With the major pieces in place for the Detroit Lions, its time for a few guys to grab the bull by the horns, pick up the slack, and make this a solid team from top to bottom. Matthew Stafford’s progression from his rookie year to his sophomore season is obviously the most vital part of the team, if he does not progress to being one of the Top-12-15 QB’s in the league, all this talk is null, because the Lions will be bad again, but Stafford is being heavily relied upon, and we have to enter this discussion assuming that the #1 overall pick 2 years ago, will make the leap that is expected of him. So assuming that Stafford will hold up his end of the bargain, lets see which important positions are up for grabs, and who needs to win them to make the Lions a contender this season.
Right Tackle: Gosder Cherilus vs Jon Jansen
If former first round pick Gosder Cherilus does not win this starting job, then the Lions season is already off to a bad start, and will be a major dissapointment. Jim Schwartz and the new coaching staff was very underwhelmed by Gosder’s play last year, and the right tackle position was a revolving door down the stretch. Gosder has the size and athleticism to be an above average right tackle in the league, but needs to add the intangibles to make the next step, namely toughness, awareness, and a higher football IQ. There is no reason that Cherilus should not be better than he is, he just needs to get mentally stronger and be determined to get smarter as a player. If he can do so, then the Lions will have themselves a legitimate right tackle who will make the running game just that much better. If he doesn’t do that, then veteran Jon Jansen will be waiting in the wings, while he isn’t anything special, he will get the job done, he can be counted on not to be terrible, but the Lions need their right tackle to be better then than.
Prediction: I think Gosder Cherilus will take a look in the mirror, and realize that he needs to be much better. With his back to the wall, I think he will make the necessary adjustments and become an above average right tackle for the Lions
Weakside Defensive End: Cliff Avril vs Jared DeVries
This position battle is very similar to the Right Tackle battle just discussed. Veteran Jared DeVries can be counted on not to suck, but this Lions teams needs more production. Cliff Avril, like Cherilus, is fully capable of being a very good player in the league, he is an extremely good athlete, very fast, explosive, and has some top-notch pass rushing moves, on the downside though, he needs to hit the weightroom and get stronger, as he can get enveloped by larger lineman, and can be a liability against the run. Like the right tackle position, the Lions need Cliff Avril to win this, and get at least 7 or 8 sacks this season. To do that, he will need to get a lot stronger, and prove that he can be on the field more often that just 3rd down.
Prediction: I think in the end, you will see a platoon at this position, Avril in on passing downs, and DeVries in on rushing downs. Hopefully Avril will prove me wrong, but he hasn’t shown enough in the past 3 years, and DeVries has been a reliable player throughout his career.
Cornerback opposite Chris Houston: Amari Spievey vs Jonathan Wade
The cornerback position has been an absolute disaster for this team for god knows how long, hopefully Chris Houston will turn into the player that we expect him to be, and be a reliable starter, but opposite him, you have 2 highly drafted players, one who has flopped and is hoping a change of scenery will do him some good, the other (Spievey), simply a promising rookie. Unlike the previous 2 discussions, it doesn’t matter who wins this, and the Lions can get by with the winner just being average. As mentioned, the Lions secondary has been atrocious for a long time, and with Chris Houston expected to lock down one side of the field, this other side of the field just can’t be a liability. According to reports, both of these players have been very impressive in training camp, and it will be a battle down to the last practice. Jonathan Wade is the better athlete than Spievey, and has more potential, but Spievey is a very well rounded player who is solid against the run, and rarely gets beat over the top. This will probably be the most interesting position battle we see this summer, and will be a hard fought battle all the way to the finish.
Prediction: I think Jonathan Wade will come out on top in this one. As mentioned I think the Lions just need this player to not be awful, and considering that Wade has more potential in my opinion, I think Wade will be given a chance to step up and be much better than awful, but I also think he will be on a very short leash, and if he starts to struggle early on, I think you will see Spievey step in very quickly and be the starter.
Strong Safety: Ko Simpson vs C.C Brown vs Marquand Manuel
Knowing that these are the top 3 candidates for the position is a very sad thing. Ko Simpson would be the obvious choice if not for his very serious knee issues, which are bad enough that they might force him to start the season on the PUP list and miss the first 6 games. Everybody is hoping that Simpsons knees will be good enough to go week 1, but that is looking unlikely. So you are stuck with either C.C Brown or Marquand Manuel. Both these players are bad, and it is a lose-lose if Simpson isn’t good to go.
Prediction: I doubt Ko Simpson will be ready to go by week 1, so I think Marquand Manuel will win out over C.C Brown, for the sole reason that he is a more experience, veteran player, and has been with the Lions for about a year. Either way, its bad.
So there you have it. While you’re watching training camp and preseason this year, be sure to look out for these position battles, which are very important to the Lions success this season, and hopefully turning into a contender.
Nolan Vasan- NFL Draft Geek
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