Kevin Smith Injury Could Be Blessing in Disguise

The Detroit Lions placed Running Back, Kevin Smith and Tight End, Casey Fitzsimmons on IR. Many are talking like this is a bad thing for the Lions. I believe it may turn out a blessing in disguise.

To understand my point of view, first you need to acknowledge one fact. The Lions season is over! They cannot make the play-offs. To win a game now will only harm their draft position. It will do no real good except to make the players feel good about themselves for one week. Since the Lions really have nothing good to play for, this is the time to find out what they have in younger players.

Jim Schwartz said in a conference recently that he does not consider playing a player to see what they have. He said he will play the players who gives him the best chance of a win and to do otherwise would be detrimental to the team and its players. I say to not look at younger players and develop those younger players is detrimental to the teams future.

Casey Fitzsimmons has been on the Lions for seven seasons now. It is obvious that he will never be a star Tight End. In two seasons with the Lions, Kevin Smith has proven himself to be an adequate running back but nothing to get excited about. He runs hard but is not a true power runner who can drag defenders with him. He is too slow to be a home run threat and reach the edges with room to run. Neither of these players are anything more than average in their positions. To play them now would not help the Lions prepare for their future and yet, if they were healthy, Schwartz would keep on playing them rather than see what the young guys can do.

Now both players are injured and the Lions hands are forced.... to a point. The Lions went out and signed free agent Tight end Michael Matthews and promoted Running back Cedric Peerman from the practice squad.

Now I do not expect Matthews to step up and be a great tight end that nobody saw in him. The odds of that are extremely slim. But just because the odds are so slim does not mean it is impossible. We know that Fitzsimmons was not a star tight end. That we do know! So the Lions essentially have nothing to lose by using Matthews. Michael Matthews is like finding a mega millions ticket on the road for an upcoming drawing. The chances of it winning are very unlikely but hey, you just never know. One thing for sure, you don't throw that ticket away before you check to see if it wins.

With Kevin Smith going down it is a different story. Unfortunately for the Lions fans, Jim Schwartz hands are not entirely tied. What would be the best for the Lions future would be to play rookie Aaron Brown and see what he can do with his speed if given any real work load. Again, they have nothing to lose in seeing what he can do. Sadly however, Schwartz is far more likely to turn to Maurice Morris to start now, and that does not help the Lions future. This is Morris' 8th season in the NFL. If he had an upside to reach, he would have reached it by now. Morris is nothing more than another average running back who is just one step under what Kevin Smith was. It would be so much more beneficial for the Lions future to see what Brown can do, but Schwartz doesn't look at the Lions future. He has eyes for the upcoming game only. Since he has some small faith in Morris and because Aaron Brown seems to be in the dog house, it is likely we will see Morris carry the workload.

The Lions should play to win. I do not doubt that analogy. There is never an excuse for any pro team, player or coach to not try and win each and every game. But it is also the time to look at the future of this franchise. It is time to give the younger players some time. Other teams do it every year. Once their season is over, they often will try playing younger quarterbacks to get them some time on the field. Why not with running back?

Should Stafford Play with Injured Knee?

Jim Schwartz will only say that his rookie quarterback, Matthew Stafford is day to day. Stafford will not discuss any details on the injury other than that it is not the same injury he suffered in high school. Nobody is talking and the Lions fans are left to make assumptions. So here is mine....

It does not matter! It is that simple. It simply doesn't matter if his knee is days away or weeks away from being ready to play. It doesn't matter if it is the same injury from high school or not. It does not matter, because Stafford has not practiced and therefore should not play this week.

This has nothing to do with the fact I don't think he should have been starting from week-1. This has everything to do with common sense. He is a rookie and the future of the Detroit Lions. He needs repetitions. If a veteran quarterback misses a week of practice, it is still no easy thing to enter a game and look crisp. For a rookie, who is still learning the scheme and how to read defenses, it is far more difficult. If a rookie quarterback misses a week of practice, you just should not throw him back into the wolves. Especially when the wolves are the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Lions should play Daunte Culpepper this week and I cannot believe I am saying this but if Stafford practices next week, then you put him back in. The last thing the Lions need is a quarterback controversy. Schwartz should come out and say that Culpepper will start, but it is only for the short term and when Stafford is ready he will resume the role as the Lions starting quarterback. The only possible way this should lead to a controversy is if Stafford misses more than two weeks and Culpepper wins both games against the Steelers and after the bye week against the Rams. In that case you have to question whether to bench a quarterback who is winning. Other than that very slim chance, the Lions quarterback is Stafford and everyone knows he will take the reins again when he is healthy.

The first two weeks of the season, Stafford was far from ready to be playing. In fact, I do believe that if Culpepper had been playing, the Lions would have won the game against Minnesota. I felt the Lions should have sat Stafford for the first season and if not the whole season, until at least after the bye-week. They started him right away and took an extra loss because of that decision. Now however, Stafford has had the extra repetitions and is starting to come along. The injury might set him back a little and now after the bye-week he will be right back to where he would have been if he waited in the first place. Maybe slightly ahead of schedule but that little difference was not worth taking the extra loss.

