Larry Foote Officially Released by Steelers; Your Move, Lions

The Detroit Lions opted to pass on the top-rated middle linebackers in the draft, and Larry Foote may be the reason why.

Foote is a Michigan man. He was born in Detroit, played his high school career at Pershing High, and his college ball at the University of Michigan.

He has a soft spot in his heart for his home town. He has recently talked to the media about his desire to play for the Lions, saying “Detroit is always No. 1.”

One of his friends, Brian Blackburn told the local Detroit media “He wants to come back here, this is the last year of his contract, and he wants to come back here and play for the Lions for about four years and call it quits after that.”

Foote later denied the comments saying, “That was one of my boys just talking stupid stuff in the paper.” “I think all players say that toward the tail end: ‘I’ll just end up going home and finish up there.’ But that was just talk.” …

“Would somebody want me? I don’t know. I’ve never been a free agent. I’ve never been on the market,” he said. “I don’t know if the Lions even want me. My play hasn’t dropped off, just my (playing) time has dropped off. I can be as productive as any linebacker in the league with the opportunity.”

Larry, I don’t know if the Lions want you, but they need you, and the home town fan’s would embrace you. 

If the Lions can get a two-time Super Bowl winner that not only has a love for football, but also a love for his hometown like this, how can you not sign him?

Larry wants to come home, I feel that he only said “That was one of my boys just talking stupid stuff in the paper” because he’s a professional, and was under contract at the time.

The only thing that would stop Foote from coming to the Lions is that he just doesn’t want to get ripped off. If the Lions offer him a contract that is comparable to the other teams that want him, then he will choose Detroit.

I believe that Foote is a must-have for the Lions, it just seems to good to be true. Not only would he solidify the linebacking corps, he would ease the minds of all the fan’s that were left scratching their heads when they passed on Maualuga.

Foote grew up in Detroit, he has family in Detroit, he just plain cares about Detroit. The Lions need him, but more importantly the city needs him.

Do the right thing Martin Mayhew, and bring the home town kid home.

Detroit Lions: When You Have So Many Needs, It’s Hard To Have a Bad Draft

While watching the NFL draft, I, like a lot of Lions fans, was thinking one thing: Same old Lions.

I felt like Matt Millen was still sitting in the war room at Allen Park, calling the shots. 

They drafted a QB first overall, and many experts don’t even believe that he was the best QB in the draft. Then they took a TE with their second pick in the first round. They went offense twice, when they desperately needed defensive playmakers. They went with two players that, at first glance, seem to help the passing game, after they preached that they were going to emphasize the run.

They passed on the two best middle linebackers in the draft (which was a major need) after they fell into their laps at No. 33.

They drafted an undersized outside linebacker to start the third round, when the need was MLB, and all of the talk from coach Schwartz was about getting bigger.

Then they drafted a wide reciever, when recent pickups Bryant Johnson and Ronald Curry were supposed to solidify that position.

In the fourth round, they drafted DT Sammie Lee Hill from Stillman College. I had never heard of him…or the school he went to.

They drafted RB Aaron Brown in the sixth round. In 2008, Brown rushed the ball 99 times for 547 and three TD; not exactly impressive numbers.

The Lions then had three picks in the seventhround where they finally addressed the offensiveline with Lydon Murtha from Nebraska. Their final two picks in the draft were another OLB Zach Follett from Cal, and another TE Dan Gronkowski from Maryland.

So, at first glance, this is how I summed up the Lions’ draft.

They took a question mark at QB who more than likely won’t, and shouldn’t, play this year and a TE that ran a 4.83 40 at No. 20 (with TE being a position that you can historically find quality at much later in the draft). Safety was a need, but not as much as OT, MLB, and DT. They took two OLB’s when they needed a MLB, a WR, an unknown DT, and less than spectacular RB.

This sounds like the worst draft in history.

I was hoping for a draft more like the Cincinnati Bengals. They got their OT (I’m not a huge A. Smith fan, but the Lions would’ve had their choice of all the top OT’s at No. 1).

They got the MLB that I wanted in Malualuga.

In the third round, I was hoping the Lions would take Michael Johnson or Jarron Gilbert. They had the chance to take either. The Bengals took Johnson with the 70th pick.

With the 98th, the Bengals took TE Chase Coffman, who is probably going to be a steal at that pick.

In the fourth round, the Bengals took C Johnathon Luigs out of Arkansas.

So, the Bengals sured up the offensive line with an OT and a C. They got the best MLB in the draft, a DE that was projected in the top 10 a few months ago, and a quality TE.

They hit almost every need that the Lions had—except DT.

But the Lions had one more pick than the Bengals, so they could’ve filled that need also by taking Ron Brace in the second round. 

