It’s an exciting time to be a football fan. The NFL has never been stronger
www.detroitlionsteamonline.com , and now we’re about to hit a potential jackpot with not one, but two new
football leagues. If you’ve been following along, you should be no stranger to
new leagues. The FXFL, or Fall Experimental Football League, attempted to become
a developmental league for the NFL but folded in 2016 after only two seasons. In
2020, we’re going to witness the rebirth of Vince McMahon’s XFL, but before that
happens the Alliance of American Football will be fielding eight teams with
around 500 players, and one team in particular will have several coaches that
should be familiar to Lions fans. The San Diego Fleet, one of the eight
franchises the new league will be launching, will hit the field with their new
head coach, Mike Martz. Martz was the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator during
the 2006 and 2007 seasons before getting fired after the team’s collapse
following a 6-2 start that season. With Martz now at the helm, San Diego should
prepare itself for about one hundred seven-step drops a game, am I right,
fellas? (Editor’s note: please remove references that will appear dated to
modern fans).Former Lions quarterback, and Mike Martz disciple, Jon Kitna will
be the team’s offensive coordinator. Considering the beating he took under
Martz, maybe he’ll quash the seven-step drop altogether, but that remains to be
seen. Kitna is joined by his brother, Mike, who will act as the team’s assistant
offensive line coach. The inclusion of both Kitnas opens the door to some
potential drama, since they were both involved in some pretty crazy shenanigans
as high school coaches recently. Former Lions Pro Bowl defensive back Dre’ Bly
will also join the Fleet, acting as defensive backs coach. Bly, an All Pro in
2003, was a fan favorite during his tenure with the Lions, and even attempted to
make a comeback with the team in 2010, though it was unsuccessful. This isn’t
Bly’s first foray into the coaching arena, but it will be his first time doing
so with professionals at any level. On the other side of the ball, former Lions
receiver and the first Lion to score a touchdown at Ford Field, Az-Zahir Hakim,
is taking over as the Fleet’s wide receivers coach. A college receivers
coach
Detroit Lions T-Shirt , Hakim is also making his first jump into the professional arena. One of the more electric receivers to play in Detroit, Hakim was a fan
favorite when he played for the Lions both for his receiving ability and for his
work as a punt returner. If you’re interested in seeing who they’ll be coaching,
including former Lions pre-season linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton, check it out
here. So what else will the new league bring to the table besides some
long-retired Lions? Well, as detailed here, kickoffs are gone. Instead, teams
will start at their own 25. Late in the game and wish you could go for an onside
kick? Sorry, you can’t, but teams have the option to instead start at their own
35 on fourth-and-10. Extra points, also gone (Kickers in the AAF are apparently
not people, too). Instead, teams will be forced to do what NFL teams should have
been doing all along anyway, go for two every time. There’s a shorter play
clock, so uptempo offenses are likely to be more prevalent.Players won’t be
going at this thing for free. As noted by ESPN:With the recent legal changes in
the United States regarding gambling, the AAF isn’t screwing around, instead
putting all their chips into the betting markets. Banking on the appeal of
big-named former players (other teams landed former NFL stars like Michael Vick)
and exciting local talents in their charter cities, the league is hoping to give
opportunities to football players who may have simply missed their first shot at
the NFL, while giving others a chance to develop into players that could appeal
to the granddaddy NFL. With Charlie Ebersol leading the charge and Bill Polian
pulling talent, this new league may be a lot of fun. They’ve already released
their rosters and coaching staffs but also showcased some pretty sweet logos and
team colors for their inaugural squads. It’s an interesting, but workable
financial model for the players, and when adding in the gambling stuff, we’re
probably not going to see a USFL type of collapse. I’m just excited to have
