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botfly10

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Lions secondary gets overhauled in latest cuts

By Chris McCosky
The Detroit News

Detroit — Alphonso Smith is a smart guy. It is highly unlikely that he was blindsided by the news Friday that he would be among the final cuts as the Lions trimmed their roster to 53.

But knowing it was coming didn't ease the pain.

"All I can do right now is CRY, but I'm not CRYING to quit," Smith wrote on Twitter. "But I am CRYING to grind & fight harder! God is good anyhow."

There were plenty of signs that Smith's days as a Lion were numbered. He started training camp as the starting right corner but was quickly bumped by rookie Bill Bentley. By the fourth exhibition game Thursday, Smith was buried so deep that he didn't get the call even with starters Chris Houston and Bentley sitting out.

His fate was probably sealed last Tuesday when the Lions traded a conditional draft pick to Washington for cornerback Kevin Barnes.

"To the great Lions fan; honestly one of the; if not only most 'unconditional' fan bases in all of sports," Smith wrote on Twitter. "Thx for the support over the yrs."

Smith, though he produced eight interceptions in his two seasons, never seemed to gain the full trust of the coaching staff. His gambling style often clashed with the Lions' defensive philosophy. Despite the interceptions, he too often got burned when he deviated from the schemes.

With Smith gone, the Lions were left with five corners — Houston, Bentley, Barnes, Jacob Lacey and rookie Jonte Green. Houston is the only cornerback on the roster who took a snap with the team last season.

It is likely that general manager Martin Mayhew will continue to look for upgrades in the secondary. The corner and safety positions probably won't be solidified until after the second week of the season.

The Lions trimmed their roster to 53 players Friday. That list does not include running back Mikel Leshoure, who will start the season on the reserved-suspended list. He won't count on the roster count until he is reinstated in Week 3.

Undrafted rookie quarterback Kellen Moore and second-year running back Joique Bell got the two final spots.

Undrafted rookie receiver Patrick Edwards was the last man cut.

Also noteworthy among the cuts Friday was punter Ryan Donahue, who was beaten out by veteran Ben Graham.

The biggest mistake Donahue made as a Lion might have been volunteering to fill in as the placekicker when Jason Hanson cut up his knee during the bye week last year.

Donahue, who as a rookie last season won the punter job from veteran Nick Harris, was a kicker in high school and early in his career at Iowa. But he wound up tearing the quadriceps muscle in his kicking leg and missed the second half of the season.

Donahue has not punted with the same authority since.

Graham, the Aussie-style kicker, solidified the punt team after Donahue went down last season. What probably sealed the deal was his clutch, 49-yard punt that flipped the field late in the Lions' 38-32 exhibition win over Buffalo Thursday.

"That was a great kick," coach Jim Schwartz said.

Neither Graham nor Donahue had overwhelmed Schwartz up to that point. Donahue, in a similar situation Thursday, backed up to his own goal line, managed only a 33-yard punt.

"The balls I hit were good," Donahue said of his two punts for a 33.5 average and net. "They weren't far enough but they were good balls. Overall, I had two punts so it's kind of hard to judge."

His average over 12 punts in the preseason was under 39 yards. Graham averaged over 41 yards and stuck four inside the 20.

There were some mildly surprising cuts on the defensive line, too. Veterans Andre Fluellen, who played both tackle and end for four seasons in Detroit, and end Everette Brown were both cut. Brown had a strong preseason; his 11/2 sacks led the team.

But the Lions kept rookie special teams stalwart Ronnell Lewis as the extra defensive lineman.

At the crowded receiver spot, veterans Maurice Stovall, Lance Long and Nate Hughes, and rookie Wallace Miles were among the cuts Friday. The Lions kept five receivers — Calvin Johnson, Nate Burleson, Titus Young, Ryan Broyles and Kassim Osgood.

The rest of the cuts: cornerbacks Justin Miller and Ross Weaver, safety Reshard Langford, offensive guards Rodney Austin and Pat Boyle, tight ends Alex Gottlieb and Austin Wells, defensive linemen Ugo Chinasa, Edmon McClam and Tracy Robertson and linebacker Carmen Messina.

chris.mccosky@detnews.com

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120831/SPORTS0101/208310444#ixzz25EJo9Q7o
 

botfly10

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Packers' roster cuts point out problems on OL
10:13 PM, Aug 31, 2012

he Green Bay Packers cut their roster to the regular-season limit of 53 on Friday night, but you can bank on them replacing one of those 53 with an offensive lineman in the next few days.

The Packers announced their 22 roster moves to get down to the regular-season limit by 8 p.m. Friday, and their final roster acknowledged just how thin they are on the offensive line. They kept only seven players at a position group where teams at minimum keep eight, and where they sometimes carry nine or even 10 players.

The Packers are in the market for a backup tackle after moving last year’s first-round draft pick, Derek Sherrod, to the reserve/physically unable to perform list and releasing two other tackles, 10-year veteran Reggie Wells and seventh-round draft pick Andrew Datko. Sherrod, who would have been the backup swing tackle, will miss at least half the season and perhaps much more while recovering from breaking both bones in his lower right leg last year. He has to sit out the first six weeks of the regular season, then the Packers have six weeks to elevate him to the 53-man roster, place him on injured reserve or release him.

