Meet the Detroit Lions' Secondary: Are They Better Than Advertised?

No O.J. Atogwe. No Eric Berry. No problem.

It has been an offseason of renewed optimism in Detroit as the Lions continue to add quality players and look more like a legitimate football team.

And yet, for some, the question now is the same as it was before any of these moves were being made: What about the secondary?

Well, it's Louis Delmas and a bunch of guys. That sounds like a bad thing, and maybe it is.

Or not.

You already know who Delmas is, so let's actually take a look at who those other guys are. You know, the ones we're all so anxious to replace.

Maybe you'll change your mind on that.

Cornerbacks

Chris Houston

For starters, does anybody have any issues with likely top corner Chris Houston?

The only thing you can knock him on is being young.

His physical skills are there. For a corner, he's an almost ideal mix of size, speed, and strength. He can run with anybody, and won't get shoved around by more powerful wideouts.

So why did a 2007 second-round pick get traded to the Lions for a 2010 sixth-rounder and 2011 conditional seventh-rounder?

Well, he can get beat sometimes.

Houston seems to struggle with the mental aspects of the game. He made a name for himself in Atlanta for misdiagnosing plays and making bad decisions in zone coverage.

The good news is, those are the kinds of things that can be fixed, especially for a 25-year-old cornerback entering only his fourth season. You can't make a man run faster or grow three inches. You can teach him how to play better zone coverage or react to a double move.

Remember, Jim Schwartz was the man in charge when Cortland Finnegan became one of the top corners in the AFC. This man knows how to coach up his secondary.

Amari Spievey

Talking about Schwartz coaching up his secondary brings us to Amari Spievey.

Now, don't heap too high of expectations on Spievey. He's not good to go right out of the box. Cornerbacks have a lot to acclimate to when they enter the league, so don't assume he's going to see much action on the wings this year.

But he could see the field late in games, and he has the potential to be very good.

He's already notched his first multi-interception OTA, and training camp isn't for another month. He could shock us all and earn a starting role in Week one, but even if he doesn't, he's a short-term project poised to yield long-term results.

Dre' Bly

Dre' Bly is the newest addition to the Lions' current cornerback logjam, and by the way, he only turned 33 in May.

Yes, I said only 33.

I know that's right around the end of the game for cornerbacks, but admit it: You thought he was older than that. Also, reigning Defensive Player of the Year Charles Woodson turns 34 in October.

That being said, I don't know what Bly's role will be on the team. Nobody does.

You say he's a leader? I say he's a showboat and a potentially bad influence on a young squad.

You say he's an instant starter? I say he has to prove it.

But it's good to have Bly back in town, either way. We're talking about a man who made the Pro Bowl as a cornerback for the Lions. The only person to grab more than three interceptions in a season in Detroit since 2001, and he did it three times, with six (2003), four (2004), and six again (2005).

Last season, he had three for the San Francisco 49ers. It's hard to watch him and say he hasn't lost a step from his last stint in Detroit, but he can still be a starting-quality player.

We could do worse for a No. two corner. In fact, for most of last season, we did.

Jonathan Wade

It's easy to forget about Jonathan Wade.

He was signed right around the time the Chris Houston deal was getting done, and Houston was the more notable player.

Wade's signing was immediately downplayed as being a "depth" move. His skills as a special teamer were discussed.

Immediately, Wade came out against that assumption, claiming he would fight for a starting job.

We all nodded politely and smiled and said "yeah, right" in our minds.

And now, he's impressing the Lions' defensive coaches as the "most consistent" cover player on the field, and very strong in press coverage.

The signing of Dre' Bly indicates perhaps that they're not ready to hand over the keys to Wade, but Wade's performance in OTAs indicates that he might take them by force.

Safeties

C.C. Brown

The last couple times I've talked about Lions' safeties, I've forgotten entirely about C.C. Brown. So this time he gets to go first.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that we're probably going to forget about him again by the time the season starts. And so will the coaching staff.

I want to like Brown... I really do. He's young, he was a starter for four years in Houston, and he's a solid tackler.

Athletically, he's the surest bet to line up alongside Louis Delmas.

And yet, something's not quite right. Call it a hunch... with some facts behind it.

In five seasons, he has three interceptions, and none since 2007. In 66 games, he has successfully defended 17 passes. He fell out of favor with the New York Giants after he struggled to pick up his new playbook and schemes.

And now he's in Detroit, playing for a team with yet another new playbook, which needs a good deal of help in the coverage game.

Brown may well be a fine run-stopping safety, but I'm not so sure he fits what the Lions need him to do.

Ko Simpson

The starting job is Ko Simpson's to lose. The only reason the Lions ended the 2009 season with a hole at safety is because Simpson was on IR.

Which, incidentally, poses the same problem in 2010. Simpson showed some strong play last season, intercepting a pass and defending four others (despite only starting five games) before hitting the injured list. He's not going to give Delmas a run for best safety, but he is more than serviceable.

The 2010 season will be Simpson's first shot at consistent starting time since his rookie year in Buffalo, and if he stays healthy, he will earn it. Unlike the majority of other candidates to start, Simpson, at 26, still has upside.

The fact is, we don't really know what Simpson can do with a full year to play. He looked like a different player in Detroit than the one who shuffled around in different roles as a Buffalo Bill.

Hopefully, we'll get to see.

Marquand Manuel

Provided Marquand Manuel remains on the roster until the beginning of the regular season, it will end a long, tumultuous time for him.

Since 2003, he has played with the Bengals, Seahawks, Packers, Panthers, Broncos, and Lions. He has not remained with the same team for more than one season since 2005.

I know, that's a big red flag right away. If five other NFL teams decided to dump this guy that fast, why should we take a chance?

Better question: Why not?

Manuel has been the same guy most of his career: Good speed, hard hitter, makes too many mistakes.

But maybe that has something to do with playing for a new team every year.

Now Manuel is 30. I won't say he has "upside", but he wasn't a terrible player when he was on the field last year; he started six games and hasn't been run out of town yet.

With stable health and some work in training camp, Manuel could be a dark horse candidate to win the starting job. At worst, he's a "not too bad" backup.

Daniel Bullocks

If Daniel Bullocks turns out to be a fantastic player, I owe the man a huge apology .

But then, I'll wait for him to make the team, and actually play a full season before we talk about whether or not he's going to be any good.

For a fifth-year player, we know very little about Bullocks. A product of the first Matt Millen/Rod Marinelli draft, Bullocks has missed the entirety of two of his four professional seasons with knee injuries, and he hasn't dazzled in the ones he's played.

I'm still not convinced the Lions aren't just letting him practice out of pity, but the fact is, he's being given the chance to prove me wrong. We don't know if he can still play even as well as he did before.

Nonetheless, his name is in the mix.

For now.