Photo Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Today we take a look at how the Detroit Lions’ tight ends performed during the 2012 season with a little help from the fine folks at Pro Football Focus.

The radar chart below shows the Pro Football Focus grades for the Lions’ tight ends that played at least 25% of team snaps and compares them to the best, worst and league average ratings. PFF grades each player on each play to produce a massively useful tool for evaluating the totality of a player’s season compared to others at his position.

2012 Season Review
Your highest rated Detroit Lions tight end for the 2012 season is… Will Heller! And therein lies the problem with the Detroit Lions’ tight ends. It’s not a knock against Heller. He has done a fine job with what the Lions have asked him to do. It’s just that they should be getting more from the players they ask more from. Heller’s +2.4 pass block rating from Pro Football Focus was sixth best among tight ends that played at least 25% of team snaps. Season stats: 17 rec, 150 yards, 1 TD.

Tony Scheffler – Letj’s be honest, Tony Scheffler has one role on this team and that is to catch passes. He isn’t a prototypical tight end and he’ll be split out wide in most offensive sets. He provides value when he is making catches, ideally for first downs and touchdowns. He did just that in 2011 but not as much in 2012. His touchdown total fell from six to one and his percentage of catches going for first downs dropped from 77% in 2011 to 67% in 2012. Season stats: 42 rec, 504 yards, 1 TD.

Brandon Pettigrew – It was a rather forgettable season for Brandon Pettigrew. His ball security issues continued, both with drops and turnovers. He had costly fumbles against the Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans that helped turn those games for the opponent and was among the tight end league leaders in drops. Injuries didn’t help as Pettigrew missed a couple games and lacked the ability to separate from defenders when he did play. In total, it came out to a -10 passing game rating from Pro Football Focus. Only Kellen Davis was worse. He was somewhat effective as a pass blocker (+1.6) but offset that with his run blocking (-1.6). Season stats: 59 rec, 567 yards, 3 TD.

Offseason Plan
Brandon Pettigrew and Tony Scheffler each have one year remaining on their contracts so they will both be back barring another front office search for change in the couch cushions. Scheffler will need to be counted on for a big role in the passing offense with injuries taking a toll on the Lions wide receiver depth. He is a one-dimensional tight end so he needs to excel in that dimension.

Pettigrew might be facing a make-or-break season in the last year of his rookie contract. It’s time to show that he can put the drops behind him and, more importantly, not fumble the ball once he has made a catch. The selection of Brandon Pettigrew was sold to the fans as a pick that would help the Lions in the running game and passing game. Pettigrew’s problems in the passing game are well documented but it has been two full season since Pettigrew could be seen as an asset to the Lions’ ground attack. Injuries are partly to blame for limiting Pettigrew’s effectiveness in 2012. This offseason is all about getting healthy in hopes of proving to the Lions that they can count on him as part of their team going forward.

Ideally, Pettigrew is the do-everything tight end the Lions envisioned when they drafted him but he hasn’t been that yet so Will Heller’s role has been more important than it probably should be. He was the team’s best blocking tight end in 2012 and showed the ability to catch the football once in a while. The Lions should be able to easily bring him back at a low cost, but might be wise to do so only after seeing if they can add Alabama tight end Michael Williams as a very late draft choice.

Previously: Wide Receivers, Offensive Tackles, Guards, Center

*Those that have been around the Detroit Lions blogosphere for a while may recognize the approach presented as similar to Ty Schalter’s ‘Old Mother Hubbard’ series on The Lions in Winter. Don’t worry, he’s cool with what I’m doing here and has assured me that he’ll be back with Old Mother Hubbard later in the offseason.

Dec 30, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions cornerback Chris Houston (23) celebrates during the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bears at Ford Field. Chicago won 26-24. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

There is no doubting that the 2013 version of the Detroit Lions, especially on defense is going to look far different from the team that finished with eight straight losses en route to 4-12 record.

The Lions have a total of 22 unrestricted free agents, many of whom have played an integral part over the years in the team’s rebuilding process. Because of the team’s salary cap situation, players looking for bigger contracts (Cliff Avril) will likely be looking elsewhere for offers.

Listed below are a group of players that the Lions should find a way to bring back. They won’t be the highest paid players, nor are stars, but play critical roles in the team’s success in all three phases of the game.

*Note: I believe the team needs to bring back Delmas as well, but could do so on the franchise tag.

1. Chris Houston, CB:
It may be a good thing for the Lions that Houston really struggled in the last few games of the year. He was torched in the Atlanta game, especially, as Roddy White and Julio Jones caught touchdown passes over Houston. That being said, other than Suh and Fairley, Houston was really the only playmaker the Lions had on defense. Not only that, he is the only constant in the Lions defensive backs group that you can count on week in, week out.

Like a lot of the unrestricted free agents, it really depends on what the asking price is here. Houston is not a No. 1 cornerback on most NFL teams. He is a fantastic No. 2 guy, and should be paid accordingly. If the asking price is not ridiculous, Houston will be brought back.

2. Sammie Lee Hill, DT:
As the staff and management repeatedly say, the goal is to keep good players here. Hill is one of those players. He may have regressed a bit in 2012, but what Lions’ player didn’t regress? Hill, in his fourth year out of Stillman College, recorded only 15 tackles on the season and did not have a single sack.

Defensive tackles rarely fill up the stat sheet, unless you are Ndamukong Suh, which Hill is not. But he could start on a few teams in the NFL, so having him as your run-stuffing, third defensive tackle is a luxury this team should look to keep. Again, if the price is right, bring him back.

