They looked that way for two straight years. If this was really going on and NOBODY did anything about it, that's not gonna change this year. The front office is still the same.
No Poison No Paradise - The Official Detroit Lions 2014 Offseason Thread
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eastside313
Superstar
Scwharz would been fired last year if not for that retarded contract extension
eastside313
Superstar
Signing Ndamukong Suh to Massive Contract Extension a Catch-22 for Lions
The Detroit Lions just can't catch a break.
After making the playoffs for the first time in 20 years in 2012, the Lions have slipped back into mediocrity the past two seasons.
Now, as the team tries to get back into the hunt in the NFC North under new head coach Jim Caldwell, the Lions stand at a crossroads with star defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.
Unfortunately for the Lions, whichever path they choose may well haunt the team down the road.
With the Lions over the projected 2014 salary cap and Suh saddled with an untenable cap number of well over $20 million, one of the team's priorities this offseason is getting the four-year veteran signed to an extension.
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At least that's what team president Tom Lewand told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press at the press conference to announce Caldwell's hiring in January:
We have tremendous respect for Ndamukong, and I think we’ve expressed to him an interest in him in being here, and he’s expressed an interest in staying here. We’ll see where that takes us and what the timing of that is.
Granted, there are those who feel the Lions should cut bait and either tradeSuh or just allow his contract to expire after the 2014 season, including Birkett's colleague Drew Sharp:
The Detroit Lions just can't catch a break.
After making the playoffs for the first time in 20 years in 2012, the Lions have slipped back into mediocrity the past two seasons.
Now, as the team tries to get back into the hunt in the NFC North under new head coach Jim Caldwell, the Lions stand at a crossroads with star defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.
Unfortunately for the Lions, whichever path they choose may well haunt the team down the road.
With the Lions over the projected 2014 salary cap and Suh saddled with an untenable cap number of well over $20 million, one of the team's priorities this offseason is getting the four-year veteran signed to an extension.
This Video is not authorized for playback on this device.
At least that's what team president Tom Lewand told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press at the press conference to announce Caldwell's hiring in January:
We have tremendous respect for Ndamukong, and I think we’ve expressed to him an interest in him in being here, and he’s expressed an interest in staying here. We’ll see where that takes us and what the timing of that is.
Granted, there are those who feel the Lions should cut bait and either tradeSuh or just allow his contract to expire after the 2014 season, including Birkett's colleague Drew Sharp:
It’s not that Suh is a malcontent troublemaker as one national report suggested. It simplydoesn’t make fiscal sense when there remain so many potholes on the defensive side of the ball.
Before we go any farther, a note about that report: There is a claim by NFL Network Analyst Heath Evansthat sources told him Suh was "uncontrollable" in the locker room and constantly challenged the authority of head coach Jim Schwartz.
For the sake of this discussion, none of that is even the tiniest bit relevant. The degree to which Suh is Santa or Satan isn't really germane to this topic.
The reason? The same reason the Lions aren't about to deal him, but plenty of teams would inquire if they were.
Ndamukong Suh is one hell of a football player.
Ndamukong Suh
YearTacklesQB HitsSacksINTFFPFF Rank
201066610.01124
20113644.00035
201235208.0004
201349135.5012
Per Pro Football Focus
Since Suh entered the NFL in 2010, there hasn't been a more consistently disruptive interior lineman in the league. In each of the past two seasons, Suh has graded out as a top-five defensive tackle at Pro Football Focus (subscription required), and last year only Gerald McCoy of the Tampa Bay Buccaneersposted a higher grade at the position.
The fact is, Suh is an elite talent who the Lions have already invested a ton of money in and is just entering the prime of his career.
You don't let those players walk.
Unfortunately, that huge investment is part of what has the Lions stuck in a no-win situation.
Like teammate Matthew Stafford,Suh's rookie deal was a product of the old collective bargaining agreement, and it was a doozie.
The former second overall pick signed a five-year, $68 million contract when he entered the league, with $40 million of that guaranteed.
The deal has already been restructured, which leaves the Lions in their present predicament.
That mega-deal skewed Suh's baseline where his second contract was concerned. The five-year, $55 million extension for Cincinnati's Geno Atkins (who also entered the NFL in 2010) was a windfall for theBengals' beefeater.
For Suh, it would represent a significant pay cut.
