Response to Mel Kiper's Draft Grade for the Detroit Lions

         When grading how every team did in this year’s draft, Mel Kiper Jr. decided to give the Detroit Lions an A-, which tied the Cincinnati Bengals for the highest grade in the draft. When I found out about this I was ecstatic, knowing that I wasn’t the only crazy guy out there that fought the Lions did something right by drafting Nick Fairley, the Defensive Tackle out of Auburn, Titus Young, the Wide Receiver out of Boise State, and Mikel Leshoure, the Running Back out of Illinois in the first two rounds.

            Sure, the Lions didn’t draft for need, (they needed a quality linebacker and a shut-down cornerback) but now they really don’t need one. By adding Nick Fairley to a defensive line that already includes Ndamukong Suh, (Defensive Rookie of the year, Rookie of the year, Pro-bowler, led the league with ten and a half sacks) Kyle Vanden Bosch, Corey Williams, and Cliff Avril, you don’t really need a linebacker all that much any more. Sure it’s nice to have one, that’s why the Lions drafted Doug Hogue in the fifth round as a developmental guy. But still, by drafting Fairley, that pretty much takes care of the defensive dilemma. My guess is that Fairley comes in and has a Suh-esque season, becoming the second Detroit Lion in a row to win the Defensive Rookie of the year award. Quarterbacks in the NFC North beware, (Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler, and Christian Ponder) Suh and Fairley are here.

            With the Lions next pick, Detroit took Titus Young, the explosive wide receiver out of Boise State. This kid is absolutely electric, and will be a highly productive guy in the NFL. Now, the Lions have pro-bowler Calvin Johnson as the number one receiver, Titus Young playing the role of the explosive quick receiver on the other side, and Nate Burleson playing in the slot, where he was highly productive in Minnesota. Now, the Lions have one of the scariest defensive lines, and receiving corpse in the NFL. I predict Titus Young will have a huge season with all the attention going over to Calvin Johnson, and could possibly win offensive Rookie of the Year. He definitely has the talent, and the Lions know he will work hard because it turns out that Titus Young is actually from Detroit!

            For the Lions next pick, they traded up and got Mikel Leshoure, the big, powerful, bruising running back that has drawn comparisons to Rashard Mendenhall of the Pittsburg Steelers. Boy, do the Lions love this pick. Last year, Detroit traded up to get Jahvid Best, the explosive running back out of the University of California. Best was injured during the year after a highly productive first two weeks. After the injury (Turf Toe) the Lions started questioning is durability, so this year, they drafted Mikel Leshoure in the second round, so they could let Jahvid Best step into the role of a change of pace back. This tandem will be Thunder and Lightning out there for the Lions, nobody will be able to stop these two. With Leshoure’s pound it down the middle ability, and Best’s make you miss quickness, the Lions will finally have themselves a backfield. (Well, at least for the first time since Barry Sanders.)

            Yes, I agree with you Mel, the Lions had another spectacular draft this year. And yes, I agree with you Mel, the Lions are officially a playoff-caliber team. They tremendously improved themselves with the additions of Fairley, Young, and Leshoure. And with Matthew Stafford coming back, the Lions have got themselves a football team. 

Response to the College Football Pre-Season Top 25

1.     Oklahoma

2.     Alabama

3.     Florida State

4.     Oregon

5.     LSU

6.     Oklahoma State

7.     Boise St.

8.     Stanford

9.     Texas A&M

10. Michigan State

11. Arkansas

12. Wisconsin

13. Nebraska

14. West Virginia

15.  Ohio State

16. Notre Dame

17. Georgia

18. Missouri

19. South Carolina

20. Texas

21. Arizona State

22. TCU

23. Virginia Tech

24. Florida

25. Mississippi State

Well, what do you think? First off, it is WAY too early to have a top 25. We just got done with the draft! All we have had is spring training; coaches don’t even have their rosters set yet! Why are we doing this? (Oh yeah, there’s a lockout in the NFL, that’s right. We don’t have anything better to do!) Nonetheless, people are already analyzing away, picking through it with a fine toothcomb, acknowledging every single detail, and it’s May! So, here’s my take on the pre-season top 25.

      Boomer Sooner. The Oklahoma faithful have to be happy about this one. But I’m not sure I agree. Every year, even if Oklahoma doesn’t deserve it, it seems like they always have a top five ranking. But what have they shown us? They won the fiesta bowl. Yeah sure that’s great and all, but I hate to tell you they played Connecticut, a team that was slaughtered by a 7-5 Michigan Wolverines team. This is not the right spot for the Sooners.

Now, Alabama, that’s a solid pick, they’re good every year. What really baffles me is Florida State. You have got to be kidding me. Sure they had the top recruiting class, but do you really expect them to win anything with just some highly touted freshman? C’mon man. Next we have the Ducks, who should be ranked atop the polls. They have Lamichael James who is without a doubt the best running back in all of college football. Also, they have Darren Thomas coming back, who will be even better next year. Oregon is my pick (Besides the Wolverines) to win it all this year.

      Let’s skip down a few. At the number nine spot we have Texas A&M. Since when is the number one team from Texas not named the Longhorns? I highly question this pick. Even more now because Jerrod Johnson was lost to the NFL this year.

      Next we have the Spartans from Michigan State. Wait; is this the basketball pre-season rankings? Sure the Spartans had a Sparty Party in Ann Arbor this year, (and the won the big-ten) but that doesn’t vault them over the Wolverines this next year.

Next, we have the most hated team in the land, the Ohio State Buckeyes. They come in at the number 15 spot, and I must say that this is too high. They are going to lose many key players for the first five games this season, one of them being named Terelle Pryor. Also, they lose their head coach for the first five games. My prediction is that after the first five games they drop out of the rankings completely, and the Big Ten will be the Wolverines play ground once again.

      At number 16, we have the Fighting Irish from Notre Dame. Wait, didn’t these guys lose to the 7-5 Wolverines last year. Didn’t they lose to them the year before too? Well, I’m here to tell you that Notre Dame will not return to the “holy land” of college football this season. They will lose to the Wolverines once again and stay out of the rankings for at least one more year.

      If we scroll down we have Georgia, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas, and Arizona State in the next five spots. Georgia will be hopeless this year without A.J. Green, and so will Missouri without Blaine Gabbert. South Carolina should be bumped up a few spots, especially with Marcus Lattimore running the ball for them. The Longhorns will hope to get over that dreadful season of year’s past, but sadly they will not. And Arizona State? You have got to be kidding me. What have they shown to land them a spot in the top-25?

            Skipping down a few we find that there is no Michigan in the top 25. This is not right. Denard Robinson is a front-runner for the Heisman trophy, and along with the new coach, Brady Hoke, and a new defensive system, lets just say you’ll see the Wolverines in the rankings very soon.