| 22 July 2010
This week, readers ask the Lions congrgation about 1st round rookie contracts and the starting lineup.
1. From Juan G.: Gerald McCoy has already basically said he will sign after Bradford does. Bradford may not be in camp on time. How does this bode for getting Suh and Best in camp in time?
If we were still living in the days of Ford lackey Russ Thomas stonewalling draft picks, when holdouts were as common as losing seasons, I'd be worried. Actually, I'm still mentally scarred from those years. I'm always fighting off the voice of a young Big Al in the back of my head saying, "DUDE! THERE"S GONNA BE HOLDOUTS!"
But I'm not concerned. Yes, training camp is only a week away. But it's in crunch time, that final week before camp, when the vast majority of 1st round deals are signed.
Remember, it's not as if the Lions are the only team with 1st round picks unsigned. The ENTIRE NFL had yet to agree to terms with a 1st round pick till the Cowboys finally inked Dez Bryant, the 24th selection of the draft, on Thursday night. With one signing done, you can expect others to sign deals like so many dominoes falling.
The Lions know they need Suh and Best in camp. Suh and Best know they need to be in camp. When both parties know what needs to be done, and there's a deadline looming, that's when deals come together. An agreement might not be reached until the afternoon of the first workout on July 31st, but a deal will get done.
2. From Brian S.: It's obviously still way too early, but give us your best guess for the opening day lineups on offense and defense...
Yes, I agree it's way too early. We don't know if Brandon Pettigrew or Kevin Smith will be fully healthy by the end of camp, who will take Ernie Sims' place at linebacker, or who will play next to Louis Delmas at safety. But other than that...well, now that I think about it...maybe we can make an educated guess.
Offense:
QB: Matthew Stafford
RB: Jahvid Best (Kevin Smith gets plenty of carries...if healthy)
FB: Jerome Felton (Tony Scheffler playing as an H back gets most of the playing time)
WR: Calvin Johnson, Nate Burleson
TE: Tony Scheffler (Brandon Pettigrew will be brought back slowly)
T: Jeff Backus, Gosder Cherilus
G: Rob Sims, Stephen Peterman
C: Dominic Raiola
Defense:
DE: Kyle Vanden Bosch, Jason Hunter (I doubt it makes a difference who starts, as there will be a rotation in place)
DT: Ndamukong Suh, Corey Williams (Same as DE, the tackles will rotate)
MLB: DeAndre Levy
OLB: Julian Peterson, Landon Johnson (Johnson won a coin flip over Zack Follett, though the actual starter may not be on the roster yet)
CB: Chris Houston, Amari Spievey (Spievey makes a big impression in camp, and gets the starting nod)
S: Louis Delmas, Ko Simpson (Simpson is the most likely candidate to start out of a cast of thousands)
Special teams:
K: Jason Hanson
P: Nick Harris
PR/KR: Tim Toone (Got to have at least one off the wall pick...or is it?)
LS: Don Mulbach
It's surprising a two win team knows who most of the starters will be before training camp even starts. But save for safety and outside linebacker, barring injury, the lineup is pretty much set in...sand. It's too early for stone...
With camp nearly upon us, the Lions congregation will be going back to a weekly format. So if you have a Lions question you'd like to see answered, you can email the congregation at lionscongregation@yahoo.com.
As always, to read the rest of the Lions blogosphere answering Joshua's, aka DetFan79, questions, head over to Roar of the Lions every Friday!
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