Until Suh hires an agent and negotiations get going in earnest it's unknown exactly what Suh is looking for. But, given his current salary and performance to date, there's little reason to think Suh will settle for anything less than being one of the NFL's highest-paid defensive players.
NFL's Highest-Paid Defensive Players
PlayerTeamPos.Avg. Salary
Mario WilliamsBUFDE$16 million
Darrelle RevisTBCB$16 million
Julius PeppersCHIDE$14 million
Clay MatthewsGBOLB$13.2 million
Charles JohnsonCARDE$12.7 million
Per Spotrac
Suh may be worth it. The contract itself isn't the problem. It's the contract in the context of the Lions' salary-cap situation.
According to spotrac, of the $133.1 million the Lions have committed to 2014 salaries, $53.1 million is tied up in three players—Suh, Stafford and wide receiver Calvin Johnson.
Chart Designed by Author
That's 38.5 percent of the Lions' salary spent on 5.6 percent of the roster.
No wonder the team's over the cap.
Extending Suh's deal will grant some relief, as will jettisoning overpriced veterans such as Nate Burleson and Louis Delmas.
Even then, though, the Lions are one of the top-heaviest rosters in the NFL, and the players taking up all the room have combined for a grand total of zero playoff wins.
Is Ndamukong Suh worth a five-year, $75 million contract?
That's not a knock on those players, whose supporters will no doubt point out that football is a team sport. Only so much one player can do, talented though he may be.
Of course, the flip side of that coin is there's only so much that can be added around players who take up such an inordinate amount of cap space.
In any event, the deal will get done. The Lions would be shredded (both by the media and in regard to the return they'd receive) for trading a player of Suh's caliber, and Suh's cap number this year puts the team in a position where waiting isn't even really an option.
So the Lions will bite the bullet, sign on the dotted line with Suh and keep walking the salary-cap tightrope around their three stars, despite it having gotten them exactly nowhere to this point.
Before we go any farther, a note about that report: There is a claim by NFL Network Analyst Heath Evansthat sources told him Suh was "uncontrollable" in the locker room and constantly challenged the authority of head coach Jim Schwartz.
For the sake of this discussion, none of that is even the tiniest bit relevant. The degree to which Suh is Santa or Satan isn't really germane to this topic.
The reason? The same reason the Lions aren't about to deal him, but plenty of teams would inquire if they were.
Ndamukong Suh is one hell of a football player.
Ndamukong Suh
YearTacklesQB HitsSacksINTFFPFF Rank
201066610.01124
20113644.00035
201235208.0004
201349135.5012
Per Pro Football Focus
Since Suh entered the NFL in 2010, there hasn't been a more consistently disruptive interior lineman in the league. In each of the past two seasons, Suh has graded out as a top-five defensive tackle at Pro Football Focus (subscription required), and last year only Gerald McCoy of the Tampa Bay Buccaneersposted a higher grade at the position.
The fact is, Suh is an elite talent who the Lions have already invested a ton of money in and is just entering the prime of his career.
You don't let those players walk.
Unfortunately, that huge investment is part of what has the Lions stuck in a no-win situation.
Like teammate Matthew Stafford,Suh's rookie deal was a product of the old collective bargaining agreement, and it was a doozie.
The former second overall pick signed a five-year, $68 million contract when he entered the league, with $40 million of that guaranteed.
The deal has already been restructured, which leaves the Lions in their present predicament.
That mega-deal skewed Suh's baseline where his second contract was concerned. The five-year, $55 million extension for Cincinnati's Geno Atkins (who also entered the NFL in 2010) was a windfall for theBengals' beefeater.
For Suh, it would represent a significant pay cut.
Until Suh hires an agent and negotiations get going in earnest it's unknown exactly what Suh is looking for. But, given his current salary and performance to date, there's little reason to think Suh will settle for anything less than being one of the NFL's highest-paid defensive players.
NFL's Highest-Paid Defensive Players
PlayerTeamPos.Avg. Salary
Mario WilliamsBUFDE$16 million
Darrelle RevisTBCB$16 million
Julius PeppersCHIDE$14 million
Clay MatthewsGBOLB$13.2 million
Charles JohnsonCARDE$12.7 million
Per Spotrac
Suh may be worth it. The contract itself isn't the problem. It's the contract in the context of the Lions' salary-cap situation.
