SloMotion

This is all hypothetical and it is kind of funny because it is something that has been suggested more then a few times, glad to see the media is finally catching up with B&G, seriously. .

When Lions DE Cliff Avril was hit with the franchise tag, this was the opportune moment to me ... New Orleans was looking for a DE, Detroit was looking for a RB ... both teams are heavy at those positions and could afford to make a trade without hurting their respective teams, it was a win-win ... didn't happen, Avril signed the tender, the window of opportunity has closed.

Fast forward to last nights preseason game of Buffalo vs Detroit ... Mikel Leshoure looked good and had carries throughout the entire game ... which is good as he'll be serving a suspension for the first two games & could use all the carries he can get ... but anyway, he looked good ... almost 'scary' good, like 'the Lions just might finally have a running game for a change' good ... let's not forget Joquie Bell, who Detroit signed off the Saints practice squad last season and looked to solidify his bid for a spot on the roster ... it looks like he might have an issue with holding on to the rock, but his propensity to always be moving forward for additional yards and the fact he's healthy makes him Detroit's third back behind Leshoure and Keiland Williams.

What's my point? Point is ... now I see why a Detroit/New Orleans trade was never made. It would seem as the Lions may have be resolving their 'running' issue in house with players they already have, ie Leshoure, Williams, Bell & the injured Kevin Smith/Stephan Logan, while the introduction of Spags has put a spark in the Saints defense and the previous season's defensive line woes do not seem so paramount ... stick with the plan, steady as she goes ... no reason to unnecessarily shake things up ... that's good leadership/decision-making by both Mickey Loomis & Matthew Mayhew, IMO.

TheOak

"Good" in the 4th preseason game for a starter against second and third string defenses = Mediocre in the regular season...

Throw Sproles into last nights game and see what "Good" really looks like.

Mardigras9

How is PT even in the conversation? No way is he going anywhere.

alexonfyre

Looks to me like the Lions are solving their running game by picking up Saints practice squad players. Whichever of Cadet and Ivory (likely Cadet) ends up on PS will get picked up by the Lions, no trade necessary.

SloMotion

... IDK if you're referring to Leshoure still playing late in the game or Bell playing later in the game, but yeah, of course neither one compares to Sproles. I do take into account that it is preseason and it is the Buffalo Bills, but I also take into account the dismal state of affairs in the Lions backfield the past few seasons. In that light, Leshoure looked good early on against the Bills starting defense and Bell looked good enough to be the third or fourth back in the system.

I don't think so anymore and with the emergence of Leshoure, I don't think the Lions are going to strongly pursue anymore running backs ... remember, their run philosophy is more or less just to have a couple serviceable running backs that can catch the ball out of the backfield, they're really not concerned with them actually 'running' that much. Leshoure/Williams/Bell/Smith or Logan ... if they can all stay reasonably healthy, they'll get the job done ... now, all's they need is someone in the defensive backfield that can cover a receiver and they're potentially NFC North champs!

Rugby Saint II

This guy is an idiot. We will go into the season with 5 running backs.