Detroit Lions Roundtable: Two To Keep, Two To Kick

Welcome to the 4th Edition of the Detroit Lions Roundtable. The topic this week dealt with which players currently on the Lions are worth keeping and which ones should be traded or released at all costs?

Four of our top Lions writers played the role of GM and tackled the question this week. They were each asked to select two to keep, and two to kick. (Why stop at two? Hey we don't want things getting too out of hand here.)

Introducing...

Scott Reiger

This is a difficult question because of the sorry state of the team; it is difficult to say that there are only two players I’d like to get rid of. However, I will try to consider salary cap ramifications and other indicators to make my selections.

The two players I would definitely keep on the team are RB Kevin Smith and WR Calvin Johnson.

Kevin Smith – This guy hasn’t put up stellar numbers, but if you look closer, it has more to do with the supporting cast on the offensive line, combined with a lackluster commitment to running the ball. When he gets the ball a decent amount in a game, he makes a noticeable impact.

Last week against the Jags, he had a career-high 23 carries, and delivered to the tune of 96-yards and a touchdown.  He also made a very nice 27-yard reception on the Lion’s first scoring drive.

Despite the overall team performance and record, he is putting together a very nice rookie season and showing explosion at the RB position that Detroit hasn’t seen since #20 left town.  I think that given some time and through building a better core around him, he could be one of the NFL’s top tier running backs for years to come.

Calvin Johnson – This pick was a no-brainer! Of the Lions’ nine first round draft picks since 2000, only Calvin Johnson (2007), Ernie Sims (2005), and Jeff Backus (2001) are still on the team. It could be argued that Calvin Johnson is the only one of those three that is making an impact commensurate with his draft position.

While Ernie Sims has shown flashes of potential and ability, he seems to have regressed this year and Jeff Backus is an above-average NFL LT at best. A move to LG or RT is in order for him to be more effective.

After putting up a very impressive rookie season considering that he was playing with an injured back from week three of the season, he has continued to be the go to receiver and deliver while being the object of the opposition’s double teams. He posted 48 receptions for 756 yards and four touchdowns along with one rushing touchdown as a rookie and has eclipsed his yardage and touchdown totals already this season, with seven games still to play.

Regardless of what happens the rest of this season, Calvin Johnson is the most talented and most important player on the Lions roster and should be a centerpiece moving forward.

The two players I would release/trade would be CB Brian Kelly and LB Paris Lenon.

Brian Kelly – After a very good 10-year run in Tampa where he was a key member of one of the NFL’s top defenses, he signed a three-year deal with Detroit and has disappointed. His skills have diminished to the point where he has been benched repeatedly for poor performance or because of mismatches.

Opposing teams know that they can pick on Kelly at this stage in his career and that they will find success doing that. It’s unfortunate that he was brought in here to start when his physical limitations obviously preclude him from performing at a high level.

He has registered 24 tackles, one pass defended and no interceptions this season, which is unacceptable from a starting CB. The secondary is a huge problem area for the Lions and they will likely want to purge some of the dead weight at the position.  If I was GM, Kelly would be the first to go.

Paris Lenon – This was a tough choice because you can tell that Lenon tries hard on Sunday and has some heart. The problem is that he just isn’t very good.

He has poor awareness and play recognition ability which leads to him being out of position most of the time. He also cannot shed blocks to save his life, as he runs directly into the opposing offensive line while their running back runs untouched into the second and third levels.

He would be a decent special teams performer so I might consider keeping him around, but with swift and vast changes coming for the LBing core, he would probably be released.    

Joe Gearhart

Becoming the GM of the Detroit Lions is like a dream come true.  Your ability to create a team from scratch is unmatched. New players, and new coaches, and new schemes, oh what fun it is!

Here are my two "untouchables" that will forever stay with the team.  Whether they like it or not,   because I'm the GM and I do what I want.  RESPECT MY AUTHORITY!

Jason Hanson - Keep Jason Hanson at all costs!  the best player on our team is 5-5 from 50 yards away and 4-4 from 40-49 yards away and  still hasn't missed a field goal yet( besides the blocked kicks).

He's been our kicker since 1992 and now is not the time to turn our backs on him. Unless he retires, I say re-sign him.  Besides, I have a Hanson jersey that I wear all the time. I don't wanna get rid of it!

