RealGM

Kind of surprising...we moved our third rounder to Safety. They think it plays to his strengths (tackling, vision) while hiding his weaknesses (speed).

Maybe he starts at SS now with Delmas at FS. Could be a really nice move...but our CBs are pretty bad still.

http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/20 ... pieve.html

I really don't get the move. We've moved CB Dante Wesley to safety. We've added Randy Phillips, who has looked great out there and we have Delmas. While at CB, we have.......

Don't get me wrong, I love Bly, I'm glad he's back.... but if he's our best CB we're in big trouble, as he's not a pro bowl CB any longer and honestly, shouldn't be a #1 option. Chris Houston has been good against CJ in practice, but I'm worried about his ball skills in real games against guys he's not familiar with. Wade can't stay healthy, he's dealing with a broken finger right now. And Aaron Berry has been sidelined all summer it seems.

I think Spievey will do well at safety (especially better than CC Brown), but I'm really concerned with our corners. Of course, if we draft Patrick Peterson next April, we'll be set up nicely. But right now, our corners (or lack thereof) are going to hold us back.

If we draft Peterson:

CB: Patrick Peterson/Jonathan Wade
SS: Amari Spievey/Randy Phillips
FS: Louis Delmas
CB: Chris Houston/Dre Bly

Bottom line is he couldn't cover anyone in man coverage. Too stiff in his backpedal and not real quick, and that was pretty obvious from the first couple of practices. The hope is that he becomes a good 3rd safety and special teams standout. There is a pressing need for someone to fill that role, but that's not what you use a 3rd round pick to fill. Gotta be considered a disappointment.

I think this pushes CC Brown and/or Dante Wesley off the roster. It also means that CB is going to remain a major problem, like Liqourish said.

Spievey played well at safety against the lowly Browns, but he looked new to the position. I think he'll do well there though, especially with his tackling skills. If he and Randy Phillips can stay consistent all season, we shoud have 3 solid safeties.

Cornerback is the biggest weakness on our team. With our D-line rushing the QB and our Lbers blitzing, opposing teams are going to rely on quick releases. Without corners to cover, we're going to give up alot of big plays downfield. One thing all of our DBs are going to have to work on is locating the ball and playing the ball instead of the receiver. Everytime they play the receiver, they give up the catch or get called for PI. I'm not real familiar with our DB coach, but this is simple fundamentals they should be working on everyday.

I think Dante Wesley is still useful on ST, if it's a choice between the two, I think Brown gets the axe.

It's a great move if he can be a great player. We need to get 2 CBs in the first 4 rounds of the draft next year, so if he fills a need at safety then it's all the same as if he filled a need at CB and we upgraded our safety position later or whenever we would have upgraded the second of those CB upgrades. It's key to get a lot of picks and big plays from your safeties, so the pair of him and Delmas is a nice blend of guys that are well rounded at being physical in the game to a fair degree while having at least somewhat decent ball skills. Can't ask for a whole lot better than that unless I were to pick the guys myself so no complaints here.