3. Lawrence Jackson, DE:
LoJack came on strong at the end of the year, finishing with 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble in the last four games. That is not a good number by any means, but the Lions will take what they can get out of the defensive end position (which is not much). With uncertainty surrounding starting defensive ends Cliff Avril and Kyle Vanden Bosch, and whether or not the two will be brought back, Jackson becomes very valuable as he fits this system that the Lions employ very well.

There is no telling what the Lions will do at any position right now, as it is so early in the offseason, but don’t be surprised if the team uses a defensive end-by-committee approach at one of the spots next year. Jackson should be a part of that rotation.

4. Will Heller, TE:
Heller, or as I like to call him, Dexter (because he looks exactly like Michael C. Hall), had a coming out party in the latter portion of the year when Pettigrew was out with an injury. Heller assumed the starting role and actually displayed some hands that we are not accustomed to seeing. That just adds to his versatility as he is already one of the better blocking tight ends in the game. Add in the fact that they Lions don’t have a fullback on the roster, and that makes Heller even more valuable as he assumes that role as well.

Despite being the third tight end on the Lions, he plays a crucial role in the Lions offense. He will most likely be brought back.

5. Kassim Osgood, WR/ST
This one may come as a surprise. Why would a special teamer be a must-sign. Well, look at how our special teams improved drastically after the disaster that were the Titans and Vikings games. Since that debacle, the Lions gave up an average of 6.2 yards per punt return and 20.5 on kickoffs. That all happened when Osgood signed with the Lions.

Now, is he solely responsible for that improvement? Of course not…there are 11 guys on special teams that can make a tackle. But Osgood, along with John Wendling and Ashlee Palmer, are stalwarts are the Lions’ special teams units. If the Lions want to win in all three phases of the game, the special teams aspect needs to be fixed, and Osgood can help with that.

August 17, 2012; Baltimore, MD, USA; Detroit Lions tackle Ndamukong Suh (90) talks with defensive end Cliff Avril (92) their preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens at M

There were a lot of things that the Lions did better at this week versus the Baltimore Ravens than they did last week against the Cleveland Browns. The passing game for the first-team offense was more on point with Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson looking like they are in midseason form. The running game fell off the map completely, which was expected because the Ravens boast a top ten defense and the Browns starting defense is littered with scrub players. And, overall, the defense looked much better than last week.

Outside of the things you were able to see with your eyes, there were also five characteristics about Friday’s game that stuck out that many people may have missed. That is why we go five wide…

• The Lions did not feature fullback James Bryant at all last night. Earlier this month in training camp, Jim Schwartz stated that the Lions are not a team that uses a traditional fullback, which immediately allured to the fact that Bryant was going to be cut sometime down the road. What’s good for Bryant is that he will get to put some of his skills on game film. However, what the Lions did do last night was feature some of their tight ends at the fullback/H-back position. The Lions have been known to do this in the past and the team is able to utilize guys like tight end Will Heller who is tremendous at blocking, but can also catch a fair share of passes (except for the ball Heller dropped last night, of course). It may not be too out of line to say that Bryant will be part of the first cuts the Lions have to make after the third preseason game.
• Everyone knows that the replacement officials are awful and many media talking-heads have been clamoring for the NFL to end its lockout with its actual referees. This is true. In Friday’s game, the refs had several on-the-field conferences to ensure that they were making the correct calls and it severely hindered the speed of the actual game. The NFL cannot have officials slowing the flow of the game because teams lose out on so much momentum that way. Defenses are given a chance to catch a breather, fiery offenses simmer and coaches are forced to spend more time taking care of the officials that sometimes their focus is diverted away from their team. The regular NFL officials and the NFL must end this lockout and come to some sort of an agreement before the regular season begins.
• The Lions did something last night that the team has not done a lot of, if at all, since Jim Schwartz took over the job in 2009. The Lions defense lined up and successfully played in a dime alignment several times last night, specifically on third and long where this sort of defensive formation is most potent against passing offenses. The Lions brought out six defensive backs and lined up with a three-man defensive line, which is almost unreal to believe because the Lions have one of the best four-man fronts in the NFL and by playing dime, the team is taking one of its best players off of the field. The dime is effective because it allows the linebackers to be less vulnerable in pass coverage since teams use five or six defensive backs instead of four. The reason the Lions have not used this alignment that much since 2009 is because, for the first time in three years, the Lions finally have depth at the corner back and safety positions where there is enough talent to successfully align this way without it failing miserably. The team drafted three corner backs in the 2012 NFL Draft and the Lions also brought in free agent Jacob Lacey. Simply put, the Lions have the numbers to line up in the dime and it proved last night to be effective because no passing touch downs were allowed.
• Punter Ben Graham’s days may be numbered as a Lion. Second-year kicker Ryan Donahue has been kicking really well, especially after pinning a punt on the Raven’s two-yard line Friday, and the Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett pointed out the fact that Donahue has been the only person to hold for Jason Hanson the past two weeks while the kicker practices field goals during pregame warm-ups. The one thing that is just as important as the long-snapper’s snap is a sound hold from the punter, backup quarterback or whoever holds the ball for the placekicker. This is an interesting nugget of information to think about during the next two weeks of preseason action.
• Franchise-tendered defensive end Cliff Avril saw his first preseason action Friday night and it was quite telling about where he is at as far as regular season preparation goes. Avril made a few plays—however, he did drop  a sure-thing interception—but he was also caught out of position a few times. There were two or three plays where Avril missed containment on the left side of the line and the Ravens’ running backs were able to bounce runs to the outside for considerable gains. That is completely unlike Avril to do because the reason he was so successful last season was his ability to play traffic cop at the left defensive end position by forcing all opposing running backs to the middle of the field where Detroit’s most talented defenders play—the defensive tackle and linebacker positions. Avril has to make a few tweaks to his play by studying the film of Friday’s game, otherwise he may not get back to where he left off last season.