bubba9497 Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 Vartan Kupelian and Mike O'Hara: Behind the Scenes Lions hold back in pursuit of Bailey By Vartan Kupelian and Mike O'Hara / The Detroit News http://www.detnews.com/2004/lions/0402/22/d02-71041.htm The Lions have had more than a flirtation with Washington Redskins cornerback Champ Bailey. They’d love to have him, and what NFL team wouldn’t? Bailey has made the Pro Bowl the last four years, and he turns 26 in June. He’s still in his prime, with a half-dozen good seasons left. But the Lions are exercising restraint, something that gets rarer by the year — sometimes by the day — in professional sports. They’ll wait for the price to come down on Bailey before making a serious bid. Otherwise, they’ll pass. The Lions got involved in trade talks for Bailey at the recent owners meetings in Florida, when Redskins President Dan Snyder made it known he would deal Bailey. President Matt Millen told Snyder that the Lions would be interested in making a deal — but nothing more than that. When reports surfaced that Snyder is asking for first- and second-round draft choices, plus another pick or a player, the Lions moved to the back of the line of dance partners who are lining up to romance the Redskins. Millen put it this way when he arrived in Indianapolis for the annual combine workouts and testing: “Are you crazy?” Well, he isn’t. The asking price is too steep for the Lions. They can find a way to absorb Bailey’s contract — which will land somewhere in the $55 million range — in their salary cap. The prohibitive cost is the number of players the Lions would have to give up, unless the Redskins reduce their demands. They have the sixth pick in the first round of the April draft. It’s a strong draft, and they’ll probably get a chance at one of two Miami studs — safety Sean Taylor and tight end Kellen Winslow — or both. This also is a good year to trade down to pile up extra picks. There’s another rub in trading for Bailey, the brother of Lions linebacker Boss Bailey. If the Lions give up their first pick, they will lose all flexibility in the draft. They also have a high second-round pick. Many NFL personnel men are saying that this is the best draft ever for wide receivers, and it’s deep with defensive backs. If the Lions go for defense with the first pick, they can get a receiver in the second round, or even the third. If they go for offense first, they can add a defensive back second. And before all that happens, they’ll have a ton of dough to spend on players when the free-agent signing period begins March 3. They’re some $15 million under the salary cap. And before any of that happens, their best move is to sit and do nothing on Champ Bailey until the price drops. Marty’s legend endures The legend of former Lions coach Marty Mornhinweg’s decision to kick off to the Bears in overtime two years ago lives on, even among his friends. In a game against the Bears in 2002, the Lions won the toss, but Mornhinweg ordered the team to kick off. Chicago made a field goal on its first possession to win. Falcons Coach Jim Mora and Mornhinweg were assistants together in San Francisco before Mornhinweg was hired in Detroit in 2001. A coin flip will decide whether the Falcons or Browns have the seventh or eighth pick in the draft. They have the same records. There was a transcription of a good-natured conversation on the matter. “Are you going to ask Marty Mornhinweg for advice on how to call the coin toss?” Mora was asked Friday. “That’s a cheap shot,” Falcons General Manager Rick McKay said. After a short pause, Mora broke in. “I just got that,” Mora said. “You’re talking about Marty and the Chicago game. “Marty would have won the toss and chose eight instead of seven.” Mora said he was only kidding. “He’s my friend,” Mora said. “Hey, he can handle it.” A look ahead Five things to watch for from the Lions before March 3: 1. It’s likely that they’ll release defensive tackle Luther Elliss. He has a signing bonus of $875,000 due to pick up his contract for 2004. Elliss hasn’t been healthy in recent seasons, and that has diminished his production. At his best, he was a terror in the middle, but he hasn’t been at his best in three years. 2. Does tailback James Stewart come back for another year on a reduced contract? He missed all of last season because of a dislocated shoulder. Stewart is expected to make $5.9 million in 2004, the last year of his contract. He took a pay cut last year. If he does it again, he could return and divide time with Artose Pinner, who showed promise as a rookie. 3. They part company with wide receiver Bill Schroeder. Schroeder never seemed happy in his two seasons in Detroit. The fans rode him hard and blamed him for everything — even when other players dropped passes. It didn’t work out here. 4. Punter John Jett is talking about retiring after 11 seasons, the last seven in Detroit. A calf injury ended his 2003 season early, and it apparently hasn’t healed. He had a nice career, which included two Super Bowl rings in Dallas. 5. Talks continue with Robert Porcher on whether he returns for a 13th season. The best guess is that he will, but it’s not a sure thing. All in the family Offensive tackle Antonio Hall of Kentucky and former Lions Coach Wayne Fontes are cousins. As we’d expect, Hall enjoyed his visits with Fontes. “He has a million stories,” Hall said. “He was a great athlete as well as a great coach. I grew up a Steelers fan. But I wanted to see the Lions do well because my cousin was the coach.” World Series-bound? Signing Alex Rodriguez to play third base might give the Yankees the most potent shortstop-third base combination in baseball history. It won’t guarantee winning a World Series, though. Last year for Texas, Rodriguez scored 124 runs, hit 47 home runs, had 118 RBI and a batting average of .298. In New York, Derek Jeter scored 87 runs, hit 10 home runs, had 52 RBI and a .324 average. Teams have dominated the league with lesser combos. A lot less, in fact. Take the 1968 Tigers. Ray Oyler played shortstop and hit .135. He scored 13 