Lions Offseason Press conferences

bfy222 · #1 (**permalink**) 12-06-2005

First I would like to discuss the business we have already handled and then i will move on to our plans for this offseason and take questions. The major news so far has been us using our franchise tag on LT Jeff Backus. We decided we could not risk Jeff hitting the free agent market because we though he would attract a lot of interest. Jeff should be a mainstay on the Line here for years to come and we see no problems working out a long term conract with him. We had three RFA's this year and the only one we did not offer a contract to was James Davis. James is a solid player in this league and we still could look to sign him later this offseason, but right now we want to keep our options open as to who will back up Dexter Coakley. Artose Pinner and Terrance Holt were both offered contracts and we are excited to have them back next year.

Our main goal this offseason is to improve our depth. We feel we have the starters on both sides of the ball to make the playoffs, but there are still some positions where we are very vulnerable to injury. We would like to make some improvements to our Nickle and Dime Defenses, we really got killed on third downs last year and those are the plays that can get your defense off the field. Our FS positon is still up in the air and we are hoping to bring Izell Reese back next season, but that all depends on free agency. We also would like to bring back David Patten as he has been a huge lift for this team since we traded for him two offseasons ago. We are open to any and all trades as always but we will not putting any of our players on the Trading Block at this time.

Any questions??

T.O.F.N. · #2 (**permalink**) 12-06-2005

you mention that you want to improve your depth, will you be looking to the draft or Free Agency since you aren't looking for any trades

bfy222 · #3 (**permalink**) 12-06-2005

We will look to add our depth through the draft. We have six picks in round 3-5 and those are the rounds where you find depth, and you hope you can develop those players into starters. Our goal on draft day will be to fill out our roster with the best players we can get, giving us options as to what to do with our leftover money in free agency.

rams fan · #4 (**permalink**) 12-06-2005

Do you know what you want to fill up with I mean... Get more depth at what positions?

bfy222 · #5 (**permalink**) 12-06-2005

We feel we definitely need to improve our depth along the offensive line. We really only have one backup we would feel comfortable starting, and that is not a good position to be in. We also could probably use a couple more bodies in both our offensive and defensive backfields.

rams fan · #6 (**permalink**) 12-06-2005

Are you looking to try to aquire any through the trade route? Or just going to go through F/A and draft?

bfy222 · #7 (**permalink**) 12-06-2005

We are always open to any trade offer here in Detroit, but right now we dont have any players we are anxious to move. I would not expect us to make any major trades this offseason like we did last offseason, but if a deal comes up we will always consider it.

bfy222 · #8 (**permalink**) 12-09-2005

I'm sure word has leaked by now about why we have called this Press Conference. We have made a decision to trade Dre Bly. We were not looking to trade Dre, he has been one of our best defensive players for the past couple of years. We just found a deal we couldn't pass up and, nothing against Dre, we believe our team is much better now than it was yesterday. Let me break the deals down for you:

The original deal sent Dre Bly to San Diego in exchange for CB Sammy Davis, a 2nd rounder in 06, and a third in 07. We have since traded that 2nd in 06 to the Chicago Bears and in return we received CB Anthony Henry. Basically we traded Dre Bly and got Davis, Henry, and a third round pick in '07.

As it stands right now Davis and Henry will be in open competition up until the season begins. One will become our #2 Corner opposite Fernando Bryant and the other will be the Nickle Back. We are very excited about what both of these player can bring to our defense and we think we are set at the CB position going into next season, with Ricardo Coclough bringing good depth at the #4 spot.

We dont plan on making anymore trades this offseason and will turn our attention to the Draft and Free Agency, where we plan to improve our team even more.

I will take questions at this time

bfy222 · #9 (**permalink**) 12-20-2005

We really couldn't be happier with the three guys we were able to add to our team. We expect these guys to see the field quite a bit, and all of them could end up being starters on opening day.

Melvin Oliver was the first guy we selected and we expect him to give Antonio Cochran a run for his money for the starting DE spot opposite Dan Cody. He looks like he will be able to be a versatile player, stopping the run and rushing the passer. Our second pick, Pat Watkins, at the very least will provide depth in our secondary, and could end up being our starter at FS depending on how our negotions go with Izell Reese. Conner Hughes, our 3rd pick, is in the same situation because Jason Hanson is also a free agent.

Not only do we think these three guys will be great players in this league, adding them to our team gives us a lot more options for the rest of the offseason, and they take of some of the pressure off us to resign some of our free agents. We have a much busier day on day 2 of the draft so I will take some questions and then i have to get back to work.