So I Got That Goin For Me...Which is Nice

Let's see, what is happening tonight...

The Wings are looking to sweep the Avs out of the playoffs tonight at 10 in Denver.

The Pistons will try to close out the series against the Sixers

The Tigers play the Yankees trying to finish their three game series in the Bronx with a 3-0 record (I just didn't want to say sweep again).

When you sit back and look at everything, this could really be a fun night to be a Detroit fan. Or it could be a really disappointing, but not THAT disappointing, night.

In other news, the Lions were given an "A" grade on their draft by some guy (Rick Gosselin) who writes for the Dallas Morning News. This just goes to prove my point that people in Texas are dumber than people from New York, but still not as dumb as people from Ohio. In a nationwide intelligence test, citizens in Ohio found a way to finish 51st out of 50 states. Truly impressive.

But in all seriousness, do the Lions really deserve an A for that draft? Well let's go back and investigate this a little shall we?

1st Round - Gosder Cherilius OT Boston College - If you read the draft coverage on TJS, you probably know that when the Lions chose this guy, my day was pretty much shot. I basically just stopped writing and declared war on my liver for the remainder of the day. Now that I've thought about it and seen more film on this guy, I still don't like him that much. But they say he plays with a nice mean streak and I like my linemen to be mean and take someone's knee out every once in a while. We could have done better, but we could have also done much, much worse (remember Aaron Gibson the 500 pounder from Wisconsin we drafted early in the first round a few years ago? yeah, it could have been worse).

2nd Round - Jordon Dizon LB Colorado - I remember watching a couple of games featuring the Buffs last season and saying how much I liked that Dizon kid. I liked him more as a college football player. As a professional he seems to have a real Teddy Lehman quality about him. Which is too bad because I really liked Teddy Lehman when he was at Oklahoma.

3rd Round - Kevin Smith, Director of Clerks, sorry, wrong Kevin Smith, the one we drafted was from UCF, Andre Fluellen DT Florida State, and Cliff Avril LB Purdue - I think, as well as most of the experts must think to give the Lions such a high grade, that the third round was the single greatest round of drafting done in the Millen era. And I truly believe that, there is no sarcasm in that statement. Kevin Smith led the nation in rushing yards last season and challenged Barry Sanders' single season record. But he is not a Barry Sanders type back. As much as I hate to say it, he reminds me of a much more talented James Stewart. He's a bruiser who can also make you miss and will do very well with the Lions and their run game scheme. Andre Fluellen fell to the third round because of a knee(at least I think it was his knee) injury. Hopefully he is fully recovered because when he was healthy at FSU, he was a straight up nasty defensive lineman and with the loss of local Fat Bastard Shawn Rogers, he will definetely contribute early for the Lions. I only watched one game Cliff Avril was in and that was the Motor City Bowl track meet against Central (I hate Central). But I was very impressed with him at linebacker. He reminds me of Boss Bailey, but he can tackle. Which is nice for a linebacker to be willing to do.

5th Round - Kenneth Moore WR Wake Forest, Jerome Felton FB Furman - Kenneth Moore will turn out to be the Lions best pick of the entire 2008 draft. This guy has game speed which makes him flat out fly and with great hands to boot. I really like him coming across the middle out of the slot and just out running people for extra yardage. Tough, gritty wideout which the Lions desperately need more of instead of the prima donnas they usually draft. Jerome Felton will be the next great Lions fullback. He can do more than block apparently as he scored 63 touchdowns in his career at Furman.

7th Round - Landon Cohen DE Ohio, Caleb Campbell S Army - I saw Cohen play in person when Ohio U played EMU and he was a good defensive lineman but I don't really see him being much more than a practice squad guy with the Lions. Caleb Campbell is avoiding going to Iraq to play with the Lions. Coming out of West Point, this guy gives the Lions so many different intangibles such as natural leadership, the ability to learn, a great work ethic, and the thought that football is just a game and should be played to the fullest extent of one's ability. If the Lions have any heart, they will do all they can to keep this young man on the active roster as long as possible. Mainly because he's a good football player and will be a wrecking ball on special teams, and secondly because if we can keep the guy out of Iraq for a while, that'd be nice too. I'm not going to go into my feelings on the war because this isn't that kind of blog. But I will say, maybe it's tie to try something else?

Overall, I don't give the Lions an A for a grade but I will give them a solid B mainly for their late round picks which if you look at all the successful teams in the NFL, are the picks that truly make a team what it is. I'm not saying the Lions will win the Super Bowl this year, but I fully expect them to win 9 games and maybe even make the playoffs but that's being very optomistic. Tigers, Wings, and maybe if you're lucky a quick snippet about the Pistons but only if you want it, later on tonight.