runs, had 12 RBI and hit one home run. Tom Matchick was a utility infielder and spelled Oyler at times. Matchick hit .203. He scored 18 runs, had 14 RBI and hit three home runs. Don Wert was the full-time third baseman. He scored 44 runs, had 37 RBI, hit 12 home runs and hit .200. The Yankees’ big three from last year — Andy Pettite, Roger Clemens and David Wells — are pitching for Houston and San Diego this year. And remember — Mickey Lolich hit a home run in the ’68 World Series. A-Rod should hope to get that far. Potential problem? Jeter has been a durable player. Before last season, he had never played in fewer than 148 games since 1996. But he had a shoulder injury and missed 43 games. Yankees Manager Joe Torre has a dilemma. If Jeter goes out for an extended period, the natural move would be to slide A-Rod over from third. But that could only fuel the New York media monster. If A-Rod plays shortstop better than Jeter, it could be a hotter than usual summer for Torre with all the talk that he should leave him at short when Jeter returns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renegade7 Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 Ya'll know what that means right? MOTOWNS OUT OF THE BIDDING! When it came to draft picks this is the team i would've wanted to trade with. But if they don't want to that means one thing and one thing only: we're more likely then not take up on Denver's plan to trade Portis for Champ. That's an even better trade then we could ever do with the Lions, cuz we have to take a bunch of rookies, where as with Portis we get a monster running back. 3,099 yrds in two seasons? How in the world could we pass this up. I know one thing, i'm gonna be paying attention to the news a lot more often, b/c this trade is becoming more and more possible as the offseason goes on. ----------------------------------- 0-16, 19-0, skins fan till i die!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 He is going to go to Detroit for their 1st and 3rd round picks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inmate running the asylum Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 I doubt Denver will trade Portis even up for Bailey. Besides if the rumors are true, we are going to sign Duce Staley for nothing except Snyder's cash. :laugh: If Detroit does drop out of the picture, another favorite trade of mine would be to ship Bailey to the NY Jets for all pro DE John Abraham and their 1st round pick (#12) Then draft DT Randy Starks of Maryland. Now we would have already upgraded at RB and 50% of our DL Then with our #5 pick we could also trade down or do some other things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeHateMe Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 Portis for Bailey straight up = no chance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renegade7 Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 Originally posted by HeHateMe Portis for Bailey straight up = no chance Who says it has to be staright up? Denver needs Champ more then we need Portis. We have more leverge in the situation because Denver can't afford to keep Portis, where as if champ could come to his senses( which i hope he doesn't) we can keep champ. It's not impossible, not even improbably. We can't shot this down cause it rarely ever happens, if we can get it done then lets do the trade! Gibbs already said he's not goin to trade for Dillion, and Duce isn't good enough to labeled a threat, and there's no way he's goin to get a rookie in the draft! He doesn't like rookies, remember? Any given sunday fellas, anything is possible. ------------------------------- 0-16, 19-0, skins fan till i die!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renegade7 Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 Originally posted by inmate running the asylum I doubt Denver will trade Portis even up for Bailey. Besides if the rumors are true, we are going to sign Duce Staley for nothing except Snyder's cash. If Detroit does drop out of the picture, another favorite trade of mine would be to ship Bailey to the NY Jets for all pro DE John Abraham and their 1st round pick (#12) Then draft DT Randy Starks of Maryland. Now we would have already upgraded at RB and 50% of our DL Then with our #5 pick we could also trade down or do some other things. The trade with the Jets is a good idea, but i believe that we should be goin after Kearse and Howard at ends instead. They're both goin to be UFA, so we don't have to trade for them. Randy Starks is a great DT, but i wouldn't use our ONLY first rounder on him. See who i said "ONLY first rounder"? If we have two, i would definetly go after him, but we'd have to use the earliest pick on Sean Taylor. We have to make up for the loss of Champ by getting a playmaker in the secondary, and that's what Taylor is. Having said that, if we only have one first rounder we can't trade down. --------------------------------------- 0-16, 19-0, skins fan till i die!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atloldskin Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 Abraham and the Jets #! in a second. Any truth to this rumor? A cite? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom [Giants fan] Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 I think Portis for Bailey is the one trade where you guys would have to give up something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citigent Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 no way the jets give up abraham, the reason they didnt match coles was to sign him and pennington Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKINZ_DOMIN8 Posted February 23, 2004 Share Posted February 23, 2004 There will be plenty of offers for Bailey. This is just pre-draft positioning on all fronts. Anything lower than at LEAST......2 #2's is a complete robbery and I have faith in Snyder and Cerrato to get us the best value for Champ. Good riddance Champ........go play for a real "winner" like Detroit, N.Y. Jets, Arizona, or Atlanta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.