Quick Lions Thoughts

1) Cut Aveion Cason - Schwartz did the right thing in not having him return kicks against Indy and he has added nothing to the running game when he has been in.

2) Keep Aaron Brown - this ties with #1. He did as well as, if not better than, Cason at returning kicks and is explosive on offense...not to mention he is younger. Keep him.

3) Offensive and Defensive Lines look improved - they still are not good, but they are getting more push and are working towards respectability. They have a long way to go.

4) Louis Delmas needs to relax and slow down - I love the guy and even bought his jersey today being the WMU Bronco slappy that I am, but Killer Kowalski put it well in his article on MLive.com here. While the "home-run" hit is good and I love that he looks for it, we don't need it every play. Sometimes it is better to wrap up and just make a fundamentally sound tackle.

5) QB controversy can be a good thing - In the past we were forced to choose between powerhouses such as Joey Harrington and Mike McMahon. Culpepper and Stafford are both playing well. I love that for once, we get to decide between 2 QBs that APPEAR to be competant.

6) Offense will not be a proble, but Defense will - this should have been obvious before training camp even began. Defense was our biggest area of need last year, we did not address it enough in the offseason. The Linebackers are much improved, D-Line is still a weakness (despite #3 above), and the jury is out on the secondary.

7) I like the addition of the screen pass - The screen can be a great weapon, both as a play and in what it accomplishes. It keeps blitzing defenses honest. If you expose a blitz once or twice, then the defense will not be in your face as much. I like that we are utilizing it.

8) I am very interested in what is going to happen during cut week this week. 1 cut either today or tomorrow and then the big cut on Saturday.

9) Lastly - who will be WR #5? - in my opinion, the first 4 are locked up. Johnson, Johnson, Northcut, and D. Williams. I think that it is a 2-horse race for #5 between John Standeford and Dane Looker. Standeford is a good possession receiver and Looker is a veteran slot receiver with experience in Linehan's offense and punt returning skills. I've always liked Standeford and his reliable hands, but he doesn't add much in the area of Special Teams which is what you want out of a 5th receiver.