The Roar Report (Lions Home)

[Shards]

The Roar Report

Owner: Shards
GT: Shards O Glass
E-mail: [email protected]

Pre-Season
Roster Moves

With Owner/Head Coach Shards back at the helm the Lions are starting the 2012 season like they approached many previous years. The Lions are a team always looking to improve their roster and that shows with a good amount of cuts and signings in every offseason. Now that the SFL has adopted a true NFL style Salary Cap there will be more limitations on what moves can be made. Along with the new Salary Cap all free agent signings started with the new Claim process.

After game one of preseason it was apparent that the Lions needed another safety. Coach Shards said "Louis (is Delmas) is a great player. He has that fire on the field that you can't teach." This is something that SS Amari Spievey has lacked. This was addressed as the day one claim on FS Husain Abdullah was won. Abdullah was a starter for the Vikings and adds an immediate upgrade to the secondary. Abdullah and Delmas were both given reps with the #1 team. Day two started with a claim on FB Jacob Hester but before the day ended the Colts claimed Hester so the backup plan was a claim on recent cut QB Chad Henne. Both backups QBs in Detroit are solid players but they lack that elite throwing power that Henne has. Look for Henne to get some reps during preseason to see how he will fill in for Stafford if an injury was to occur.

When Free Agency opened up the Lions found some players that they feel are undervalued. Kicker Adi Kunalic can kick it out of the park and once the Lions got some gametape long time kicker Jason Hanson was cut. Safety Justin Taplin-Ross is an athletic enforcer so look for him to possibly push Abdullah into a backup role. Don't bother asking Shards if he wants to replace Center Dominic Raiola because it's the same answer every year. How does a 270 lb man with the arms of a T-rex end up an NFL Center? I don't know but somehow Raiola has become a long time starter and with a 4 million dollar salary don't look for him to be on he roster long. Ryan Bartholomew was signed as a developmental player to eventually take over for Raiola but that may be sooner than later if his preseason play is up to par. Here is a summary of all transactions so far

Lions Sign:

FS Husain Abdullah
QB Chad Henne
HB John Clay
WR Junior Hemingway
WR Jordan Shipley
TE Nate Byham
C Ryan Bartholomew
LB Spencer Adkins
SS Justin Taplin-Ross
K Adi Kunalic
P Daniel Sepulveda

Lions Cut:

HB Joique Bell
HB Stefan Logan
WR Kassim Osgood
TE Don Mulbach
LB Slade Norris
CB Ross Weaver
FS John Wendling
HB Kieland Williams
WR Patrick Edwards
WR Kris Durham
TE Will Heller
CB Drayton Florence
SS Erk Coleman
P Ben Graham
K Jason Hanson
HB Jerome Harrison

[Shards]

The Roar Report
Pre-Season 2013

Free Agency

Anyone who has been around for an offseason with coach Shards O Glass at the helm knows how much movement you can expect to see. This one was no different. The focus of the offseason was to shore up the secondary. CB Chris Houston had a great year and Rookie Chris Greenwood played pretty solid. On another note Rookie 2nd rounder Bill Bentley was a let down as he got lost in coverage. Also at SS Justin Taplin-Ross filled in quite nicely but is not suited to start for a good defense.

Top Free Agent Aquisitions

• CB Trumaine Brock - Will be a nice young addition to the secondary. Will have to fight for spot 2-4 at CB.
• SS Mike Mitchell - Is a big upgrade from Taplin-Ross and adds a little more versatility.
  
• ROLB DeAndre Levy - Was brought back to keep the core of this strong defense together.
  
• RB Mike Goodson - Will be some solid competition as change of pace back or maybe even a starter.
• RB Isaac Redman - Can be a solid power runner as insurance for Leshoure.
  
• CB Quinton Jammer - Will fight for a spot on a one year deal.
  
• WR Louis Murphy - Is a good threat and may end up the slot receiver
  
• WR Kevin Ogletree - Will fight with Murphy and others for a spot. This allowed the Lions to dump the contract that came with Burleson.

Draft
Round 1 Pick 18

With the 18th pick in the 2013 SFL Draft the Lions select 5'9" 200lb CB out of San Diego State Tomaz Dobbs. He signed a 4 year $8.4 Mil deal and should get a shot at the starting job opposite of Houston. He has elite speed, great hands, and can deliver some serious hits as you can see by his picture below. Look for Dobbs to make an impact immediately.

Round 2 Pick 18

With the 40th pick in the 2013 SFL Draft the Lions select 6' 210lb SS out of Stanford Houston Moudy. Last year the Lions lacked talent at the safety position opposite of Delmas so when this athletic powerful safety was available in the second round the Lions jumped. He was projected in the 1st round but his injury concerns led to his drop. The Lions head coach had this to say "Moudy has the athletic ability to become an elite safety. We want to bring in some depth so we can keep him healthy because there have been concerns about some injuries in his past.". He will probably take some snaps from FA SS Mike Mitchell.

Round 3 Pick 18

With the 72nd pick in the 2013 SFL Draft the Lions select 6'5" 307lb DE/DT out of Georgia Patrick Gjere. His versatility and athleticism allowed the Lions to cut ties with veteran DE Kyle Vanden Bosch and save some money. He will be a solid backup at End and will probably see some time as the 3rd DT in the 5-2.