Combine Thoughts: Stafford, Layne, Curry
NFL Picks | by Mike O'Hara | 02.24.2009/6:08PM | Category:
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Combing the Combine, and other thoughts relative to the Lions:
1. Matt Stafford & Bobby Layne: Everything coming out of Indianapolis about Matthew Stafford, the Georgia quarterback, indicates the kid has some special qualities.
Whether they’re special enough for the Lions to draft Stafford first overall on April 25 will be decided in the next two months.
You’ve got to like Stafford’s spark and personality. He connects with people in a way that Joey Harrington did not in his four torturous seasons as the Lions’ quarterback of the future.
Peter King has written an article on Stafford and the Lions in an article for Sports Illustrated. It will be available on newsstands on Wednesday.
An advance copy of the article – under the headline “Searching for Bobby Layne” – was e-mailed to me Tuesday afternoon.
King talked to Joe Schmidt, the Lions’ great middle linebacker from their championship era and former head coach of the team, and asked Schmidt about the Curse of Bobby Layne that has dogged the franchise since Layne was traded in 1958.
Layne supposedly said the Lions wouldn’t win a championship for 50 years for trading him.
Stafford and Layne both played at Highland Park High in Dallas. In 2005, Stafford led Highland Park to its first state championship in nearly 50 years.
King wrote the following about the curse:
Will he get the chance to break the 50-year curse placed on the Lions by another Highland Park quarterback? “Crazy,“ Stafford said last Friday night of that possibility. He paused, then asked, “You think it’s true? You think he really said it?“
Layne died in 1986, and one of his old Detroit teammates, All-Pro linebacker Joe Schmidt, 77, doesn’t know if he said it. “Knowing Bobby, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did -— but it wouldn’t have been in a vindictive way,“ Schmidt said last Saturday. “To this day I still don’t know why they traded him. We really missed Bobby.“
Then Schmidt asked if Stafford was going to be the Lions’ pick. No decision’s been made, he was told. “Well, God bless him,“ Schmidt said. “The past weighs pretty heavy on this team. Tell him good luck.“
Schmidt occupies a prominent place in Lions’ history. He might have been the greatest middle linebacker ever. And in the 1971 season, he actually coached a quarterback – Greg Landry – who made the Pro Bowl. No other Lion quarterback has made the Pro Bowl since Layne’s departure.
Bless you, Joe.
2. Stafford No. 1? I asked a prominent media member at the Combine if Stafford is the No. 1 pick in the draft.
“Keep an eye on Aaron Curry,” he e-mailed back.
A lot is riding on this pick for the Lions. Quarterback is the only position where the Lions can draft a player and not make him a starter on opening day. Any quarterback – Stafford at No. 1, or somebody else lower in the draft – can sit behind Daunte Culpepper and watch for a while.
Curry, the linebacker from Wake Forest, was a star at the Combine. He’s bright, energetic, athletic, intense, worked out well at the Combine. And above all, he played well at Wake Forest.
The Lions need more help on defense. On offense, at least they have a blend of young players and veterans who can get them through a transition season under the new head coach, Jim Schwartz, and his staff.
But on defense, the cupboard is close to bare.
Curry played strong-side linebacker at Wake Forest. He’d probably move to the middle for the Lions, next to Ernie Sims on the weak side. For the time being, Paris Lenon could play the strong side, unless he departs as a free agent – or the fill the spot with a veteran free agent.
3. Curry vs. Stafford: A quarterback is a sexy pick, but it comes with more risk than other positions. A failure by a quarterback drafted that high sets a rebuilding franchise back three to four years.
Look at what happened to San Diego (Ryan Leaf) in 1998, Cleveland (Tim Couch) and Cincinnati (Akili Smith) in 1999, Houston (David Carr) and Detroit (Harrington) in 2002. All of those quarterbacks were drafted within the first three picks, and their franchises were severely damaged by their failures.
4. Stafford, again: Charlie Casserly, former GM of the Redskins and Texans, worked the Combine for the NFL Network. In a roundtable discussion about Stafford and the Lions, Casserly boiled the pros and cons to a central issue.
“When you sort through all of it, Detroit has a desperate need for a quarterback,” Casserly said.
5. Daunte Culpepper: If he hasn’t been promised the starting job, Culpepper and everyone else certainly has gotten the message that he’ll start out at the top of the depth chart.
The free-agent signing period starts Friday, only three days remain, and Culpepper is the only quarterback on the roster whose contract status has been addressed to make him a viable candidate.
Dan Orlovsky is primed to test the free-agent market after being told by GM Martin Mayhew that he is viewed as a backup in Detroit. Give Mayhew credit for honesty in that one. It may not be what Orlovsky wanted to hear, but at least he got the truth and wasn’t misled.
There has be no movement with Jon Kitna, who is due a $1 million roster bonus within the next week to trigger the last year of his contract.
Drew Stanton doesn’t figure, except as a developmental backup.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Orlovsky said he’s been told that the Lions have decided on their starter. It’s “Daunate,” Orlovsky said – confirming what former Lions receiver Mike Furrey said a week ago.
6. The Combine’s biggest loser: Offensive tackle Andre Smith of Alabama wins the award, hands down. There were some disappointments because of injury or a workout that didn’t meet expectations, but Smith’s lack of preparedness was shocking – and costly.
At one time, most draft experts had Smith written in as the Lions’ No. 1 pick. I doubt that was ever the case, but he surely was a top three pick.
But he showed up at the Combine out of shape, left early, and left a lot to be desired.
A year ago, Jake Long of Michigan got $30 million in guarantees for being the top pick by Miami. Defensive end Vernon Gholston of Ohio State and Detroit Cass Tech, got $40 million, with $21 million guaranteed as the sixth pick. At No. 10, linebacker Jerod Mayo of Tennessee was drafted 10th by New England, He got $18.9 million and $13.8 million guaranteed.
Losing weight doesn’t seem to interest Smith. Neither does losing money.
Why would anyone draft him at any price?
7. Free-agency: In an interview on WJR-760 Monday night, Lions President Tom Lewand indicated that they won’t go after the big-name, big-money free agents. But that doesn’t mean the Lions won’t be active early.
They could target some role players and sign them quickly. That would not be a surprise.
Comments [5] |
Teams set rushing records against the Lions. Individual players set rushing records against the Lions. The Lions defense was the worst one in the modern era of football.
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Teams ran through the Lions defense like a hot knife through butter. Teams set rushing records against the Lions. Individual players set rushing records against the Lions. The Lions defense was the worst one in the modern era of football.
Matt Stafford, who has several question marks (see Florida-Georgia game and 1st half of bowl game against MSU), is a big risk and doesn’t solve the Lions problems on defense. Furthermore, given that the Chiefs traded for Matt Cassell, it’s apparent they weren’t enamored of the possibility of getting Stafford and are positioning themselves to take the guy the Lions should take No. 1 overall—Aaron Curry.
Curry is the consensus best player in the draft, helps solve one of the Lions major problems, and should be the pick.
Posted by LionsfaninClev on 02/28/09 at 07:30 PM ET