Originally, I would’ve taken the Bengals’ draft over ours. But now that I’ve calmed down and done a little research on the Lions’ picks, I’m starting to warm up to their draft.

The Lions need a QB—of course they do, they always need a QB. Is Stafford the right one? I don’t know. All we can do is hope and pray that he doesn’t end up like every other QB the Lions have drafted over the years.

Pettigrew is a beast at 6’6″ and 260 pounds. He has great hands, and a good TE is a young QB’s best friend.

Also, with the way that he blocks, it will almost be like having two tackles on whichever side he lines up on. That will really help out our running game, which is also a huge of help for a young QB.

I really wanted Malualuga, but I also feel that Delmas was a great pick. If you look at the best defenses in the league, they almost always have a great safety (Polamalu, Ed Reed, Bob Sanders, Brian Dawkins), so this was a good pick.

They took DeAndre Levy, who plays OLB, but Mayhew said that he will play inside for the Lions. He’s undersized, but his scouting report says that he is a big-hitter and regularly causes turnovers.

Also, if the reports are true about Larry Foote possibly coming to the Lions, they won’t have to worry about MLB next year. Anyone that can start every game for the Steelers for five straight years will be a star in Detroit. Maybe Mayhew was thinking this way the whole time.

I didn’t think that we were going to use a pick on a WR, but Derrick Williams was a solid punt returner at Penn State, and that is a big need. The same thing goes for Aaron Brown. I questioned the pick at first, but reports say that he is a good kickoff returner. So those two picks help out the return game, which is sorely needed.

I’m very interested in the Sammie Lee Hill pick. I had never heard of him, but scouts compare him to a more consistent Shawn Rodgers. If that’s the case, then this was a great pick. Rodgers’ departure was a major reason for the downfall of the run defense last year. He’s a developmental player, but if he works out, he could be a phenomenal value pick.

Overall, like I wrote in the headline, when you have so many needs it’s pretty hard to have a bad draft.

Nobody expects the Lions to be good this year, anyway. So as long as they can keep from putting Stafford in and getting him beat up physically and emotionally, they should be fine.

The Lions will have one more draft to fill the rest of their holes. So when Stafford does get into the game next year he will have a much more solid team around him, and a better chance for him to be successful.

Anyway, just like any other draft, only time will tell if the Lions had a great one or one of the worst in history.

One thing I can say about Martin Mayhew is that he has major guts. 

After following the worst GM in professional sports history, he could have gone with the safer picks, but Mayhew went with some of the riskiest picks in the draft.

I wouldn’t have done it, but if it works out, he’s a genius. If it doesn’t, the Lions will be starting another rebuilding process with another GM in a few years.

Lions Can Trade Number One Pick

The Detroit Lions hold the number one pick in the draft, as Lions luck goes. This year, there is not a consensus on a number one pick.

So what do you do? Trade the pick, right?

The only problem is, because the NFL has no cap on rookie salaries, nobody wants it.

How do they overcome this? The only way that I see is that they draft a player that another team covets.

If they draft Stafford, who cares? If a team wants a quarterback it will draft Mark Sanchez.

If they draft Jason Smith, who cares? If another team wants a LT, it will draft Eugene Monroe.

They are all comparable players.

Aaron Curry is the only player that stands out. Nobody in the draft compares to him; his size, his speed, his strength, is immeasurable at the linebacker position. No linebacker in the draft has been held this high in esteem in over 20 years.

He is projected to go third overall to the Chiefs. The Chiefs want, and need, Curry, so who else are they going to take?

The Chiefs took their defensive tackle (Glenn Dorsey) at No. 5 last year, their offensive tackle at 15 (Branden Albert), they picked up their QB (Matt Cassell) in a trade, and their have a No. 1 receiver in Bowe.

If you look at the top ten, it consists of two quarterbacks (Stafford, and Sanchez), three offensive tackles (J. Smith, Monroe, A. Smith),  two wide receivers (Crabtree, Maclin), one defensive tackle (Raji), one defensive end (either Orakpo, or Maybin), and one linebacker (Curry).

So if the Lions took Curry, what would the Chiefs do? They could go with a defensive end, but with neither being projected higher than number eight, will they reach at number three? I don’t know.

What I’m thinking is, they could trade with the Lions. The Chiefs don’t have a second round pick this year, but they could either trade their second round pick next year, or even their third round pick this year.

The Lions could take one of the top two OT’s or QB’s at number three, and end up with an extra pick. How can they go wrong?

What’s the worst that can happen (or, maybe the best), the Chiefs stand pat, and the Lions end up with the safest, and maybe best all around player in the draft? The player, who, by the way, plays a position that is one of the Lions’ biggest needs?

To me, this is a win-win situation.

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