Extra loss or not though, the job should be Stafford's now so long as he is healthy. But only if he is healthy. If he misses a week of practice, he should not play. Once he is back in practices, then he is put back in. No controversy, just simple common sense.

Safety Daniel Bullocks Out for Season

Bullocks hurt his knee and missed the entire 2007 season. He came back in 2008 and recorded 121 tackles. Now he will be out again after injuring the same knee that was hurt in 2007.

The Lions just became a little more thin at safety and I have to believe this could push efforts to turn Anthony Henry into a safety. The problem is the Lions dont have anyone better than Hanry to play cornerback.

Culpepper Practices with First Team Squad

Daunte Culpepper practiced with the first team for the Detroit Lions while Matthew Stafford practiced strictly with the 2nd team only.

This could be a sign that Culpepper has the upper hand early on to be the Lions starting quarterback. Then again, tomorrow we could see Stafford practice with the first team while Daunte works with the 2nd team only. We do not yet know how Jim Schwartz will work things. If Daunte Culpepper continues to work with the first team then I would look at it as a sign of the coaches plans.

Lions Trade Ronald Curry

The Detroit Lions have traded Ronald Curry away to the St.Louis Rams before he ever played a down for them. In return, the Lions receive a Defensive Tackle, Orien Harris.

Last year was the 26 year old's first season and he played in 14 games. His 4 solo and 8 assisted tackles is not a lot to speak of. Yet, even with his lack of experience and production, this is a good trade for the Lions. They need some size in the middle of the defensive line and Harris is a 300-pounder.

This trade also clears up the Lions receiver position a little more. With Calvin Johnson obviously slated as the #1 receiver, it now looks as if Bryant Johnson will play the other side and Dennis Northcutt, whom the Lions got from the Jaguars will play the slot receiver. The only question remaining on the receiving corps is if the rookie Derrick Williams can break into the mix.

NEWS - 06/28/2009 -- Detroit Lions trade a Safety for Another Receiver?

The Lions traded Safety Gerald Alexander to the Jacksonville Jaguars for veteran receiver Dennis Northcutt. Martin Mayhew has made a passel of good moves so far but at this time I cant say I feel this is one of them.

The Detroit Lions already had thirteen receivers on their roster. Northcutt is in the twilight of his career. Though he used to be a punt returner, he only returned a few punts for the Jaguars in 2008. This says to me that he is not as good as he once might have been, otherwise why wouldn't the Jags have still used him to return punts?

Trading Gerald Alexander away doesn't make any sense either. He has only played for two seasons. As a rookie he started most of the games and played admirably. In 2008 he was hampered by injuries. If he is healthy, it does not make sense why the Lions would trade a young safety, of which they only have five, for a fourteenth receiver.

NEWS - 06/26/2009 -- Center - Raiola signs 4 Year Contract Extension

The Detroit Lions signed center Dominic Raiola to a four-year contract extension Thursday, putting the 6-foot-1, 295-pound starter under contract through the 2013 season

“If you talk about the great centers, probably in the history of the National Football League,” Schwartz said, “I think they’d all have in common: leverage, feet, balance, quickness. Dom has all of those.”

Okay, now this got me to thinking, and anyone who knows me understands that is not always a good thing. I can understand giving Raiola a contract extension. He is a decent center.... but great? To refer him to one of the best in history? Going a little over board here if you ask me.

Along with handing the ball to the quarterback, the Center has two more major contributions he has to make to the team. He needs to protect that same QB he just handed the grenade to and he has to run block. In quarterback protection, I would say he is decent. Yes the Lions have been giving up over 50 sacks a season for the last three years now, but I can believe most of those came from the other linemen. QB protection I am okay with... its the who run blocking thing I have a problem with.

When was the last time the Lions had the ball in a short yardage situation when any of us felt confident they could push it forward for a couple yards? When was the last time the Lions were at the goal line and just dominated the point of attack to get the touchdown? When was the last time Raiola pancaked a guy opening up a huge hole for the running back to fly through?

Dominic Raiola has good balance, good feet, good leverage and good balance. He is missing the one factor which I for one believe is the most important of them all. Power!

Consider how much improved an offense becomes when they can get the push to gain a couple yards when they really need it. That ability at the goal line forces defenses to worry more about the middle and it opens up small passes and outside rushes. Gaining those first downs when needed sustains drives, giving offenses more chances to score. Sustained drives keep the defense on the bench and rested up. The Detroit Lions have consistently been one of the worst short yardage teams in football and Raiola is at the center of that fact.

Give him the extension if only because he is the best we have and you need to keep him. But to say he is listed with the great ones? If Schwartz keeps saying things like this I am going to start wondering if he is going to be a good coach or just another politician in charge of a football team.

Notice in the picture above, how Raiola #51 seems a bit smaller than all the other Detroit Lions offensive Linemen.... who are not known for their power.