Rod Marinelli speaks, amazingly doesn’t say “pound the rock”

Lions head coach Rod Marinelli has been speaking to the media at the scouting combine, and he has given his thoughts regarding the following subjects…

Marinelli says the Lions are listening to offers for Shaun Rogers, and claims there is some interest.

I think it’s safe to say Big Baby is not long for the Lions. “Listening to offers” is coach speak for “actively being shopped.” Rogers will likely be traded not long after the free agency period begins.

One side of me says “Good riddance,” and is happy to see the underachieving, lackadaisical, locker room cancer of a fat ass go. But the other side of me is saying, “And who exactly will replace him? Shaun Cody? Langston Moore? Riiiight.”

I have no idea, and I don’t think the Lions do either. They may be hoping that Cory Redding will step up, and actually play at a level equal to the huge contract he received a year ago. Talk about wishful thinking. Whomever ends up starting at DT beside Redding, the Lions appear to have decided anyone who can give 100% every snap over a full season is preferable to a Pro Bowl caliber player who plays hard less than half the time.

Former Buccaneers’ corner Brian Kelly is on the Lions’ free agent radar.

Why the Lions have become fascinated with 30-something defenders on the downside of their careers is beyond me. They’ve already talked to Al Wilson, wanted to get in the race for Zach Thomas, and now they are showing interest in Kelly. These players would make sense if the Lions were on the verge of something…Like making the playoffs. They don’t make sense for a team that realistically should be rebuilding.

Unfortunately, the Lions continue to delude themselves, thinking they are a player or 2 away from making the playoffs. Wasting cap room on rapidly aging free agents is no way to build a team. Then again, with the Lions quickly becoming a home to wayward Buccaneers, what’s one more?

Roy Williams is going nowhere.

“Very confident is he staying” is the company line being spewed by Marinelli at the combine. In my mind, Williams is biding his time, counting the days till he reaches free agency a year from now.

Considering Calvin Johnson and Mike Furrey both have long-term contracts, Shawn McDonald (Who led the team in receiving) is under contract for this year, and the odds of Williams signing an extension aren’t all that good, you’d think the Lions would be entertaining offers.

Williams has been good, but not great, during his Lions career. With so much money being allocated to the wide receiver postion, and Johnson supposedly being the next coming of Lance Alworth, Don Hutson, Jerry Rice, Herman Moore, and Randy Moss combined, (If you believe what the drafts wonks said prior to the ’07 draft) does it make cap sense to keep Williams at what is likely to be an expensive, long-term deal? No.

We’ll soon see if what the Lions say about the big talking wide out is the truth, or just meaningless BS.

Jon Kitna will be the starter, but Marinelli believes Dan Orlovsky and Drew Stanton can compete with Kitna for playing time in camp.

That’s just more coach speak coming from Marinelli. Let’s quickly look at the QB situation. Orlovsky is going into his 4th year, and has only thrown 17 regular season passes, all in 2005. He couldn’t even beat out the slightly less than immortal J.T. O’Sullivan to be Kitna’s backup last season. As for Stanton, he was stupidly put on the IR in the 2007 preseason, wasting his rookie season. He has has yet to take a snap.

Once you look at the alternatives, the answer is clear. As much as it gives Lions fans the willies, Kitna being the Lions 2008 starter is set in stone.