Detroit Lions Breakdown Podcast

Mini-camp has started and with 3 days in the books the Lions have had enough for the week. Matt Patricia has spoken to the media before every practice and, unsurprisingly, did not say much.  Erik and Joe spend their time this week discussing mini-camp.

• The bottom of the Lions roster remains in flux with the addition of TE Wes Saxton and the subtraction of CB Bryan Pringle
• An early visit to the Rod Wood-Shed this week where the PR department, of all things, is discussed
• Darius Slay (#49) and Matt Stafford (#31) both appear in this season of  the NFL Top-100 miniseries
• The NFL Network was live in Allen Park this Thursday as the Lions finished up week 1 of mini-camp.
• FB Nick Bawden has a torn ACL
• Joe and Erik break down the first few days and discuss what the beat writers have noticed
• Erik and Joe continue examining the offseason moves of the Lions rivals in the NFC North. This week they break down the Lions perennial thorn in their side, Green Bay Packers
• A lot of fullback, wide receiver and defensive back-centric mailbag questions
• The discussion portion of the show centers around whether the Lions will have success picking from the Belicheck coaching and front office trees
• The final discussion question comes from a Colton Wesley article wondering what would have happened if the Oakland Raiders took Calvin Johnson 1st overall in the 2007 NFL Draft
• A special thanks to 5-star reviewers Kuehn Observations, Malachi’s Lions Blood and Kevin Washington (updated)

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The countdown to training camp would have begun, but the Lions have not yet announced when camp will begin. Even with this lack of information Erik and Joe still cover all the Lions news that has surfaced over the last week.

• Coaches Jim Bob Cooter, Jeff Davidson, Paul Pasqualoni, Al Golden and Joe Marciano all used a bunch of generic language when it comes to what exciting new things we will see next year
• Erik and Joe will spend the coming few weeks examining the offseason moves of the Lions rivals in the NFC North. This week they start with the defending division champ and NFC runner-up Minnesota Vikings
• The podcast mailbag centers around who stands to benefit most from the coaching changes and who might find themselves on the chopping block by the end of camp.
• Erik’s latest article has been published, and it covers his most updated roster stack
• A special thanks to 5-star reviewers Logan Lamorandier, Gillen H2O and Jimmy Thom 2003

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Organized Team Activities began this week at Allen Park. Guess who is not invited? The media. This week Erik and Joe discuss the beginning of OTAs and a bunch of other assorted Lions business.

• The team signed WR Chris Lacy and JACK Trevor Bates (Full QIB)
• They released CB Josh Okonye and TE Deandre Goolsby
• OTAs have only started with only photos released
• Erik and Joe discuss the new National Anthem policy
• A very short return to the Rod Wood-Shed
• The mailbag includes a breakdown of the new kickoff rules and contract hits and misses
• A discussion session wraps up the week with topics ranging from Quinns best and worst moves to homegrown Lions
• A special thanks to 5-star reviewers Roland and Restore Da Roar

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A week that normally goes by with little fanfare was anything but in Allen Park this week. In this episode, Erik performs an encore with his breakdown of the Undrafted Free Agents.

• RB Tion Green and LB Brandon Chubb were the biggest names released this week
• WR Teo Redding – Bowling Green (Full QIB)
• WR Deontez Alexander – Franklin (Full QIB)
• Slot/3rd RB/KR Brandon Powell – Florida (No QIB)
• TE DeAndre Goolsby – Florida (Full QIB)
• RT/LG Beau Nunn – Appalachian State (No QIB)
• LG/OT John Montelus – Virginia (No QIB)
• 5T JoJo Wicker – Arizona State (Partial QIB)
• NT Josh Fatu – USC (no QIB)
• Jack LB  Chad Meredith – SE Missouri St (Full QIB)
• MLB Al-Rasheed Benton – West Virginia (No QIB)
• CB Amari Coleman – Central Michigan (Full QIB)
• NB Mike Ford – SE Missouri St (Full QIB)
• CB Chris Jones – Nebraska (Partial QIB)
• DB Josh Okonye – Purdue (No QIB)
• P/KOS Ryan Santoso – Minnesota
• A special thanks to the folks that contributed the 5 brand new 5-star reviews!

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The draft captivated the NFL world over the past weekend, as always. The Lions were, of course, included in that mayhem and added 6 players that they will hope will help shape their franchise over the next decade. Without further ado, Erik breaks down the 6.

