JohnHenry wrote:We already lost one starter on the D-line, no way should we get rid of T. Williams with nobody to replace him. He has been the foundation of our defence for many seasons and even if his age might reduce his effectiveness somewhat, he is one veteran I would not like the Lions to put out to pasture. Even if you had to spell him on alternate downs while you develop his replacement, he would still be a valuable member of the team.
I'm torn on B. Miles. He's smart and didn't he lead the league in INT's last yr? Plus he is good for at least one blocked kick per season. But he is slowing and perhaps his tackling is suspect. But we can't release him until we have a replacement, and I don't think we can rely on unproven T. Crawford to automatically be the starter, without having another option.
Not really too broke up about losing O. Floyd, or even J. Johnson for that matter. We need an LB upgrade there from stem to stern.
Since the Lions have an extra $500,000 to play with, I wonder mabey if Casey Printers is available??
I'm in the camp that we need to release Ty Williams. Who doesn't love the big guy? He's been a great Leo but he's 36 years old and we need more penetration on the pass rush than Williams provides. As for Barrin Miles, he would have been my choice over Washington as our defensive backfield coach if we could have waited for a year. Miles' best days as a safety are behind him...he hasn't played well since the first half of the '07 season. Still he's a Wally favorite. One possibility would be to use him as our dime back or eight back so he could still play special teams and also play dual safety when we use that formation. Miles just doesn't have the range for free safety anymore, his tackling is awful, and Crawford is ready for prime time. Crawford is also a Canadian and that gives us much more flexibility with our lineup!