According to spotrac, of the $133.1 million the Lions have committed to 2014 salaries, $53.1 million is tied up in three players—Suh, Stafford and wide receiver Calvin Johnson.
Chart Designed by Author
That's 38.5 percent of the Lions' salary spent on 5.6 percent of the roster.
No wonder the team's over the cap.
Extending Suh's deal will grant some relief, as will jettisoning overpriced veterans such as Nate Burleson and Louis Delmas.
Even then, though, the Lions are one of the top-heaviest rosters in the NFL, and the players taking up all the room have combined for a grand total of zero playoff wins.
Is Ndamukong Suh worth a five-year, $75 million contract?
That's not a knock on those players, whose supporters will no doubt point out that football is a team sport. Only so much one player can do, talented though he may be.
Of course, the flip side of that coin is there's only so much that can be added around players who take up such an inordinate amount of cap space.
In any event, the deal will get done. The Lions would be shredded (both by the media and in regard to the return they'd receive) for trading a player of Suh's caliber, and Suh's cap number this year puts the team in a position where waiting isn't even really an option.
So the Lions will bite the bullet, sign on the dotted line with Suh and keep walking the salary-cap tightrope around their three stars, despite it having gotten them exactly nowhere to this point.
Their new QB coach is named Jim Bob Cooter. This can't be life.
Maizeandbluekid
Early 2010's OG
Jim... Bob... Cooter?
This dude got a DUI in '06 and check out this arrest for aggravated burlary in '09:
http://www.local8now.com/home/headlines/49623477.html
This clown is gonna fit right in.
http://www.local8now.com/home/headlines/49623477.html
This clown is gonna fit right in.
eastside313
Superstar
Can't be any worse than the coach we had that was naked in the drive thru
Hall of Fame CB Rod Woodson mentoring Lions' Darius Slay through growing pains
ALLEN PARK -- Darius Slay began his rookie season as a starting cornerback. He ended it with some wondering whether he was the Detroit Lions' latest second-round bust.
New defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is not one of those people. Nor is Hall of Fame cornerback Rod Woodson, who has become Slay's personal mentor over the past year.
Cornerback Rod Woodson, shown returning an interception during a 1999 game for Baltimore, finished with more picks than all but two players in NFL history. Now the 17-year veteran -- and Hall of Famer -- is mentoring young Lions cornerback Darius Slay.AP File Photo
Both men suggested Slay is talented enough that he could become a force by Year 3 with the right coaching.
"I think what's unfair to guys like Darius is they want him to play like a three-year or four-year vet, and he's not," Woodson told MLive in a recent phone interview. "Anytime you put a young guy on the field, even if he has tremendous talent, he's going to get beat.
"If he can correct all his negatives, by the third year, I think that's when you're going to see glimpses of greatness. I think you saw a couple glimpses his rookie year, I think next year you'll see a couple more, and then the third year you should see him break out."
Woodson knows that curve well.
He lived it.
"Heck, if ESPN and all that stuff was really working when I played, and there were all the outlets there are today, they probably would have said 'this guy is a bust' my first couple years," Woodson said. All he did was go on to play 17 seasons, intercept more passes than all but two men who have ever played the game and get inducted into the Hall of Fame.
But that first year was rough, as they often are for cornerbacks. And Slay was no exception.
Woodson has developed a mentorship role with Slay over the past year, and intends to help the young Lions corner maneuver through the growing pains that are inevitable his first couple years in the league.
That includes hosting Slay for several days at his Pleasantville, Calif., home sometime before training camp this offseason. They will work out at a field near Woodson's home, although the bulk of Slay's training will be spent dissecting film and talking Xs and Os with one of the best corners ever to play the game.
This won't be the first time Woodson has hosted Slay, either.
The cornerbacks' relationship began last winter through Eugene Parker, a longtime friend of Woodson who also is Slay's agent. They spoke on the phone before the 2013 combine, which isn't unusual for Woodson, who has consulted with several young cornerbacks through the years.
But he immediately took a liking to the affable and inquisitive Slay, and invited him to his home for some training, something he had never done with another player.
Darius Slay struggled early in his rookie season, especially during this game in Chicago. Mike Mulholland | MLive.com
Slay ended up staying in Woodson's home for five days.