football starting in February, which is normally when we mourn the end of
football for half a year. It’s been awhile, but it’s back: The roundtable is
making its return for the 2018 season and it couldn’t come at a better time than
the bye week.If you’re unfamiliar with our roundtable or how it works, check out
some of our (relatively) recent discussions:Will Detroit sign Matthew Stafford
to a contract extension before the start of 2017?How can the Lions win the NFC
North in 2017?Who is the Lions least-replaceable player outside of Matthew
Stafford?What are the expectations for Kenny Golladay in his rookie season?Will
the Lions be positioned for the playoffs after Week 9?What is the most
interesting camp battle in Detroit?Should the Lions’ 53-man roster carry 4 tight
ends, or 5 wide receivers?The Detroit Lions are currently 2-3 on the season, and
as injuries are starting to test the depth of this roster, the team’s getting a
much needed break from play this week.There’s no better time than the bye week
than to explore—and by proxy exhaust—all of the talking points surrounding the
team. Speaking to the depth on this roster, this is Bob Quinn’s third year as
general manager, and this season is starting to paint a clearer picture of just
what kind of success he’s experienced at the draft.There have been both hits and
misses from Quinn’s picks
Detroit Lions Hats , but with a divisional victory last week, good vibes are here to stay, as you can see from his bounceback numbers in this month’s approval
poll. Who is the most valuable draft pick of Bob Quinn’s tenure as Lions general
manager?Kent Lee Platte:Frank Ragnow looks like he may be an anchor on this
line, but for me right now, this early in the season, it's looking like Da'Shawn
Hand. Hand has well outplayed expectations, and with a rookie mid-round deal, he
could be a building block for a defense that will need to address its line in
both free agency and draft this coming offseason.Andrew Kato: Kent is right that
Ragnow looks like he will be a solid addition to the offensive line, and he
joins two other Bob Quinn picks from 2016 on that unit: Graham Glasgow and
Taylor Decker. I love Glasgow and the head tap, but if i’m picking an anchor for
the future of the offensive trenches, it’s probably Decker. We don’t talk about
him as much anymore due to the scrutiny of Ragnow as the fresh new hotness, but
that’s a good thing: it means Decker isn’t screwing up and Matthew Stafford gets
to live.Jeremy Reisman: The key word here for me is “valuable.” Valuable doesn’t
just mean getting the most out of the draft position, but getting a player that
can contribute in different facets of the game. After all, how often have we
heard the word “versatile” or “multiples” from this coaching staff?If there’s
one guy that defines the word value, it’s a guy who contributes on offense,
defense and especially special teams. It’s a guy who earned a spot on the All
Pro team in his rookie year—as a fifth-round pick, no less. That man is Jamal
Agnew. Kent: Agnew is pretty awesome. Hoping this injury won't sap his speed
much, he's the only player on this roster who can not only contend with but best
Darius Slay in pure speed.Andrew: The fact that now the coaching staff is
working Agnew into regular defense as a contributor makes him tremendous value.
If Ryan had asked the question differently and prodded us for the “best” or most
“unexpectedly awesome” draft pick from Bob Quinn, it would be a toss-up between
Agnew and Kenny Golladay for me. I am pretty sure Kent was the only one who knew
how good Golladay would turn out, and both of those picks I recall wondering
what the hell the front office was thinking. So glad to have been so wrong about
both of them.Jeremy: I was going to shut down the site if someone didn’t mention
Golladay soon. Dude is going to be a No. 1 receiver if he isn’t already. Kent: I
don't mean to brag (lies), but I did call Golladay being picked by the Lions a
round or two earlier than expected (which I've mentioned as often as Stafford
and Clayton Kershaw going to school together). Not so humble brag aside,
Golladay is an elite athlete who had tremendous hands in college despite being
thrown the football by what amounts to converted cornerbacks. His final season
saw him catching passes from four different guys, each worse than the last.
