Detroit Lions @ Indianapolis Colts WK 1 2016 Lions Win 39-35 In A Shootout
Is new Lions general manager Bob Quinn showing quarterback Matthew Stafford the way to the Super Bowl? Lions fans certainly hope so.(Photo: Rick Osentoski, Associated Press)
Every week during the Lions season well do a Twitter mailbag. Use the social media site to send your questions to Lions beat writer Dave Birkett at @davebirkett.
Q. How do the number of roster transactions under BQ compare to Mayhew era? BQ seems to churn more which seems good @jeffreyharley
A. It may seem like Bob Quinn is turning over the Detroit Lions roster more than his predecessor, Martin Mayhew, but the fact is all general managers use the bottom of the roster as a taxi squad, shuffling players in and out of the organization based on injuries, practice needs and other factors.
Looking at an arbitrary three-month period from June 1 the heart of OTAs to the start of the regular season, Quinn has made a handful more moves this year than Mayhew did last year, but the numbers arent that different. Quinn has made 21 additions to the roster (including since-waived linebacker Dominique Tovell twice) through free agency, the waiver wire or by trade.
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Mayhew made 14 additions over the same period of time, but he made two more trades that didnt involve players coming back and he didnt have as many injury-related signings during training camp.
Regardless of the numbers, Quinn tried to stretch his 90-man preseason roster as much as possible, and thats the wise thing for an GM to do.
Q. 25.5 sacks between Ziggy and Devon ...over or under. @polkerman
A. Ill take the under on that one as 25.5 sacks is a huge number that just one set of teammates reached last year (the Houston Texans J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus).
Ziggy Ansah is a good bet for another double-digit sack season, though my crystal ball has him finishing with 12 sacks and missing out on Robert Porchers team record for the second straight year.
Devin Taylor is a different story. Hes not as dominant an edge rusher as Ansah and has just 10.5 sacks in his first three NFL seasons. Taylor strikes me as a solid six- or seven-sack left end. Thats a good season, but it wont put the Lions in the 25-sack range.
Q. do you think the Lions be over the U.K. again anytime? Nothing like seeing them live compared to a screen @DrJones1206
A. The way the NFLs International Series has evolved, you can count on just about every team playing overseas in the next five to seven years. Just from the basic math of it, there are four international games a year three in Europe and one in Mexico which means eight teams leave the country to play football every season.
The equitable way to handle the travel is to make each of the NFLs 32 teams play abroad every four years. Theres no need to force that issue now with teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Rams (while they await their new home) more receptive to playing overseas, but I see more not less international games in the future.
Already, the NFL is looking to expand the series and play games in China and maybe Germany, and theres been speculation that the league will expand to four, then six, then eight games in the U.K., essentially give fans there a seasons worth of home games.
I think thats probably a ways off maybe the NFL goes to a 17-game regular season with one international game per team in the next CBA but I dont doubt the Lions will be playing overseas again.
Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
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Source: http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2016/09/11/detroit-lions-mailbag-bob-quinn/90218218/
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