"He's just a fun-loving guy," Woodson said. "I got five kids, and he fit right in with my family. My boys -- I have a 21 year old and a 15 year old -- they got to like him and they followed him last season. They played Madden and everything."
What did Woodson see in Slay during that visit? A massively talented player who has enough size to neutralize today's bigger receivers, paired with the foot speed of a smaller cornerback.
But Woodson also saw a corner who trailed his peers mentally because of the man-heavy scheme he played in at Mississippi State.
That system accentuated Slay's strength -- his terrific athleticism -- but didn't allow for him to learn the more complicated schemes that are found in the NFL. And now he's paying the price.
"I think the coaches had him doing some things that I don't think would work in the National Football League," Woodson said. "I think the biggest difference when you're at a school like Mississippi State in college, they run a lot of man. And I think you get used to your man eyes.
"That's what we used to talk about (last year). We talked about his man eyes and his zone eyes."
In man, the corner's eyes are locked on the receiver. But in zone, the corner has to be more aware of how he functions with other components of the defense, and that is where Slay has struggled.
I just really thought he was one of the best corners in the draft. I know quite a few coaches in the league who really wanted him.
"When a university asks you to do one thing all year long, and then you come into the league and you have to do multiple schemes, that's a big adjustment," Woodson said. "That's why I think he has so much upside, because I think he has a lot of untapped potential. He's still just learning to play the game. He's still learning the basics of playing the position.
"That's why when I looked at his college tape, I just really thought he was one of the best corners in the draft. I know quite a few coaches in the league who really wanted him."
Viewed through that prism, it was somewhat predictable that Slay incurred some struggles his rookie season.
He began the year as a starter, but was benched midway through the first two games and lost his spot permanently to Rashean Mathis in Week 3. He made two more spot starts due to injury, but was mostly relegated to a reserve role.
Slay was better down the stretch, and played extremely well in a Thanksgiving start against the Packers. But he had too many mental lapses overall and finished 92nd at the position according to ProFootballFocus.
"He has all the potential you could ever ask for," Woodson said, "but potential is not everything in this league. Everybody has potential coming into the National Football League, which is why they get drafted. What he has to do is keep learning, and that learning curve has to keep growing."
Woodson tracked Slay throughout last season, and occasionally texted him some advice. The pair will pour over Slay's tape in depth when they get together in California, but Woodson already knows some of the key points Slay must address.
Slay needs to work on what Woodson called "hash-split rules," which govern how a corner should position his body depending on the location of the receiver and ball. He needs to iron out his footwork, and must develop better anticipation for where a receiver could be headed out of his breaks.
"I'm just going to work on staying consistent. That's it," Slay told MLive. "I feel like I finished my last six weeks like I wanted to. I did pretty decent. With Green Bay I was on a hot streak at the end of the season, besides the injury.
"But I came out with no picks. Got to make more plays, and I know that."
Slay said he plans to run routes with Bears receiver Alshon Jefferey as part of his regimen -- they share the same agent -- as well as get in some base-line conditioning in Tampa and Atlanta. But it's when he returns to Woodson's place when he can really hone the cognitive aspects of his game.
And that more than anything else will determine how quickly he can be an effective every-down player for the Lions.
Austin sees the same kind of potential. The former Ravens secondary coach compared Slay to Jimmy Smith, who struggled to break into Baltimore's lineup his first two seasons before blowing up in -- you guessed it -- Year 3.
"(Jimmy) was a lot like Darius. He kind of flashed he had has some tremendous talent, but he didn't quite play as consistently as you'd like," Austin said. "But then he finally, like a lot of them, sometimes it just clicks. It takes reps, it takes time.
"We'll work on Darius. He's got a lot of talent, he's got a lot of room to improve and so we'll try to just kind of improve on this area and that area and keep working. Hopefully the improvement will show and he'll be able to play an important part for us this year."
Woodson believes Slay will be better in 2014, but a force in 2015.
"His upside is tremendous," Woodson said. "He has a quick burst, he's physical, he can run with any receiver in the NFL. He's physical enough to take anybody, and his contact-courage is up to par. Now the question is can he become one of the top-notch corners?
"I think he can be. Just give it some time."
eastside313
Superstar
Delmas and burleson gone
See ya
See ya
Delmas and burleson gone
See ya
