Karnage84 Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 With the news of Caldwell's firing amid a disappointing 9 -7 season, we're all trying to envision how the Lions will look in 2018. This isn't too in depth. COACHES Mike Vrabel is hired to be the new Head Coach of the Detroit Lions Jim Bob Cooter is retained as Offensive Coordinator Greg Schiano is hired as Defensive Coordinator/Assistant HC Tom Cable is hired as OL Coach/Run Game Coordinator Joe Marciano is retainted as Special Teams Coordinator *Teryl Austin leaves to become the Defensive Coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals Lacking experience, Vrabel brings in solid coordinators with previous HC experience. With an increased focus on improving our rushing attack, we bring in Cable who previously served as the OL coach and run game coordinator with the Seahawks. He has previous HS experience and is able to assist JBC in managing the offense. JBC is able to focus his efforts on working with Stafford and improving the slow starts of 2017. *Credit goes to flyguy for the Schiano suggestion. FRANCHISE TAG Ezekiel Ansah - While Quinn would prefer to work out a mutually beneficial deal, Ansah's strong finish to the season and advice from Suh make it difficult. The tag will give Quinn time to evaluate Ansah and determine RE-SIGN Haloti Ngata - 1-2 year deal for little money. He wants to come back and finish on a high note. The Lions really struggled against the run without him. He could play NT if we did move to a 3-4. Good locker room guy Eric Ebron - Comes back on a win-win 3 year deal. Ebron wasn't worth the top 10 pick (I'm not bitter) but he has recently developed a rapport with Stafford. Keeps the offense intact on a reasonable basis so we can focus on building up the defense. FREE AGENCY DaQuon Jones, DE - $6M/4 years Brian Cushing, ILB - $2.5M/2 years Connor Barwin, OLB - $1.5M/2 years Denico Autry, DE - $3M/3 years Johnathan Joseph, CB - $2M/2 years Quinn brings in a few players to fill holes in our existing defense while also bringing in guys familiar with 3-4 and/or Vrabel's system. Jones is immediate starter opposite of Ansah. Cushing is likely a cap casualty in Houston. He joins Vrabel as the vocal leader. He is a short term solution based on age, suspension and injury history. Joseph slides in opposite of Slay. DRAFT Pittsburgh trades 2017 1st and 2017 2nd to move up to #20. Pittsburgh drafts Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming - Buffalo holds two picks at 21/22 and is in need of an upgrade at QB. Pittsburgh knows they're on borrowed time with Roethlisberger and move up to get their guy (like KC and Mahomes) 1) Maurice Hurst, DE/DT, Michigan 2) Harold Landry, OLB/DE, Boston College 2 (PIT) Mark Andrews, TE, Oklahoma 3) Royce Freeman, RB, Oregon 4) Sean Welsh, OG, Iowa Hurst and Landry bring versatility to the defense and address large holes in the defensive line. Hurst can play 4-3 DT/DE or 3-4 DE and provides a pass rush up the middle. Landry is either a 4-3 DE or 3-4 pass rushing OLB. This will allow us to mix up alignments, especially if Vrabel plans on moving towards a 3-4 eventually. Andrews is a value pick that will provide the offense with another receiving option. TE's take time to develop but Andrews could develop into a top tier TE. Ebron and Andrews could form a solid 1-2 TE combo. Freeman has great size and lateral movement. He's not a burner but should be explosive enough to make chunk plays and break off a long TD on occasion. He should help fix our short yardage conversion issues and lack of scoring on the goal line in the red zone. Stafford was hit the second most number of times this season. We need help on the line to protect him. Welsh comes in to fight for the LG spot. DEPTH CHART (STARTING) DEFENSE DE - Jones NT - Ngata DE - Autry/Hurst OLB - Ansah ILB - Davis ILB - Cushing OLB - Landry CB - Slay CB - Joseph FS - Quin SS - Diggs OFFENSE LT - Decker LG - Welsh OC - Glasgow RG - Lang RT - Wagner QB - Stafford RB - Freeman WR - Tate WR - Jones TE - Ebron ST K- Prater P - Martin LS - Muhlbach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superduperman Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 I can see everything there except the TE. I think more LB help is needed since Vrabel would very likely go to a 3-4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karnage84 Posted January 10, 2018 Author Share Posted January 10, 2018 43 minutes ago, Superduperman said: I can see everything there except the TE. I think more LB help is needed since Vrabel would very likely go to a 3-4. I'd expect them to bring back Whitehead, FA LB and maybe grab someone in the 5th. Agreed that help is needed at LB but I expect Andrews to wind up being a top TE in the league. He'll either replace Ebron or be a solid pairing. By the time Andrews would come into his own, Tate likely would no longer be on the roster. This would help the offense transition without skipping a beat. It's a bit of a luxury pick but trading down allows you to do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superduperman Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 Still disagree. Getting an extra second round pick gives you a better chance of getting a better RB or linebacker. Even if Whitehead came back, that's him and Davis as two of the four pieces you need. In a 3-4, I don't even know where Reeves-Maybin would fit, he probably wouldn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karnage84 Posted January 10, 2018 Author Share Posted January 10, 2018 10 minutes ago, Superduperman said: Still disagree. Getting an extra second round pick gives you a better chance of getting a better RB or linebacker. Even if Whitehead came back, that's him and Davis as two of the four pieces you need. In a 3-4, I don't even