Kevin Jones is moving from one NFC North team to another, as today the former Lions back inked a one-year deal with the Chicago Bears, a team that could use a quality running back to help out their backfield. Jones spoke yesterday on NFL Radio, and talked about one team already offering him a deal. It was unknown if that team was the Bears, but now it looks as if it may have been.

Chicago was not even in attendance when Jones worked out for several teams last month. Those on hand that day included the Dolphins, Steelers, Packers and his old team - the Lions. During his four years with the Lions, Jones rushed for 3,067 yards and 24 touchdowns on 761 carries. The former Virginia Tech back was drafted by Detroit in 2004.

Right now the Bears could use a back like Jones if he’s all the way healthy, which he says he is. They have rookie Matt Forte labeled as their starter, this after they dumped first-round bust Cedric Benson last month after he was arrested twice in the matter of a month. Last season Jones rushed for 581 yards and a career-high eight touchdowns on 153 carries. He also had 32 receptions for 197 yards.

The Tampa Tribune has posted a couple of teams that are interested in Bucs QB Chris Simms, who continues to sit in limbo as he waits for the team to release him or trade him. The teams pointed out as with interest are the Cowboys, Bears and Lions. This is the short list, and if Simms is free to go anywhere, there will be more teams vying for his services than that.

The Cowboys are in the hunt for a backup to Tony Romo, which makes them a team that would like to look more into Simms. The Bears have issues all the way around with their QB’s - Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton. The Lions have Jon Kitna penciled is as their starter for now, but there has been rumblings about Drew Stanton getting some snaps at somepoint this year if the team struggles.

The bottom line on Simms is that he’s not going to be in a Bucs uniform, and the thought is that the team is going to end up moving him for a conditional draft pick or a late draft pick.

Mike Martz has never been one to highlight tight ends in his offense. After some Pro Football Weekly-published remarks from the new Niners offensive coordinator about his potential use of tight end Vernon Davis in split-wide situations, I thought I would check Martz’s track record with tight ends.
Using profootballreference.com and footballoutsiders.com, I noted the following info from Martz’s tenures as Detroit Lions offensive coordinator (2006-07) and St. Louis Rams head coach (2000-2005). All 1999 data from his season as an offensive coordinator for the Rams wasn’t available.

I charted the team’s total pass attempts, completions, completion percentage, yards and touchdowns.
Likewise, I scribbled (or typed, actually) the receptions, passes targeted (along with that percentage), yards and touchdowns for tight ends during that time frame.

Here is what I found:

Detroit Lions – 2007
587 pass attempts, 368 pass completions, 63%, 4,216 yards, 19 touchdowns
TE’s
Sean McHugh – 17 catches/29 passes targeted (59%), 252 yards, 0 touchdowns
Casey Fitzsimmons – 8/10 (80%), 85 yards, 1 touchdown

Detroit Lions – 2006
596 pass attempts, 372 pass completions, 62%, 4,208 yards, 21 touchdowns
Daniel Campbell – 21/32 (66%), 308 yards, 4 touchdowns
Casey Fitzsimmons – 7/10 (70%) 71 yards, 0 touchdowns
Marcus Pollard – 12/17 (71%), 100 yards, 0 touchdowns

St. Louis Rams – 2005
599 pass attempts, 392 pass completions, 65%, 4,351 yards, 23 touchdowns
Brandon Manumaleuna – 13/20 (65%), 129 yards, 1 touchdown

St. Louis Rams – 2004
577 pass attempts, 372 pass completions, 64%, 4,615, 23 touchdowns
Brandon Manumaleuna – 15/21 (71%), 174 yards, 1 touchdown
Cam Cleeland – 7/12 (58%), 57 yards, 0 touchdowns

St. Louis Rams – 2003
597 pass attempts, 374 pass completions, 63%, 4,210 yards, 23 touchdowns
Brandon Manumaleuna – 29/45 (64%), 238 yards, 2 touchdowns
Cam Cleeland – 10/16 (63%), 145 yards, 0 touchdowns

St. Louis Rams – 2002
629 pass attempts, 406 pass completions, 65%, 4,473 yards, 24 touchdowns
Ernie Conwell 34/48 (71%), 419 yards, 2 touchdowns
Brandon Manumaleuna – 8/14 (57%), 106 yards, 1 touchdown