Kevin Smith - Keep Kevin Smith. He shows flashes of greatness within the futility of the lions.  4.3 yards per carry, and five touchdowns, this guy could be pretty darn good if he had a decent line blocking for him.

His amazing year at Central Florida almost broke the NCAA record for most yards in a season, a record that is held by Lions legend Barry Sanders. That was no fluke, and if the Lions  would actually commit to the run with Kevin Smith, he could emulate the rookie year Adrian Peterson had.

He can run the ball, he can catch the ball with 25 receptions for 189 yards, and he looks so happy. Seriously look at his profile pic, happy as a clam at high tide.

Though there are too many players to name to get rid of there are two specific players that are on my "dump at all costs list."

Jon Kitna - Get rid of Jon Kitna. He's obviously not the future of this franchise. He was at best a temporary solution, and an average quarterback. Yes, he had over 4,000 passing yards each season with Mike Martz's offense, but any quarterback can rack up that many yards in his pass-happy scheme. Besides, Dan "The Man" Orlovsky is a much cooler name than Jon k-INT-na

Rudi Johnson - Get rid of Rudi Johnson. There is a reason why he was cut by the Bengals, the "other" worst team in the NFL. The Lions need to find a franchise running back and Rudi isn't it. He did have a pretty good tenure at Cincinnati, but Rudi isn't the back he once was. It's time to pack your bags, that is if Tatum Bell doesn't take them first.

Bob Biscigliano               

Two to keep:

Calvin Johnson - Calvin is a no-brainer. He is probably the most talented WR in the NFL and if there was ever any doubt, I would just direct you to watch the video shown here:.

I want to believe so badly that the Lions are not going to let his talent go to waste. Anything short of a Herman Moore like career in Detroit would be a complete and utter failure for this guy's talent. That being said, it would be just as big of a disappointment to see this guy go anywhere else, and exploit defenses like he's very capable of doing.

Kevin Smith - Kevin Smith has put up some decent numbers when he actually gets carries, and uses his magnifying glass to find holes to run through. He is who the Lions thought he was when he was drafted in the 3rd round, a steal.

If given an offensive line that actually creates some room for him, he could be a more than serviceable running back in the NFL. He's not the next Barry Sanders by any means, but he's also not Ron Rivers or Tatum Bell. Kevin Smith is very deserving to be a number one running back. 

Two to kick:

Uhhhh...More than two would be the reasonable, and RIGHT, answer here.  I'd rather not single only two players out and say, "they gots to go.," when everyone other guy is just as culpable as the next. IF you hold a gun to my head and tell me I have to pick two or else my brains will be splattered to the wall, I will very easily, and quickly, say that these two "gots to freaking go, please don't shoot me." 

George Foster - First of all, George Foster is taking time away from our first round draft pick. There is no excuse for our first round pick to not be playing week in and week out.

I don't care if he's hurt, pregnant, or blind. If we draft a lineman in the first round, we better be prepared to play him, and get him experience so he can get better and better as the season wears on.

Secondly, Foster gets flagged for roughly 13,000 false starts, 200 holdings, and allows 30 sacks a game.  How Marinelli even considers this guy to start, let alone play in any games, I will never fathom.

Shaun McDonald - My reasoning for wanting Shaun McDonald gone is more personal than anything else.  My personal dislike for him has logic behind it though.

To put very bluntly, I've never liked this guy. Don't get me wrong, he put up some decent numbers last year in Martz's offense, at first. Then in the second half of the season, he decided to drop more important balls than five 13 year-old kids going through puberty do.

I thought for sure that the Lions were going to be smart enough to cut him loose before this season. Now that the Lions are 0-9, and he's still here, 5'10", and dropping passes, I can't imagine stomaching another Lions season with him lining up with the likes of Calvin Johnson. "He's gots to go, please."

Keith Shelton

As incredible as it may seem, there are diamonds in this coal mine that is the Lions. Its like finding a needle in a haystack sometimes, but its there. The Lions have two guys in particular that would be excellent building blocks for the future.

Calvin Johnson - No brainer. There is only one other receiver in the league who can match Johnson's potential dominance down the road and that's Randy Moss. The tragedy of it all is that the word potential still has to be used because the poor guy doesn't even have a halfway decent quarterback to