Detroit Lions

Rookies enjoy working with kids at @LionsYouthFB camp. @Ziggy_Ansah @wardaddy_67

A lot of things went right for the Detroit Lions in 2011 en route to a 10-6 record and a trip to the playoffs. Last year, it was just the opposite. A lot of things went wrong for the Lions en route to a 4-12 record and yet another top-five draft pick. As we get ready for the 2013 season, my feeling has been that we'll see something in between the 2011 and 2012 Lions. In other words, the Lions won't be nearly as bad as 4-12 this year, but I don't expect them to be quite as good as 10-6. ESPN's John Clayton seems to concur with this assessment, as he sees the Lions as a "seven- to nine-win team." From his recent mailbag column (via MLive): This should be a seven- to nine-win team, but if an injury happens in the secondary, there may not be enough depth to handle things. That's where the pass rush has to help. The Lions have to pressure the quarterback so the corners aren't exposed as much in coverage. I'm not sold that the Lions will be as good as they were last year in rushing the quarterback. It'd be pretty disappointing if the pass rush isn't as good as it was last year on account of the fact that it wasn't even that good last year. The Lions finished tied for 20th in the NFL with 34.0 sacks in 2012. Of those 34.0 sacks, only 15.5 came from defensive ends. Ndamukong Suh, Nick Fairley and Corey Williams alone had 15.5 sacks last season, so I'd hardly call the Lions' pass rush good simply because the defensive ends didn't seem to do a whole lot. (Hence the addition of Jason Jones, Ziggy Ansah and Devin Taylor this offseason.) Clayton's comments were in response to a bizarre question about if adding Reggie Bush will "offset the lack of secondary improvement enough to perhaps produce a winning season or a wild-card berth" for the Lions. The person who wrote in must not realize that the Lions went out and signed safety Glover Quin and drafted cornerback Darius Slay, because they hardly ignored the secondary this offseason. It's true that depth could be a concern if injuries pile up, but the secondary is much more talented now than it was coming into the offseason.

Detroit Lions running back Mikel Leshoure scored nine touchdowns last season, but coach Jim Schwartz wants more consistency from the former second-round pick this year.

Then then Lions have two young quarterbacks in Kellen Moore and Thaddeus Lewis. Moore is similar to Hill in many ways: smart, accurate but lacking an elite arm. Moore is the winningest quarterback in NCAA history and improved steadily last preseason. Lewis was a three-year starter at Duke and started one game last year for Cleveland. The Browns lost, 24-10, but he played extremely well against the top-ranked Pittsburgh Steelers pass defense.

As we start to look ahead to training camp, we're going to take a position-by-position look at the Detroit Lions roster. First up is the quarterback position. Back from last season: Matthew Stafford, Shaun Hill, Kellen Moore New to the team: Thaddeus Lewis As far as roster storylines go, there thankfully isn't much to talk about at the quarterback position for the Lions. Matthew Stafford is back again as the starter, just as Shaun Hill is back again as the backup. The Lions do have a competition brewing between Kellen Moore and Thaddeus Lewis for the third and final spot on the roster at quarterback, but that's it. In terms of non-roster-related storylines, most of them revolve around Stafford and his contract. The Lions have been negotiating with Stafford's representatives on a new deal, but it remains to be seen if an agreement will be reached this year. If a new deal isn't done by the time the season starts, chances are the talks will be tabled until 2014, putting even more importance on Stafford having a better season this year than he did in 2012. Moving down the depth chart, Hill is entering his fourth season as the Lions' backup quarterback. We thankfully haven't seen much of him in recent years, as Hill only played in three games for the Lions in the last two seasons. In 2012, he only played in one game, and he made the most of that single appearance by going 10-of-13 and throwing for 172 yards and 2 touchdowns in a comeback effort against the Tennessee Titans. The third spot at quarterback for the Lions got a bit more interesting when the team claimed Lewis off waivers at the end of May. Moore has been in the Lions' system for more than a year, but Lewis has starting experience from his time with the Cleveland Browns. He closed out the 2012 season with a start against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he played quite well, going 22-of-32 for 204 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Lewis and Moore will try to make their case to stick around as the Lions' third quarterback during training camp and the preseason. Need going forward? Barring a serious injury to Stafford or Hill, the Lions are really set at quarterback. They have their starter and backup locked in, and they have two players ready to battle for the third spot on the depth chart this summer. As a result, there is currently no need to add anybody else at this position.

Tim and Mike discuss hot topics including where Calvin Johnson will land in the NFL's Top 100 players and comments from John Clayton regarding the Lions' pass rush

Staying out of trouble for the next month won't guarantee the Lions 10 victories in the coming season.