St. Louis Rams – 2001
549 pass attempts, 378 pass completions, 69%, 4,852, 36 touchdowns
Ernie Conwell 38/52 (73%), 431 yards, 4 touchdowns
Jeff Robinson 11 receptions, 108 yards, 1 (no data on passes targeted)

St. Louis Rams – 2000
587 pass attempts, 380 pass completions, 65%, 5,492 yards, 37 touchdowns
Roland Williams 11/25 (44%), 102 yards, 3 touchdowns
Ernie Conwell 5/9 (56%), 40 yards, 0 touchdowns

Now, obviously Davis is a more athletic tight end than any player on this list. He’s certainly a more talented receiver as well, which makes me think he should be able to top these numbers. Aside from Conwell’s efficient and productive 2001 season, there isn’t much in the way of major tight end production.

Hopefully that will change since Davis is far and away the most lethal receiving weapon at his disposal.

The Raiders are stocked at running back already with rookie Darren McFadden, Michael Bush and the returning Justin Fargas. That means the odd man out will be former Jets back LaMont Jordan, who the team is actively seeking to deal. ESPN’s Hashmarks says that a deal may come down between the Raiders and Detroit Lions, a team that Jordan recently visited according to agent Alvin Keels.

The site says that it was a pre-trade visit arranged by the Raiders and Lions, and that it could set up a deal that would send Jordan to Detroit for a sixth or seventh-round draft choice back to the Raiders. Jordan will join his third team, as he started hie career with the Jets, then went to the Raiders back in 2005. Last season in 12 games he ran for 549 yards on 144 carries with three TD’s.

The writing about Jordan was on the wall when the team used the 4th pick in the draft on McFadden. The Lions need help at running back, and even went so far to attend the workout of a player they released not that long ago - Kevin Jones. Jordan will be 31 in November, so the Lions probably feel he has some gas left in the tank.

We’ve been mowing through the offseason with the best and worst, and to date covered each side of the offensive side of the ball, and have thrown out the five best defenses heading into training camp. Now we finish up our series with the five teams that we feel are going to have the worst defenses as training camp starts in the next few weeks:

1. Atlanta - The poor Falcons were not very good last season, and that fact will be the case again in 2008. In 07 they allowed 355.5 yards per game, and don’t forget they got rid of one of their best defensive players - CB DeAngelo Hall. They will count on 2nd round pick Curtis Lofton to play the MLB spot so Keith Brooking can move to his natural weak-side spot. SS Lawyer Milloy is winding down his career, and the team did next to nothing to improve the D-line. It’ll be a long season for the Birds.

2. Kansas City - In a full rebuild mode in KC, this unit is going to have its issues - again. They moved unhappy but sack happy Jared Allen, and hope that youth will be served on the line, and Glenn Dorsey will live up to the hype. We’ll see. In their 9-game losing streak last year, they allowed over 190 yards rushing in those games, and teams seemed to score in bunches. The starting secondary is old, and by the early to mid-part of the year there will be a lot of changes in this unit.

3. Detroit - The Lions allowed a whopping 377 yards per game last year, and they have plenty of question marks up and down the defense again this year. They traded Shaun Rogers, who underperformed to the Browns, and are counting on players like Cory Redding and pickup Chuck Darby to lead the D-line. They let LB’s Boss Bailey and Teddy Lehman go in free agency, and will have Ernie Sims, Jordan Dizon and Paris Lenon as the starters there. The secondary allowed passers to complete 70 percent of passes last year, a number they have to improve on in 08.

4. Miami - Sorry Fin Fans, the Dolphins D is going to be in a transition mode this season, and that means new coach Tony Sparano is going to have growing pains with this unit. There is talent here, as yougnsters Matt Roth and Quentin Moses should have time to develop on the line. They will miss the leadership of Zach Thomas, and the possibility of them moving Jason Taylor seems high still. The secondary has few playmakers, and the LB core needs more from mouthy Joey Porter and Channing Crowder, who needs to make more plays.

5. Cleveland - While the offense in Cleveland can score with the best of them, the defense still has work to do. This was an area the team looked to upgrade big time this offseason, which is why they traded for the Packers Corey Williams and Lions Shaun Rogers to help on the line. The secondary is a huge problem area, as they moved Leigh Bodden in the Rogers deal, and will need Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald to really step up. This unit can be better, but there’s still much to be concerned about here.

