patriots Madden Dynsty and an NFL Head Coach Lions Franchise. What do you guys think????

[RAZRr1275]

Re: Detroit Lions: Could This be the Year (Madden 09)

I'll be updating over the weekend, stupid me forgot to save my frnachise, so the Transactions maybe different. But I may wind up doing a Patriots Madden Dynsty and an NFL Head Coach Lions Franchise. What do you guys think????

Sounds good to me.

[Qb]

Re: Detroit Lions: Could This be the Year (Madden 09)

I'll be updating over the weekend, stupid me forgot to save my frnachise, so the Transactions maybe different. But I may wind up doing a Patriots Madden Dynsty and an NFL Head Coach Lions Franchise. What do you guys think????

Too bad on that, you had a good start here. I'd say that HC would be better for a rebuilding franchise like you'd have with the Lions, IMO. Save next time!