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Lions release DE Anthony Zettel; claimed by Browns


SteelKing728

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10 hours ago, frenchie said:

So you're saying the Lions just cut the one guy on their defense that plays with effort, and bothers to chase down plays?  Damn, I almost feel bad for Lion fans...

Why would you assume the Lions only have one guy on their defense who plays with effort?  

The Lions defensive line was bad last year, and a large part of the reason for that was because someone like Zettel was playing.  Now, the Lions D line most likely isn't going to be any good this year either, but I doubt keeping around the players who helped make it bad last year would have been any sort of answer to their problems.  Teams move on from mediocre players all the time, even if the corresponding move was simply to bring in a different mediocre player....that's what this was.  It's probably not going to help much, but it's also not going to hurt much.  It's Anthony Zettel dude, players of his caliber are cut every season.

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On 9/7/2018 at 9:29 AM, Superduperman said:

I'm not saying I'm 100% behind the Lions' reasoning on this but I'll break it down for you.

- Zettel was playing into the 4th quarter in the 4th preseason game so there was already an indication he was slipping down the depth chart.

- He had 6.5 sacks last season but only .5 of them came in the last 8 games, indicating even that production may have been a flash in the pan.

- In the preseason, he had several plays in the earlier games where he recklessly crashed inside on run plays, gave up the edge, and big runs ensued. This is something that both he, and the Lions' D as a whole, had problems with in the past also.

- We know that Patricia runs a system where players have very specific roles and jobs, and if someone doesn't do their job consistently, they're gone.

- I don't know Romeo Okwara, who the Lions signed from the Giants, but it seems that the Lions think he can do the specific role for a backup end they have in mind (which seemingly includes holding the edge on run plays) better than Zettel can. That is what caused him to be cut at this time.

Zettel has good qualities as a depth guy and could possibly hold a starting job on a team that has adequate pass rush from other players. I'm sure Browns fans will like him, he's tough and hard working if not supremely talented.

I agree with this assessment 100%, a very nice breakdown.  I think he'll do well in Cleveland in a reserve roll.

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