I’m not going to be the first one to say how bad of
an offseason this was for your Detroit Lions.
Two players, two different positions and two arrests each this offseason
may have sealed the fate for both Mikel Leshoure and Nick Fairley. Adding to this laundry list, Johnny Culbreath
also was arrested for a dope charge. It’s
really sad to see these young promising players show their true maturity levels
in their childish acts this offseason.
These guys are professional football players. They are paid to perform, not to smoke pot or
drink and drive. Add these arrests to
the issues with Titus Young in the past couple of weeks and you’ve got some
high draft picks turning into an unmitigated disaster.
There will ultimately be suspensions for these
players. Leshoure and Fairley for sure
will receive suspension, although there is no telling the amount. My guess is at least four games for Leshoure
and maybe eight for Fairley. Commissioner
Goodell has been playing Conan the Barbarian lately, dropping the hammer on the
participants in “Bounty-Gate”. I wouldn’t
be surprised if the penalty for the Lions wasn’t a bit stiffer than what we
anticipate.
I don’t mind if this team has the reputation of
being the “bad boys” of the NFL. Play
hard, hit harder is just fine with me, but do I want this team to be the
Bengals 2.0? Absolutely not.
This team needs players on the field in order to win
games. The Lions gave this fan base ten
wins last year. The benchmark has been
set now and there has to be improvement on last year for this team to trend
upwards. Anything less will be
considered a failure. The Lions will be
without these players for part of the season and it will hurt them. How does management steer this ship and right
the course? Does the team lack leadership? Does Jim Schwartz change the game
plan? Any way you look at it, this offseason has definitely cast doubt on the
hopes for this upcoming season.
Let me know how you think this offseason has gone
for the Lions. Are they the Bengals 2.0?
Leave a comment, hit my Facebook page http://on.fb.me/INlTqF or get at me on
twitter @sportsinthe313
Just in general im so satisfied with all of our great prospects producing for the Lions. Fairley and Leshoure didnt do anything for us last season. I'll be curious to see what they do for us this season. As of right now im not expecting great things from all of the players who have been in trouble with the law.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm the antithesis of ethics but as a fan, I could care less what these guys are doing away from Ford Field/Dearporn. Sure, on a human level I hate to see anyone drinking and driving or getting mixed up in drugs but if the lions are giving us 10 wins per season I am not raising any warning flags, far from it. The issue with all of these guys is that in the NFL you need GREAT players who can make GREAT plays. It’s easy to find good players but how often does that end with a championship? Or even a winning record? It all goes into the psyche of these guys; they are great because they are willing to take enormous risks to get enormous rewards. The same is true off the field.
ReplyDeleteSo, I'm good with the wild behavior off the field. I say it is up to the Lions to have more chaperons around these guys to protect their investments. Call me an apologist but I'll take that with 10-6 instead of 6-10 and lots of positive rhetoric (See Rich Rodriguez- U of M guest coach 2008-2010).
Also, I wouldn't discount Fairley's abilities. I think it is idiotic to say that he did nothing last year. He struggled through some injuries but in the first game against the Saints (when Suh was out for stomping the yard) he had a great game. Sure he only ended up with one sack, but he had 15 tackles for loss in just 10 games played (which was really 8 full games). NOs OFL did a good job keeping him from Drew BREEEEZE but Fairley was hurrying him the entire game. For Lion’s fans to marginalize his game because he likes to get high is bonkers. Get him a couple of baby sitters like Josh Hamilton has and get as much out of him as we can during his rookie deal.
Dando its all about value now. The Lions are going to be without these guys for some part of the season. Where the make-up comes from, I don't know. Sure, I'd love another 10-6 season but I'm a bit weary considering this division got a whole lot better and the Lions have pretty much resigned their entire team and are banking on rookies to step up.
DeleteI haven't taken a hard look at the schedule but I'm hopeful another 10-6 record is possible.
Im like Dando, I really don't care what these guys do off the field (unless its really bad), but I think it does shed some light on their intelligence. If you are making millions of dollars doing something that has a career life of only a couple years, and everything depends on your health, why are you doing anything to risk that?!?! if you want to do stupid things, wait until you are done playing and have already made your money!
ReplyDeleteYea, it's been a pretty embarrassing offseason. I can't understand why these guys behave the way they do. I can't explain it. Why would you be driving around without insurance when you obviously can afford it? Why would you be drinking and driving when you obviously can afford a limo, let alone a cab? It's dumb enough to be smoking marijuana when you have millions of dollars and an NFL career at stake, but if you're going to do it, at least do it in your own home where you won't be caught.
ReplyDeleteOf course, the most important thing for any fan is going to be how their team performs on the field. But if players are getting suspended, they won't be on the field. And besides, it still is important for players to perform off the field. These actions are embarrassing to the Lions and the NFL. Professional athletes have a golden opportunity to be role models and activists in their community. It's idiotic to let that go to waste.