know where Reeves-Maybin would fit, he probably wouldn't. Appreciate the feedback and you could be right. I don't see us moving to a 3-4 immediately. If we do go that route, I expect the earliest would be next season. Ansah would probably also flip to OLB in a proper 3-4. Maybe a little mix and match but the team is close enough to not overhaul the defense in full, especially on a shorter off-season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superduperman Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 No way Ansah is a 3-4 olb. I just don't see it. He'd be another questionable fit but I have to believe they'd ask him to put on 10-15 lbs and play end long before trying to put him in a stand-up position Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superduperman Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 Also, I don't know Vrabel but my feeling is that if he comes here, he brings his plan from day 1 like the take charge guy everyone seems to think he is. It's not like the Lions have some great established plan on D that's been working for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karnage84 Posted January 10, 2018 Author Share Posted January 10, 2018 12 minutes ago, Superduperman said: Also, I don't know Vrabel but my feeling is that if he comes here, he brings his plan from day 1 like the take charge guy everyone seems to think he is. It's not like the Lions have some great established plan on D that's been working for years. You could be right but I think if Quinn does bring Vrabel in it's as more of a joint effort as opposed to the HC dictating the full direction of the team. They could move towards a 3-4 but I just can't see Quinn allowing that to go through in full with the current roster. If Vrabel is hired, I would like to see him bring someone in as either a DC or position coach with Assistant HC duties. He needs someone with experience that can help with the scheming while he focuses on running the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karnage84 Posted January 10, 2018 Author Share Posted January 10, 2018 1 hour ago, Superduperman said: Also, I don't know Vrabel but my feeling is that if he comes here, he brings his plan from day 1 like the take charge guy everyone seems to think he is. It's not like the Lions have some great established plan on D that's been working for years. What would your thoughts be if Houston cut Cushing and Vrabel brought him here as part of that transition? The Texans will save about $7M if they go this route, so he's a pretty likely cut candidate. Jonathan Joseph is a FA and would also likely be attracted to play opposite of Slay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superduperman Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 Well, if he's the guy who has "it" like they say, then I'd expect him to have a good shot at bringing a couple of his guys over, and that being a bonus that offsets his limited experience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyguy1609 Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 I can dig this. my question is who would be the Defensive Coordinator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karnage84 Posted January 11, 2018 Author Share Posted January 11, 2018 47 minutes ago, flyguy1609 said: I can dig this. my question is who would be the Defensive Coordinator. I'm thinking Vrabel would go the route of being the DC and maybe having one of his staff be a co-DC. I'd much prefer for him to find an old HC or longtime DC to come in and help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDOG_det Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 20 hours ago, Superduperman said: No way Ansah is a 3-4 olb. I just don't see it. He'd be another questionable fit but I have to believe they'd ask him to put on 10-15 lbs and play end long before trying to put him in a stand-up position Teams that run a "3-4" don't really run the defense that you're thinking of anymore. Most run a 2-4-5 or a 4-2-5 the majority of the time. Some defenses run a 3-3-5 with one of the LB's being a smaller DE lined up in a 2 point stance. Either way, Ansah wouldn't really have much of a different role if they switched to a "3-4" defense. He would still be rushing the passer or playing the run primarily from a 3/4 point stance like he does right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superduperman Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 46 minutes ago, IDOG_det said: Teams that run a "3-4" don't really run the defense that you're thinking of anymore. Most run a 2-4-5 or a 4-2-5 the majority of the time. Some defenses run a 3-3-5 with one of the LB's being a smaller DE lined up in a 2 point stance. Either way, Ansah wouldn't really have much of a different role if they switched to a "3-4" defense. He would still be rushing the passer or playing the run primarily from a 3/4 point stance like he does right now. I know all that. We still use 4-3 and 3-4 as oversimplified terms which simply designate how many down linemen you usually use. I didn't think that really needed to be explained. The overall point remains the same. If the Lions go to a primarily 3-down-linemen system, they have two options for Ansah: ask him to bulk up a little and continue to play on the line in a down stance, or have him standing up and occasionally playing in space. I think they'd choose the former. So I guess we agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karnage84 Posted January 11, 2018 Author Share Posted January 11, 2018 I think they'd actually go the opposite route and ask him to drop a little weight if anything at all. Robinson would likely wind up as a DE with Ngata at NT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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