Detroit Lions Breakdown Podcast

Free agency is in full swing and the Lions have been very active so far in free agency. From losing out on Richard Sherman and Malcolm Butler to gaining Devon Kennard and Christian Jones, Erik and Joe break down all the goings on in Allen Park…

• The big news from Wednesday is the Lions releasing Eric Ebron and shedding his $8.25 million commitment
• The team has added CB DeShawn Shead from Seattle
• LB Devon Kennard from the Giants
• LB Christian Jones from the Bears
• Erik delivers us a long-winded cap math lesson
• The team has retained LS Don Muhlbach, DL Kerry Hyder, S Tavon Wilson, CB Nevin Lawson, LB Nick Bellore, WR TJ Jones, QB Jake Rudock and DT Christian Ringo
• The team has lost DT Haloti Ngata (Philadelphia), TE Darren Fells (Cleveland), CB DJ Hayden (Jacksonville), DB Don Carey (Jacksonville)
• Erik and Joe answer some questions from the mailbag
• A discussion centering on Erik and Joe’s favorite signings and regrettable misses

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The free agency signing period kicks off on March 14th. So tampering may officially begin on Monday. In this episode, Joe and Erik will break down, position by position, who the Lions may be targeting in free agency and the draft…

• Former Patriot LB Roman Phifer has signed on as an area scout
• “Butt fumble” returner Steve Gregory was hired as a defensive assistant
• Dylan Thompson has been hired as a “character coach”
• The 2018 salary cap is set at $177.2 million, meaning the Lions have roughly $27.5 million in cap room
• Running Backs – will the Lions target a RB at pick #20
• Wide Receivers –  TJ Jones will not be extended an RFA offer
• Tight End – Will Ebron be traded? Is Graham an option?
• Offensive Line – Signing Norwell is unlikely, but the draft is loaded with interior options
• Defensive Line – Could Suh come back? Would the Lions prefer a DE or DT at pick #20?
• Linebacker – Whitehead not likely to return, the Lions are not likely to sign an impact name in free agency
• Defensive Backs –  The team will likely use later round picks on DBs, and might pick up a known player in free agency

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From February 27th through March 5th the NFL Combine will take place in Indianapolis. In this episode Erik and Joe will talk about what the Lions will be focused on when watching the defensive players compete, but first, they will talk about the teams first major move this offseason…

• Ziggy Ansah is the proud new recipient of the franchise tag
• Was the franchise tag the right move for the team?
• Erik talks about the Bob Quinn/Matt Patricia news conference on Wednesday
• Day 3 of the combine will feature the defensive tackles, edge players, and linebackers
• Day 4 will feature cornerbacks and safeties
• The latest installment of reviewing the mock drafts include Chad Reuters from NFL.com, Mel Kiper, Dane Brugler and CBS.com
• Erik and Joe finish it off with the mailbag

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The Lions attention has turned toward the combine which is only two Fridays away. This week Erik and Joe take a look at players the Lions might be focusing on…

• Hank Fraley and Brian Picucci have been added to the offensive  coaching staff
• Day 1 of the combine will feature the running backs and the offensive line
• Day 2 will feature the quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends
• The last 8 pre-combine Mel Kiper Mock Drafts are studied, as far as Lion picks in the first round go
• It is also worth noting that Ziggy Ansah is now eligible for a franchise tag
• The mailbag is very running back heavy this week
• As well as concern over left guard
• Erik and Joe finish the show with a discussion over what we would do with our free agent money and what the magic 8 ball sees for Quinn and Patricia’s future
• Thanks to Jon Aubry for the wonderful review
• Although we don’t talk about any of the articles in this episode (due to most of them concerning defense) it is notable that Erik continued his offseason outlook series on … IOL, IDL, EDGE, LB, CB

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The Lions finally announced Matt Patricia as their new head coach. Also, after signing him to a 5-year deal they extended GM Bob Quinn until 2022 as well. Speaking of duos with longevity Erik and Joe have officially kicked off their second season of podcasting…

• It is unknown how much Patricia will make, but Erik takes a stab at it
• Joe and Erik do a full rundown of the Lions coaching staff
• This week’s mock draft that is reviewed is from Nate Atkins at MLive
• The mailbag once again is filled with questions regarding the future schemes of the Offensive Line and Defensive Lines
• There was also a mention of Erik’s great work on his positional breakdown articles… QB, RB, WR, TE, OT
• The next batch of questions surrounds what Erik is looking forward to for the combine and the draft
• Finally, Erik and Joe discuss what Lion starters on offense and defense would start for the majority of teams in the league
• Thanks to Scott Bates and Encinitas Kevin for the great reviews and to the other 2 folks for the anonymous ones

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Super Bowl week has arrived and Erik and Joe begin to talk about what the Lions need to do to get there someday…