For now, the Packers’ only backup offensive linemen are undrafted rookie Don Barclay, who improved as much as any player from start to finish in training camp, and Evan Dietrich-Smith, who is the top backup at center and both guards. General manager Ted Thompson and his scouts no doubt spent Friday talking to teams about possible trades and combing the transactions wire for a backup tackle. Barclay, who played left tackle in college at West Virginia, played both guards for most of training camp but also took snaps at right tackle more recently.

Another of the Packers’ noteworthy moves Friday was at receiver, where undrafted rookie Jarrett Boykin beat out two practice-squad holdovers from last year, Tori Gurley and Diondre Borel. Gurley and Borel are candidates for the practice squad but also might get picked up by teams looking for a new receiver.

Assuming the Packers add a backup tackle in the next few days and keep eight offensive linemen, they’ll have to release a player at another position. They went heaviest at defensive back, where they kept 11 players instead of the usual maximum of 10. Among the 11 are undrafted rookie Sean Richardson, who beat out Anthony Levine for the No. 4 safety, and Brandian Ross, who spent all of last season on the Packers’ practice squad and is the No. 7 cornerback.
 

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The Broncos really knocked that Alphonso Smith pick out of the park after that Cutler trade, huh?
 

1000ftditka!

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The Broncos really knocked that Alphonso Smith pick out of the park after that Cutler trade, huh?


There WILL BE a bronze statue outside of Soldiers Field of Josh McDaniels......
 

ijustposthere

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There WILL BE a bronze statue outside of Soldiers Field of Josh McDaniels......

I'm down for that. The guy almost single-handedly gave us two of the best players to ever wear a Bears uniform at their respective positions because of his sheer ineptitude.
 

1000ftditka!

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I'm down for that. The guy almost single-handedly gave us two of the best players to ever wear a Bears uniform at their respective positions because of his sheer ineptitude.

"Sainthood" is in the pipeline as he has already been "Beatified" by all of Chicagoland and the Bears Nation diaspora...........he carried a bit of a different role in Denver....where they have been burning black candles to facilitate his being sucked down to Hell.......and eternal damnation.
 

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I just had a thought, if the Bears made a bronze statue of Cutler, would they make it so he was smiling?
 

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I don't like the Frey, Mccoy, and James Brown cuts. I also don't like the Joe Anderson and Chris Summers cuts. Having to keep 2 punters right now hurts. Keeping Cheta? Wow.

So trading for a brand new guy in Sherrick McManis is better than giving one of the two rookies a chance? This guy McManis has done nothing.
 

paytonisgod

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I don't like the Frey, Mccoy, and James Brown cuts. I also don't like the Joe Anderson and Chris Summers cuts. Having to keep 2 punters right now hurts. Keeping Cheta? Wow.

So trading for a brand new guy in Sherrick McManis is better than giving one of the two rookies a chance? This guy McManis has done nothing.

Most of those cuts will probably be going to the practice squad.
 

1000ftditka!

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I just had a thought, if the Bears made a bronze statue of Cutler, would they make it so he was smiling?

Like the Mona Lisa!

For centuries scholars would debate if it was a smirk....or smile.....?!

Mona%2BLisa.jpeg


i
 

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Hmmm. With Okoye probably returning and the Bears having to lose a spot, is it possible that Price goes on the 6 week IR? It would give him time to get in shape before the Bears would have to make a decision. Now they would have to talk Okoye into not signing until Tuesday when the Bears could IR Price.
 

Emanbears23

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Most of those cuts will probably be going to the practice squad.

You're right, but I don't think a guy like James Brown or possibly any of the three WRs (Anderson, Golden, or Summers) will last on the PS
 

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Well I'm not entirely sure, but from what I learned from various CBMB posters it's where the Bears put all their potential Pro Bowl talent.
LMFAO is this really happening?
 

Zion

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I want that Terry Crump guy to stay. Potential pro bowler. Or that Joe Anderson guy. Also potential pro bowler.
 

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Zion

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I just mean they're really good at bowling and I could see them going pro one day if this football ish don't work out
 

botfly10

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Armando Allen jr ‏@ArmandoAllenJr
Slept all day now ima be up all night, def needed so no complaints at all!! #vamplife

Desmond Clark ‏@dezclark88
Former Bears tight end joins Coldwell Banker http://shar.es/7IjFz via @crainschicago

Seth Adams ‏@sadamsgolf
@BMarshall How good was @c_herren story. #lifechanging

ChaunceyDavis ‏@ChaunceyDavis
I am thankful for my time here in chicago it was a great ride . Good luck to my boys this season #beardown

Brad Biggs ‏@BradBiggs
Signed for 5 grand so there wasn't intense competition. RT @DutchMagik They won't be able to hide James Brown on the prac squad, will they?
 

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