Late Round O-lineman

[SINCE1978]

http://www.freep.com/article/20090126/COL08/901260327/1049/SPORTS01


I must say that usually I disagree with this particular journalists glass half empty perspective on life/sports but, in this piece "evil" Drew Sharp brings up several solid points. By the way, this should excite those Matt Stafford fans who feel he is worthy of the #1 overall pick, as some here have already labeled the kid as the second coming of Brett Favre! (Before you jump all over me, I am just reciting comments from this forum ... I personally think expectations like that are premature but this is not about Stafford, it's about those big uglies in the trenches that will keep his uniform clean.)

This is not news to most ... our beloved Lions are dreadful up front. Mr. Kitna (and others) scrambled for their lives the past 2 years and the statistics show he was one of the most sacked QB's in NFL history ... those are the facts, look em up. Ironically enough, as the article points out, this franchise (under Millen's marvelous tutelage) drafted two 1st round tackles (Backus & Cherilus) and one 2nd round center (Raoloa) which is contrary to what most good running teams do in the trenches.
Many would argue the talent level of said drafted players
or
Some might say the tackle crop this year is fantastic at the top and might suggest drafting Monroe, Smith, Oher with the #1 overall pick (moving Backus to guard).
That can be debated here certainly ...

But what I am fascinated with from this article are the late round selections of offensive lineman who start for the teams that statistically, run the ball the most effectively in the NFL.

So let's discuss..

If anyone has a useful nugget/opinion on late round lineman (particularly interior) that could make a significant contribution and help out our 3 ... um "best" (well most expensive) current lineman in Backus, Raola & Cherilus please discuss it here ...

[SINCE1978]

<<< a list of several guards and 1 tight end I like, where I would select them, and why >>>


Player / Pick / Why?
Trevor Canfield (Cinci) 3b Great Senior Bowl, starts day1
Paul Fanaika (ASU) 5 6-6 337 road grader!
Cederick Dockery (Texas) 5 Brother of Derrick Dockery of Bills
Rey Feinga (BYU) 6a 6-5 328 & quick, 1st team All Mtn
Louis Vasquez (Tex Tech) 6a Clearly he is an okay pass blocker ...
Andrew Hartline (CMU) 6a 47 consecutive starts, versatile
Roger Allen (Missou West) 6b This years Heath Benedict?
Jim Tart (Florida) 6b 2nd team All SEC, athletic ...
Ramon Foster (Tennessee) 7-FA Runs 5.1 40 at 325 and played in elite SEC

Bear Pascoe TE/Fresno St) 5 Probably will not fall that far but multidimensional TE (catches & blocks well)

New look front
TE Pascoe (#5) LT Backus LG Canfield (#3b) C Raola RG Feinga (#6a) RT Cherilus

[wingboy2999]

It'd be great if we can get guys in the later rounds in the biggest holes we have. "Lucky" for us, one of the biggest holes we have [OG] seems to do just as well in the later rounds as the higher rounds. Soooooooooooooooo.....

Fingers crossed.

[Prowler]

he absolutely should NOT have mentioned the steelers and cardinals offensive lines as examples. stapleton couldn't start on a high school team and both lines are subpar and their teams get by with exceptional passing or defense. darnell stapleton is not a hidden hero....please.

and i don't really have any late round picks, but i've loved jamon meredith for a while in the mid rounds.

[Maybe Next Year Millen2]

Gerald Cadogan, AQ Shipley. Any PSU player Oline for me

[eeth]

"The only thing the Lions MUST do is get players -- at every position."

well i hope thats what we want to do, i dont see us playing with guys missing on the field