Looks as if Najeh Davenport had dreams of heading to the desert, he’s going to have to change his mind. AZCentral.com today is reporting that the Cards have no interest in bringing in Davenport, who’s been looking for a new team since his release from the Steelers last week.

Davenport had said in an interview with NFL Radio that there were a few teams that peeked his interest, with the Cardinals being on the top of the list due to the fact he was use to the offense after playing under coach Ken Whisenhunt in Pittsburgh. GM Rod Graves of the Cardinals said to reporter Kent Sommers via text message today that the team has not interest in Davenport.

The other team that Davenport pointed out in the interview that he wouldn’t mind going to is the Lions, who look like they could use a back right now, and even attended the workout of former back Kevin Jones. The Detroit Free Press picked up our story from earlier in the week that talked about Davenport wanting to go to either Arizona or Detroit.

Now it looks as if the Lions may be the #1 destination of Davenport, as it’s one team that more than likely would have some interest in the now former Packer and Steeler.

Now that he’s free to go anywhere, where would free agent RB Najeh Davenport like to play? How about Arizona with the Cardinals? Davenport made an appearance today on NFL Radio, and spoke about the desire to play with the Cards because of the relationship he has with Ken Whisenhunt, now Cards coach and former offensive coordinator of the Steelers before moving to desert.

Another team that Davenport mentioned was Detroit, which looks like they still may be in the market for a back after attending the workout of the RB they dumped just recently, Kevin Jones, over the weekend. Davenport would fit their need for a “power back” well. Davenport even said he’d go back to the Steelers, the team that released him.

Last season Davenport filled in late in the year for an injured Willie Parker, and set career highs for yards with 499 and rushing attempts with 107. Against the Rams in week 16 when Parker went down, Davenport ran for 123 yards and a score, then in week 17 at Baltimore ran for 27 yards. He rushed for 25 yards in the playoff loss to the Jags.

Maybe former Lions RB Kevin Jones is not as wanted as he may thinks by teams around the league. If that is not the case, why would only four teams, including his old team, have showed up for his workout on Saturday as he shows that he’s fully recovered from a right knee injury suffered last December. On hand to watch Jones work out were the Dolphins, Packers, Steelers and the afore mentioned Lions.

Word is the Browns were also in the mix, not being at the workout but asking for a tape of the workout. “All the teams basically said they were amazed by what Kevin can do,” said Dr. D.S. Ping, who has been helping Jones rehabilitate his knee. Jones did the basics, including a shuttle run on wet grass which he did in 4.3 seconds. He also ran around cones and caught passes.

Jones had said earlier in the offseason that there were numerous teams interested in his services, and that money was going to be a big factor. He made it known that he was interested in playing for his hometown of Philly, so one has to wonder if Pittsburgh, at least in the same state, has some sort of inside track. The Steelers did dump RB Najeh Davenport Friday, maybe in looking at taking a run at Jones.

There are still other backs on the market, including Shaun Alexander, Cedric Benson, Ron Dayne, Travis Henry, and Chris Henry, for teams to choose from.

NFL Gridiron Gab has spent the past few weeks breaking down the divisions with our “Offseason Overviews.” We went through all 32 teams, and today we highlight the NFC North. Click below to read the Offseason Overview of your NFC North team:

Chicago Bears: Growing Pains Not Over for the Bears

Detroit Lions: Can the Lions Roar in the NFC North?

Minnesota Vikings: Vikings Seem Ready to Take Another Step Up

Green Bay Packers: Can the Pack Make it Back Without Favre?

In this latest edition of Gridiron Gabbin, Site Editor Matt Loede is joined by former 7-time Pro Bowl OT Lomas Brown.  Lomas’ career spanned from 1985 to 2002, playing mostly with the Lions (1985-1995), but also with the Cardinals (1996-1998), Browns (1999), Giants (2000-2001) and Buccaneers (2002).  Brown talks about his life off the field today, working with ESPN as well as doing some TV and radio in Michigan.  They also talk about his upcoming football camps in Michigan, and the Lions as well as his thoughts as a former player about the owners decision this past week to opt out of the CBA.  Click below to hear this latest Gridiron Gabbin with former OT Lomas Brown.

 

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