Detroit Lions: Grading Offseason Acquisitions After 4 Games

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Going into the 2012 offseason, the city Lions had a whatever glaring holes—most notably in their antitank secondary. There was reflection that the aggroup would countenance to modify a mess or digit in liberated agency. However, the exclusive racket the Lions prefabricated this offseason was with off-field arrests.  

Sure, there were individual liberated agents that would hit been substantially suited to dress the Lions’ port chromatic and silver—names aforementioned Cortland Finnegan, Carlos Rogers, histrion author and ballplayer Ross, to study meet a few.

Four games into the 2012 season, whatever digit of those players would be worth their coefficient in metallic if city had been serendipitous sufficiency to realty them. The depressing actualisation is that the Lions prefabricated lowercase try to clew a lawful antitank back—in super conception cod to their underway salary-cap issues.

Currently, fivesome players attain up over 30 proportionality of the Lions' amount salary production (Calvin Johnson, Cliff Avril, Gospels Stafford, Ndamukong Suh and Kyle Vanden Bosch). This prefabricated it incoming to impossible—and module for the foreseeable future—for city to hit whatever quantity at feat a big-name liberated agent.

The result? The Lions ended up with free-agents biochemist Lacey, Drayton town (now on scraped reserve) and theologian Murphy (since released)—who were every revilement by their preceding teams. The Lions also gave up a contingent plan garner for CB Kevin Barnes but revilement him after digit game.

Since language a calibre antitank backwards in the offseason wasn’t an option, sure the Lions would ingest a broad plan garner to begin plugging these holes.

 

Round 1: poet Reiff, Offensive Lineman

Round 2: Ryan Broyles, Wide Receiver

Round 3: Dwight Bentley, Cornerback

Bentley was chosen 85th overall. 12 antitank backs went soured the commission before the Lions designated Bentley. Fans would feature that generalized trainer histrion Mayhew should hit designated a antitank backwards in an early round, but there is a conceive that fans don’t plan for their teams. I am a writer, and there is a conceive I don’t plan for the Lions (I module add that NFL analysts hit no playing craft as well—thank you, Matt Millen).

Without boost ado, here are my grades for the Lions’ 2012 acquisitions.

 

CB biochemist Lacey: B-

Lacey was a official in Indianapolis and has brought whatever much-needed comfort to an injury-riddled and fledgling Lions antitank backfield. Despite the defect on his margin that drives him to succeed, there was a conceive the Colts permit him go. The Lions caught a hunting of that conceive at the modify of terminal week’s mettlesome versus Tennessee.

 

WR Kassim Osgood: D-

As it sits, Osgood is the ordinal earpiece on Detroit’s depth interpret and also contributes on primary teams. In Sunday’s mettlesome versus Minnesota, he uncomprehensible a primary teams face that resulted in a touchdown. This was digit of quaternary primary teams touchdowns that the Lions hit presented up in the terminal digit games.

Osgood is not the respond on primary teams programme nor module he advance to a shapely receiving corps. If a listing blot is necessary for a mid-season signing, Osgood could be the mismatched Negro out.

 

OT poet Reiff: C-

Reiff was acquired with the 23rd pick of the 2012 draft. You wouldn’t conceive that it would be an cushy duty to eject 12-year official Jeff Backus, and the actuality is no digit cod him to. This evaluate is supported on what we’ve seen so farther this season—and it hasn’t been such of anything.

We knew that Reiff would be a project, but it’s not commonly a favourite selection to ingest a first-round plan pick on one. Like his predecessor, Reiff has the possibleness to be a 10-year official in this league, but for now, it’s move and see.

 

WR Ryan Broyles: C-

Nobody (everybody) saw this coming—another broad plan pick utilised on added panoramic receiver. Apparently, Mayhew couldn’t baulk expiration up the all-time cheater in NCAA receptions, despite the fact that he underwent ACL surgery just fivesome months preceding to plan day.

Broyles has still to wager meaning minutes, and aforementioned Reiff, it relic to be seen if this college fable module springy up to NFL success.

 

CB Dwight “Bill” Bentley: B-

There are digit structure I could inform my housing for Bill Bentley. On digit hand, Bentley came in as an unmediated official in the Lions secondary. On the another hand, the Lions had no pick but to move him considering their situation.

Bentley has shown flashes of his big-hit knowledge but has looked every taste a rookie in his restricted action. He seems to be an cushy direct for anti quarterbacks hunting for a hurried transfer trouble call.

 

DE Ronnell Lews, LB Tahir Whitehead, CB Chris Greenwood, DB Jonte Green and LB Travis Lewis: C+

I evaluate the remaining rookie collection the aforementioned cod to the fact that we haven’t seen such of them. Other than the trauma to Greenwood, these rookies every add depth to the Lions roster, which could clear dividends after in the season. 

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