(Until training camp starts at the end of July, Lions Lowdown will post five times a week using the list format.) With more turnover in all three phases than last season, training camp will feature good competition. Here are the top five competitive positions. 1. Right cornerback opposite Chris Houston. Darius Slay was drafted in the second round, but he’s not been 100 percent yet due to knee surgery. He should be ready to go by training camp where he will battle veteran Ron Bartell and three corners who were rookies last season — Bill Bentley, Jonte Green and Chris Greenwood. 2. Linebacker to replace Justin Durant who was not re-signed. Expect Ashlee Palmer to have the edge due to experience but he’ll have to fight off second-year linebackers Travis Lewis and Tahir Whitehead. 3. Right tackle will be a battle between Corey Hilliard and Jason Fox. Hilliard has five starts in his career which is five more than Fox who is finally healthy. 4. Right guard is a toss-up right now. Bill Nagy should be a favorite but still hasn’t recovered from ankle injury last season. Strong contenders include Larry Warford, Leroy Harris, Jake Scott, LaAdrian Waddle and Austin Holtz. 5. Plenty of wide receivers on the roster, but it’s wide open after Calvin Johnson, Nate Burleson and Ryan Broyles. If Patrick Edwards can stay healthy and has a training camp like last season he should nail down one of the spots. He was a standout at OTAs (organized team activities). (Follow @PaulaPasche on Twitter. Order her book, “100 Things Lions Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die’’ here. It’s also available at bookstores.)

OK, dogpile me if you want, you voracious criticizers, but it's a slow news time until Camp and I'm already tired of the Lem Barney thread and the NFL.com Under/Over-rated vid. So, what would you suggest to keep discussion going until the pads come on? For illustration purposes only, how about these possible battles: -Moore vs Lewis for 3rd QB slot? -Thomas vs Spurlock vs Edwards vs Whoever for 4th WR ? -Williams vs Veldman vs Fauria for 3rd TE ? -Messina vs Hepburn vs Cory Greenwood vs Whoever for 6th LB ? -Green vs Bentley vs Chris Greenwood for 4th CB? If you don't like the assumptions (like with Darius Slay at CB for example), just remember I had to make them in order to talk Backups, and to whet your interest in the subject. If you're not interested, then give us something better to chew, OK? Poll is attached after the jump, referring to position battles only, no names there. Comment to set me straight, explain your assumptions behind your choice, or whatever. I say we get back to .500 ball or slightly better this year, with 2014 being a Year to Remember. OK, dogpile me if you want, you voracious criticizers, but it's a slow news time until Camp and I'm already tired of the Lem Barney thread and the NFL.com Under/Over-rated vid. So, what would you suggest to keep discussion going until the pads come on? For illustration purposes only, how about these possible battles: -Moore vs Lewis for 3rd QB slot? -Thomas vs Spurlock vs Edwards vs Whoever for 4th WR ? -Williams vs Veldman vs Fauria for 3rd TE ? -Messina vs Hepburn vs Cory Greenwood vs Whoever for 6th LB ? -Green vs Bentley vs Chris Greenwood for 4th CB? If you don't like the assumptions (like with Darius Slay at CB for example), just remember I had to make them in order to talk Backups, and to whet your interest in the subject. If you're not interested, then give us something better to chew, OK? Poll is attached after the jump, referring to position battles only, no names there. Comment to set me straight, explain your assumptions behind your choice, or whatever. I say we get back to .500 ball or slightly better this year, with 2014 being a Year to Remember. Poll What Backup Position Camp Battles Interest You Most? Third QB ? Fourth WR ? Third TE ? Sixth LB ? Fourth CB ? Other ? 0 votes | Results

Jason Hanson has now been retired for more than two months. This year, for a change, he didn't have OTAs or a minicamp to attend, and he didn't have to spend time taking part in the Detroit Lions' offseason training program. It was a big change for someone who spent more than two decades in the NFL, and Hanson told the Detroit News this week that retirement is "bittersweet right now" since he's still getting used to not being an NFL player. Hanson also said that retirement "hasn't been too strange yet." It will really probably hit him that he's retired when training camp arrives and he isn't playing. That will be the biggest change to his routine in the summer since he'll get to spend time with his family instead of worrying about camp. He also won't have to worry as much about his nagging heel injury, which has continued to be an issue at times. "It still bugs me, and actually I get really excited when it bugs me," he said. "And then the days when I’ll work out and I feel good, that’s when I swing like, ‘What’d I do?’ "But it just isn’t right. … I’ve retired. I don’t have any plans of coming back." Hanson may feel good on certain days, but he's not going to pull a Brett Favre on us. He seems comfortable with the next phase of his life, and the Lions seem comfortable moving forward with David Akers and Havard Rugland competing for the starting kicker job.