• Even though the team does not have a head coach three new position coaches were added (QBs George Godsey, OL Jeff Davidson and DBs Brian Stewart)
• Erik talks about an unconfirmed rumor of Chris White potentially becoming the TE coach (thus moving Al Golden somewhere else)
• Scott Bischoff penned a Lions only mock draft for NDT scouting and Erik wrote an article breaking it down
• Lance Zierlein posted a full first round mock draft for NFL.com and Joe and Erik look at the highlights and lowlights
• The Lions publicly met with 13 players at the Senior Bowl
• The questions on the top of the mailbag concerned the new “unknown head coach”
• The second set of questions concerns the scheme. Erik mentions an article he wrote a while back talking about the role of the Money Linebacker
• The third set of questions is about the offseason
• Finally, Erik and Joe discuss many topics of the serious football type and the not-so-serious type
• Thanks to Go Dutch and Hamza for the great reviews

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Matt Patricia is still not yet the head coach, with the Patriots headed to the Super Bowl, but heads have begun to roll in the coaching department.  The Senior Bowl is coming up this week and the remaining Lions coaches will have their eyes trained there…

• TJ Lang has been named as an injury replacement to the Pro Bowl
• Bleacher Report has been having their continuing series on the NFL 1000, with Darius Slay being the #3 ranked CB
• There are only 2 head coaching vacancies left
• There are five remaining Lions assistants that are representing the team at the Senior Bowl (Al Golden, Robert Prince, Delvin Fitzsimmons, Evan Rothstein and Payton McCollum)
• The team has let go of QB coach Brian Callahan, LB coach Bill Sheridan, CB coach Tony Oden and S coach Alan Williams
• Erik addresses the rumors of future Lions assistants
• Joe and Erik review Jeff Risdon’s latest Mock Draft
• A slew of questions concerning Matt Patricia
• The second pile from the mailbag is full of questions surrounding players the Lions will look to draft or sign during free agency

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It seems that a deal is “done” with Patriots DC Matt Patricia, at least according to all the rumors. That being said, Erik and Joe talk about where some other coaches may end up and what the Lions will be looking to do in free agency and the draft…

• Erik and Joe cover the remaining coaching openings around the league
• A couple of Lion defensive assistants have moved on
• The mailbag has a lot of questions surrounding what coaches Matt Patricia may bring with him to Detroit
• There is a discussion surrounding the rumor that Patricia might not need to look for an Offensive Coordinator because JBC is sticking around
• The mailbag also asks what offensive personnel changes the Lions may make
• Do the Lions improve the OL in free agency or the draft?
• What RB will the Lions look to add in the draft?
• Who will the Lions draft in the first round?
• The show finishes with a lively debate about over/unders
• Special thanks to the five new question askers
• Make sure to take a look at Eriks latest articles about the rookie snap counts; Michael Roberts, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Jeremiah Ledbetter and the Undrafted Rookies

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Things were pretty quiet in Allen Park this week as the Lions progressed into Week 2 of their offseason. Outside of Allen Park there were plenty of rumors swirling about Matt Patricia…

• Erik and Joe delve into Erik’s Studs and Duds of the Year
• The boys take a look at the four head coaching vacancies and all the coaching hires around the league that have affected the Lions
• Six coaches have already interviewed, with one more requested
• There is a rumor mill discussion surrounding Peter Kings report that Patricia prefers the Giants job and Michael Lombardi who eludes to the idea that the Lions and Patricia are a done deal
• A handful of head coaching questions were in the mailbag
• As well as several concerning the offseason
• They close with Joe answering statistical questions from 2017
• The video of Andy Reid in the Punt, Pass and Kick competition
• Erik has a series of articles examining the game by game progress of rookie snap counts from 2017 including Jarrad Davis, Teez Tabor and Kenny Golladay, there will be more to come…

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The Lions ended the season on a “high note” defeating the Green Bay Packers 35-11 in the finale at Ford Field on Sunday. The  mood in Allen Park soured a bit on Monday with the firing of the 36-28 Jim Caldwell.  The offseason opens with uncertainty, and Erik and Joe delve into a lot of the relevant topics…

• Tabor and Carey did not suffer any long-term damage
• The vast majority of the practice squad was retained on future contracts, Joe is certain all will see time in Lions uniforms next season
• Erik’s Studs and Duds article is led by the high paid guys in the finale
• Erik and Joe talk about the superlative stats from 2017
• Five new first-time question submitters get recognized in the mailbag as well as many of our old favorites
• Highlights from the Bob Quinn press conference
• A look at the upcoming coaches with interviews and a group of coaches without interviews that Vegas thinks are candidates for the Lions job
• The first section of questions from the mailbag concern the search for the new head coach
• The second section of questions center around potential roster moves

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