HäMMëR's Best Guess: 2010 Detroit Lions Defense

Detroit Lions fans may soon find themselves embracing the bittersweet emotion of seeing some of their favorite players or prospects lost in the shuffle of the trimming of the roster down to fifty-three men.

That’s a great problem to have, friends.

True to his word in every way since being promoted to general manager, Martin Mayhew has diligently pursued every reasonable avenue through which to bolster a Detroit Lions roster that was sorely lacking talent in every department.

Through the process of sifting and winnowing for those fifty-three players who would become 2010 Detroit Lions, there will be fierce training camp battles that will leave a good many “on the outside looking in”.  The position battles that loom will cause the “cream to rise to the top”, and those who remain will yield a greater quality of player than what we have witnessed over the past two seasons.

That’s also a good thing.

It was Sir Winston Churchill who said:

“Kites rise highest against the wind - not with it.”

There’s a stiff breeze in the jet stream over the Great Lakes State these days, and Kaizen Magician Mayhew’s “kite” is gaining altitude at flank speed.

For many who study the NFL Draft relentlessly, they may be saddened somewhat to see “one of their guys” not make the final roster.  Some may be relieved to find certain youthful players placed on the practice squad, only to have them relocated to the greater Miami-Dade area.

That’s one rotten Tuna!  What a stinker!

When we consider the breakdown of the fifty-three man roster, we immediately account for three on special teams, so that leaves fifty.  Are the remaining fifty evenly dispersed between the offensive and defensive sides of the ball?

Well, if the final roster from the 2009 campaign is any indication, there will be twenty-five players on offense and twenty-five players on defense in 2010.

With that in mind, I’ll focus on just the defensive side of the ball and how the position battles will “squeeze” some players off the 2010 Detroit Lions roster.

The final 2009 roster was comprised of nine defensive linemen, seven linebackers, and nine defensive backs.  I will use the same approach when allotting the cast of my prognosticative 2010 Detroit Lions opening-day roster on defense (as of July 21, 2010).

Only DE Cliff Avril will return as a starter on the defensive line from the 2009 squad, adding DE Kyle Vanden Bosch, DT Ndamukong Suh, and DT Corey Williams to round out the new front four.  Also rotating on the defensive line will be DE Turk McBride, DE Jason Hunter, DE/DT Andre Fluellen, DT Sammie Lee Hill,  and DT Landon Cohen.

Only SLB Julian Peterson returns as a year-long starter at his 2009 position.  DeAndre Levy gained excellent experience at the weak outside linebacker position before moving inside to his final destination at MLB, the position for which Levy was drafted.  From all accounts, the vacated spot, WLB, left by the departed Ernie Sims is Zack Follett’s job to lose.  I hope Zack grabs the “tiger by the tail” and becomes the nasty-mean ‘backer he was at the University of California.

How about a Zack Attack on the Breaded Veal Cutler, Lions fans?  Steam rollin’ it with the Pain Train!!!

Rounding out the 2010 Detroit Lions linebacker corps will be Jordon Dizon, Vinny Ciurciu, Caleb Campbell, and Landon Johnson.

Only FS Louis Delmas will return to start in the 2010 Detroit Lions secondary, as Martin Mayhew made wholesale changes after the performance of the 2009 defensive backfield.  At this point, I believe Chris Houston and Jonathan Wade will start at cornerback, and C.C. Brown should emerge as the other starting safety.

Completing the complement of defensive backs will be CB Amari Spievey, CB Eric King, CB Dré Bly, FS Ko Simpson, and SS Marvin White.

Based on the comments of the players currently comprising the Detroit Lions defensive backfield, I find it appropriate to share another pearl from “Winnie”:

“The first quality that is needed is audacity.”

Now what player in his right mind would tout “playoff run” to the media in the wake of a 2-14 season, where the 2009 Detroit Lions defense finished poorly (okay, “poorly” was a “gentle” superlative)?

D-Category	Rank
Total Yards	32nd
Pass-D	32nd
Rush-D	25th
Scoring	32nd
Interceptions	30th

Well, maybe that’s the point after all.  You can’t have a player in his “right mind” look back and dwell upon the failures of the past, when only three men will return to start at his original position in 2009, or four return in total.  That’s churning 5/8ths of your starting roster again.

And I say keeping churning it until you get it right, which is exactly what Martin Mayhew has been doing since his promotion.

Frankly, Jonathan Wade, Chris Houston, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Corey Williams, and Ndamukong Suh didn’t contribute to any of the 2009 mess.

None of it.

And such is each player’s basis for his belief that the 2010 Detroit Lions truly are a playoff contender, despite most fans’ prognostications in the vicinity of a six-win season.

If they didn’t’ cause it, if they didn’t contribute to it, why should they swing in the noose for it?

They shouldn’t and we as fans shouldn’t drag them to the gallows pole.  We must allow, with an unfettered mind, the events of the 2010 Detroit Lions season to unfold, and see for ourselves what churning the roster one more time has done to turn this club into a winner.

As Detroit becomes a “more attractive” destination for prospective free agents, again, players from the 2010 roster will be forced aside.  The performance of the 2010 Detroit Lions team will add to the perception of “luster” over Motown.

As far as moves of note along the defensive line, I’m afraid that Joe Cohen and Jared DeVries will be squeezed out, with Willie “Don’t your dare call me ‘Chris’” Young being relegated to the practice squad.  Hopefully Willie Young won’t be signed off the practice squad by another team in need.

At linebacker, Ashlee Palmer could get caught in the squeeze as he is known for his special teams play, while Vinny Ciurciu filled a similar role on special teams and spot duty at outside linebacker last year.  Vinny’s second year in the system could be enough, although Palmer is very athletic as well.  Lee Campbell could be later signed to the practice squad.

“Squeeze outs” in the secondary could include Jonathan Hefney, Marquand Manuel, Dante Wesley, and Jack Williams.  Aaron Berry may find his way to the practice squad and activated later in the season as injuries warrant.

Many of us expect the addition of at least one, if not two more prospective “starting-grade” players on the defensive side of the ball, as teams par their rosters down to the fifty-three man limit.  Clearly it would benefit the club to find these players sooner rather than later.

Obviously, with the 2009 Detroit Lions defensive standings being what they are, there’s only one way for the 2010 defenders to look: UP.

Inasmuch as we know that kites do indeed rise highest against the wind, isn’t it only appropriate that the 2010 Detroit Lions begin their quest for success at the confines of Soldier Field in the Windy City?  (I know that the “wind” to which we are referring in “Windy City” is that of political “hot air”, not really the wind that blows across the surface of the Earth – just so you know that I know that you know that I know that I know that you know.  Right?  Right.)

When in a kite-flying contest in Chicago, I say cut the other guy’s string!

Good luck running that one down over Lake Michigan, Johnny Knox!

HäMMëR