Louis Delmas Cut

[3irty1]

Burnett is a much better SS than a FS IMO.

[Joemailman]

Burnett is a much better SS than a FS IMO.

I agree. When TT drafted Burnett, he thought he would be pairing him with Nick Collins for several years. Burnett was supposed to be an upgrade over Atari Bigby, not Nick Collins' replacement.

[run pMc]

Burnett is a much better SS than a FS IMO.

This is what I've been wondering lately -- is Burnett a better FS or a SS? The writers sometimes say the two are fairly interchangable, but I'd expect each still has it's points of emphasis. I thought Burnett was supposed to be a SS...in which case I'd think you'd want a speedy ballhawk at FS. For as many tackles as Burnett missed, he's got a lot of room to improve as a SS though.

To the original topic, I'd pass on Delmas at $5M, unless that was for 2 seasons. Even then, I'm not sure he's who you want at FS, plus there's the age and injury history thing working against TT signing him. Detroit will try to keep him if they can sort out their cap mess.

[3irty1]

All the parts of Burnett that make him special are wasted as a center fielder, he's much more valuable closer to the line of scrimmage. He's an excellent athlete but is truly elite in his ability to change directions. At Georgia Tech they actually used him a lot like we used Woodson, as a huge slot corner and he nabbed 14 interceptions in just 3 years. Put him near the line and that quickness starts to matter more than pure speed. Also he's tall and very long and plays up to that size which is more useful in the box where man coverage with tight ends is a more common assignment. In college and as a rookie he hadn't been a very physical tackler which is pretty much the only reason a guy with his body and his ball skills would fall to the 3rd round, he didn't appear to be ideal for either the FS or SS spots. In years two and three though Burnett made huge strides in this area, and looked to be turning a weakness into a strength. I think if you can get a good FS for the Packers you're really getting two for the price of one as it frees Burnett from a responsibility where he's only mediocre.

In contrast Nick Collins was an elite athlete in terms of straight line speed and ability to plant and drive in an explosive way, but lacked the fluid change of direction skills to excel at corner in the NFL. In the deep potions of the field he's a shark in water. This is the mold Ted is probably looking for, he just needs someone who can play football like Collins.

[bobblehead]

Agree with your assessment 31. Collins was explosively fast. Accelerated like crazy, but not fluid. If he were, he would have been the best CB in the game.

[Cheesehead Craig]

There's better safties than Delmas out there, try for one of those first.

[Fritz]

Oops. double post.

[Fritz]

PFT says Lions would be interested in getting Delmas back at a reduced rate.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/02/13/lions-want-delmas-back-but-he-plans-to-test-market/

One question: Do you want a FS to stay back and range sideline to sideline so Burnett can be the SS near the box? Or do you want Burnett back there and the new guy near the LOS?

But can they even afford to try to re-sign Delmas - or anybody, for that matter?


Here's a link to an article on the Lions' cap space situation, specifically as it relates to Nadahmawatever Suh:

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140215/SPORTS0101/302150046/Lions-Ndamukong-Suh-has-all-power-contract-extension-talks?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

What's interesting is that the article's writer says the team president, Tom Lewan, has done a good job "carving out cap space" for the team by renegotiating Calvin Johnson's and Matt Stafford's contracts the past couple years, yet a few paragraphs later the article says the Lions don't even have enough cap space to sign their 2014 coming draft class, much less anyone else.

Suh's contract hit for this year, his last of the rookie contract, is just above 22 million. What's odd is that the article says that even if the Lions were to trade Suh, they'd still have a cap hit of 19 million this year. That doesn't make sense to me, but maybe it's a mistake in the article, or maybe I don't understand the cap and trading.

The article also says that if they cut him, Suh will still count 19 mill against the cap this year.

So Suh holds all the cards in any renegotiation. My guess is that this will mean another back-end-heavy contract for the Lions.

I don't see how they can afford to re-sign Delmas, or sign any free agents, if they still don't have enough cap space to sign their draft class, even after cutting Nate Burleson and Louis Delmas.

[Guiness]

The article also says that if they cut him, Suh will still count 19 mill against the cap this year.

So Suh holds all the cards in any renegotiation. My guess is that this will mean another back-end-heavy contract for the Lions.

Saw an article about the reasons behind Suh's number. He was part of the last big money rookie class, so his contract was onerous to begin with. His contract has been renegotiated the past two years to push money out, I'd guess by turning base salaries into signing bonuses or pushing money to later years and fully guaranteeing it. Well, it's time to pay the piper, and considering Suh was DROY and has been AP All Pro and/or a Pro Bowler every year he's been in the league, he is not going to be inclined to give the Lions any discount at all. DT franchise number of $8.5M be damned, I doubt he gets a cent under $16M/year.

[smuggler]

I see no reason why Suh would agree to let the Lions fictionalize any of his guaranteed money. If I were Suh, I'd make them triple the guaranteed money to $60 million if they wanted to restructure.

[Guiness]

I see no reason why Suh would agree to let the Lions fictionalize any of his guaranteed money. If I were Suh, I'd make them triple the guaranteed money to $60 million if they wanted to restructure.

That's what I expect he'll demand, years added but with more guaranteed money. He'll likely allow them to change his guaranteed base from this coming year into a signing bonus, I don't think that ends up any skin off his nose.

[Fritz]

That's what I expect he'll demand, years added but with more guaranteed money. He'll likely allow them to change his guaranteed base from this coming year into a signing bonus, I don't think that ends up any skin off his nose.

The Lions are already under the gun, as noted above, and so doing this, as you suggest, will squeeze them some room but will put them in an incredible bind very shortly. They're working the Mike Sherman School of Capology.

[Freak Out]

Steelers looking at him.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/02/17/steelers-hosting-louis-delmas/

[Bretsky]

I'd jump at Delmas

[Carolina_Packer]

Buffalo would make sense. His former coach just took over as DC, Jairus Byrd is likely to leave because he wants to get paid, so they will have an opening at free safety. According to Sirius XM NFL Radio, Schwartz really likes Delmas in his defense. Would not shock me to see him go there.