Bodden signs extension with Lions

by Buckeye Brad on Jul 25, 2008 5:27 PM EDT

According to ESPN.com, Leigh Bodden signed a 4-year contract extension with the Lions today. The deal adds $27 million to his contract, including a $2 million signing bonus and an $8.6 million bonus if he's on the roster next March, and also includes a team option for 2013.

I think that the roster bonus next year is interesting. It looks like the Lions are giving themselves an out if he doesn't play well this year (which I certainly don't expect to happen).

I really didn't like giving up Bodden in the Shaun Rogers deal, but I heard that the Lions wouldn't do the trade without him so I guess it was necessary. I just hope that Rogers and our young DB's play well -- then we won't miss Bodden at all.

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The contract extension…part of the reason we supposedly traded him in the first place. It’ll be interesting to see if Bodden even makes it through training camp, considering his injury history. My guess is that the waiting-of-the-roster bonus would be more of an insurance policy in case he rolls his ankle or something.

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by Chris Pokorny on Jul 25, 2008 7:42 PM EDT reply actions

We had to send Bodden. The quality and age of the defensive line at the end of last year bordered on dismal. Without serious upgrades, the Browns could not move forward. Teams unable to stop the run, don’t win championships.

by elsandito on Jul 25, 2008 10:32 PM EDT reply actions

Right—you really don’t see top-notch cornerbacks anchoring a defense, it’s always the guys up front that make the difference. Crennel should know that best from skating by with Troy Brown in coverage…

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by Chris Pokorny on Jul 25, 2008 10:50 PM EDT up reply actions

Excellent point! This is exactly why db’s are over-rated. How many times in the last 7 years have you seen the Patriots throw “nobody” db’s out there and still perform. I’m convinced Romeo can coach up the secondary where talent may be short, but the same connot be said for the line.

by dvd1204 on Jul 28, 2008 1:27 PM EDT up reply actions

The Patriots get by with solid zone coverage. They rely on disciplined play in the secondary and that’s exactly why our system struggled with the two young safeties. Pool And Jones really made progress last year and it made a noticeable difference on the defense. Hopefully, that progress continues throughout the entire secondary.

by gahnki on Jul 28, 2008 5:28 PM EDT up reply actions

The secondary doesn’t exist in a vacuum. When the linebackers cheat forward to stop the run, because the line cannot be counted on to contribute, it expands the burden of pass coverage on the db’s. Pretty much everything in football starts with the quality of your line play. That Cleveland won 10 games last year with our crap of a def. line, says a lot about Romeo’s ability to do more with less. The games we won were nail biters because we couldn’t “put away” anybody. That should change this year with better def. line play.

by elsandito on Jul 28, 2008 11:26 PM EDT up reply actions

Of course it does, but there were many times when our safeties did not play disciplined defense. They were not patient.and roamed out of their zone way too much.

Look at the first two games, 34 points to Pitt. and 45 to Cincy. There was a noticeable improvement in safety play as the year went on. Grantham was a bad coach….he threw too much at our young safety’s early in their career. They became frustrated and, as a result, were burned on simple mistakes.

by gahnki on Jul 29, 2008 2:17 PM EDT up reply actions

Just ask the Broncos how valuable having great DBs is if your line is sub par. Or the NYG about having a shaky secondary when your front 7 plays in a great scheme and is talented.

by rufio on Jul 29, 2008 12:55 PM EDT up reply actions

Is your point that Chris is right? The Broncos had the 28th ranked D in football last year, showing that stud corners aren’t very valuable if you’re not built up front.

by kwoog on Jul 29, 2008 2:09 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, I’d assume rufio is agreeing with me (I can see how his first sentence could’ve had a double meaning upon the first read).

The Broncos’ duo of Champ Bailey and Dre Bly was promoted so much, and it didn’t make much of a difference. Don’t get me wrong—Champ Bailey is still tremendous, but a couple of years of trying our old defensive line continued to catch up with them.

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by Chris Pokorny on Jul 29, 2008 4:54 PM EDT up reply actions