Getting someone like Stafford must have seemed like winning the lottery to Kenny
G19.Ryan Mathews: If there’s one thing I do know about the Lions offense, it’s
that the skill positions are in good shape no matter where the Lions find
themselves after free agency next year i.e. when Golden Tate signs for the big
monies (h/t Kato) elsewhere—which he totally deserves.Sure, the Lions need to
add a more capable-of-anything tight end to the roster after Quinn swung and
missed on Michael Roberts in 2017—and this draft might be the right time to do
it with more than a handful of tight ends considered to be top-100 prospects—but
man if it isn’t hard to choose between Golladay and a name no one has brought up
yet: Kerryon Johnson.Kent: How often do rookie running backs come in and match
feats only Barry had accomplished? Johnson is legit, though his usage hints that
they're tentative to utilize him more due to either health or some other
factor.Kellie Rowe: It’s because Auburn used him too much so the word
“workhorse” got thrown around—I think the Lions are worried they’ll hurt ‘em or
burn him out. But like you say, Johnson’s my pick for this one. From what we’ve
seen, he’s already on a trajectory to break at least Lions records, if not
league records. Ryan: The reason I brought up the team’s offense being in a good
place with their skill position players is because even though the likes of
Tate, LeGarrette Blount
Detroit Lions Hoodie , Ameer Abdullah, and Theo Riddick may be gone next year, the two best players at those respective positions are Golladay and Johnson
respectively, and that’s absolutely a feather in Quinn’s hat.The most valuable
draft pick for this team in the here and now, through Week 5 of the 2018 season
is without a doubt Ragnow. There’s something to be said about Matthew Stafford
being one of the most-sacked quarterbacks of 2017 to being one of the
least-sacked quarterbacks this year. And there’s something to be said about the
Lions running game going from dead last in the league at 3.4 yards per carry to
14th in the league at 4.3 yards per carry this season.The offensive line would
not be what it is this season without Ragnow, and everyone else is the better
for it.Mansur Shaheen: If we are basing this off of pure value alone then a
sixth-round pick who plays as a replacement-level starter for two years is worth
a shout, right? Anthony Zettel is no longer around in Detroit but it’s hard to
say the Lions didn’t get any value out of him.For players actually on the team,
though, I’d have to say Golladay. A third-round pick developing into one of the
team’s biggest threats despite the two incumbent starters on the Lions already
being major free agent splashes. One could argue Golladay is the best receiver
on the team at the moment, and with his physical profile he should only get
better over time. It’s tough to pick anyone else above him for me.Alex Reno:
We’ve barely even mentioned Da’Shawn Hand, which is tragic. I know it’s pretty
early in his career, but if we’re going to talk about Kerryon Johnson and the
run game, then we should talk more about the only defensive lineman who is
consistently doing anything with the new scheme. Quinn had to be active and
trade up for both of these guys rather than having them fall into his lap, and I
have to give him a ton of credit for that. But as for the most valuable, I think
it has to be Kenny Golladay. I underestimated that pick—I was also dead wrong
about that entire draft, and this is why immediate draft grades suck, or I suck,
or both. Even the people who loved the pick didn’t think he would turn out to be
THIS good. Right now, he’s Stafford’s No. 1 receiver, and having a second-year
player—a former third-round pick—turn into that for you in an offense with a ton
of weapons is about as much value as you can possibly get from a Day 2 pick.
Also, if you see anyone calling Golladay by the nickname of “Babytron,” report
them to either myself or the police. Thank you.Hamza Baccouche: Oops, I’m late,
but I’m going to hop on your hype trains. I think at the moment it has to be
Kenny Golladay. This season he has very clearly morphed into Stafford’s most
trusted target and we’re seeing Golladay get 50/50 looks that Stafford doesn’t
even throw to Marvin Jones Jr. Give it a year or so, however, and I think it’ll
definitely be Kerryon. Once this staff trusts him as a bell-cow back, I think we
can reasonably expect him to be a top 10-12 running back in the league. Either
way, it’s clear that Golladay and Johnson are both future centerpieces of this
offense and the team as a whole.