• Akeem Spence was traded to the Dolphins for a conditional 7th round draft pick
• Round 1 Pick 20 IOL Frank Ragnow – Arkansas
• Round 2 Pick 43 RB Kerryon Johnson – Auburn
• Round 3 Pick 82 DB Tracy Walker – Louisiana-Lafayette
• Round 4 Pick 114 DL Da’Shawn Hand – Alabama
• Round 5 Pick 153 OL Tyrell Crosby – Oregon
• Round 7 Pick 237 FB Nick Bawden – San Diego St.
• Thanks to all of the listeners out there, even the ones where we can’t see their reviews

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The draft is nigh. This week Erik and Joe take the final dip into the draft preview pool. Will Erik’s thoughts turn to genius starting Thursday night or will they crash and burn like what happens to all draft prognosticators on every draft night?… Punxsutawney Phil likely sees his shadow Thurdsay…

• No Lions player news so far this week
• The final mock draft Erik and Joe break down is from Tony Pauline of Draft Analyst
• Erik runs down each position grouping and projects when the Lions would likely target drafting a player at each position
• The final pre-draft mailbag
• Who in the draft is rising/falling?
• Harold Landry, Rashaan Evans, Marcus Davenport, Mo Hurst
• When to expect the Lions drafting IOL
• What possible trade scenarios might the Lions look into
• Erik’s final draft break down articles target the EDGE Rushers and Off-the-Ball LBs
• Thanks to A foxy Grandpa (Carter)… for the 5-star review! Also to the 2 Anonymous folks who also left 5-star reviews

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The draft is only 7 days away and Erik is extremely excited.  There are a lot of draft topics to discuss as Erik awaits his Christmas…

• Ziggy Ansah finally signed his franchise offer sheet making him the highest paid DE in the league
• Lions sign CB Raysean Pringle
• They released NB Adarius Barnes
• Erik and Joe look at Kent Platte’s Mock Draft Tracker: The Consensus 1000
• The QIB of all draftable players is investigated for all positions on defense
• A breakdown of the QIB system can be found here
• Mail come pouring in regarding the Lions defensive draft strategy
• Erik’s latest article breaks down the Drafts DTs
• Thanks to Kerryon Johnson to Detroit… for the 5-star review!

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The draft is only 15 days away and all is quiet on the Lions front. The team has hunkered down and is preparing for the draft…

• The Lion began offseason workouts this week (Ziggy is the only Lion not in attendance)
• Emmit Cleary has retired
• TJ Jones has signed his RFA tender
• Joe learns about The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald Trophy and has his mind blown
• Erik and Joe take a look at mock drafts by Mel Kiper and the combo of Josh Norris and Evan Silva and Erik hates both drafts
• The QIB of all draftable players is investigated for all positions on offense
• A breakdown of the QIB system can be found here
• The mailbag is sifted through for only offense related questions
• Thanks to Saint Stafford and StevieO for their 5-star reviews!

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Free agency did not take a break while Erik was sick, so Joe and Erik had some catching up to do. Luckily the Lions didn’t make a ton of moves…

• LB Jonathan Freeny signed a 1-year deal
• TE Levine Toilolo signed a 1-year deal
• C/G Wesley Johnson signed a 1-year deal
• QB Matt Cassel stuck with the theme and signed a 1-year deal
• QB Alek Torgersen was waived, C Travis Swanson signed with the Jets and LB Paul Worrilow signed with the Eagles
• Erk and Joe discuss Quinn’s comments from the owners meetings
• After a long absence “Visiting the Rod Wood-shed” is back!
• The next Mock Draft to be broken down is from Josh Norris of Rotoworld
• Unsurprisingly the mailbag is chock full of draft questions
• Finally, the discussion segment covers a myriad of topics from the draft to Left Guard to new rules to vets needing to prove themselves
• Thanks for the newest 5-star reviews!

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The NFL is deep into Phase 2 and the Lions have been fully involved. Erik and Joe have been keeping tabs on all the additions…

• RB LeGarrette Blount signed a 1-year $2.5 million deal
• How will Blount’s signing affect the Lions draft plans?
• NT Sylvester Williams left the Titans for a 1-year deal
• TE Luke Willson signed a Godfather-like 1-year $2.5 million deal
• How does the Willson signing affect Michael Roberts role?
• G/T Kenny Wiggins got 1-year and $1.875 million
• The team has lost TE Eric Ebron (Indianapolis), LB Tahir Whitehead (Oakland), LB Brandon Copeland (NYJets)
• One of Erik’s latest articles shows the current state of the roster
• Erik and Joe break down Dave Birkett’s latest mock draft
• The mailbag ends with a discussion of who Joe and Erik would draft if each of them were Bob Quinn
• Special thanks to Sweta Patel for the 5-star review!

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As always, thanks for listening. Tweet us (@erikschlitt, @JoeKania_DLB, @lionsbreakdown)