Possible Future Frank Caliendo Impersonations

By now, almost everybody has seen ESPN's 30 for 30 mockumentary on Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman starring comedian Frank Caliendo.

 

Not only does Caliendo look like all of the analysts and coaches that he impersonates in the video, but it is incredible how spot on he is with all of their little mannerisms and specific idiosyncrasies. David Hasselhoff could take some notes (it probably wouldn't help him anyway to be honest).

Here are some of Caliendo's other very impressive impersonations that I found after a quick youtube search:

 

  

 

This got the staff at Cory Tell All Sports thinking (Ok, it got me thinking) about some impersonations of sports analysts and athletes that we (and by that I mean I) would love to see in the future. After hours of deliberating and thinking, which would make the John Isner-Nicolas Mahut match look like an appetizer, here is what I have come up with as some of the funniest coaches in sports that could, and absolutely should, get mimicked by Frank Caliendo.

  

Detroit Lions Head Coach Jim Caldwell: 

In a sport that could not be any more captivating to fans and players alike, Jim Caldwell could not look any more emotionless on the sidelines. He is a coach that is so lifeless and stoic that he makes Bill Belichick, a man who reportedly smiled a total of 7 times during 115 minutes of press conferences this season despite the fact that his team went 12-4, won the AFC East for the 11th time in 13 years, and made their 8th AFC Championship game since 2001, look euphoric with every word he utters to the media. I'm sure Lions fans, a group of supporters that have seen a total of one playoff victory in the last 57 years, are just going to be overjoyed with every Matt Stafford side-arm interception throw, followed by the inevitable Jim Caldwell expression that makes Jon Fredersen in Metropolis look like he wears his emotions on his sleeves. I think this impersonation could provide some challenges for Caliendo just because I'm not sure if he could be as unemotional and impassive as Caldwell. I'm taking odds on Jason Dufner cracking a simile before we get some kind of passionate cry from Detroit's new head coach on the sidelines. Jim Caldwell makes Jean Dujardin in The Artist look like a loud and impassioned character. Detroit fans seem to have found the reincarnation of Darryl Rodgers, or Marty Mornhinweg, or Rod Marinelli (we might be here all day if I continue). I could definitely see Caliendo having some fun with the deadpan nature of Jim Caldwell.

New Orleans Saints Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan:

This one is an absolute no-brainer for me. Anything involving the always entertaining Ryan brothers and a coach that needs to get a haircut before he can receive an interview for a head coaching job is an obvious choice for a Frank Caliendo impersonation. Jason Isaacs in Harry Potter, Daniel Day Lewis in Last of the Mohicans, David Bowie in Labyrinth, and Nicolas Cage in Con Air are likely jealous of Ryan's mop. In terms of football, there is no doubt that Ryan is one of the best coordinators in the NFL with his all so effective 3-4 defensive scheme. In 2012, with Steve Spagnolo at defensive coordinator and no injury based bounty system (I mean alleged injury based bounty system), the Saints defense was just atrocious, as they were the 2nd worst in the league in passing yards allowed and points allowed and worst in the NFL in rushing yards allowed and yards allowed. Ryan, however, transformed their defensive play this year, bringing them up to 2nd in the NFL in passing yards allowed and 4th in the league in yards allowed and points allowed. The thing that makes Ryan so easy for a Caliendo performance is his very vibrant and vociferous personality. Over the past year, Ryan has bought drinks for Saints fans after victories against the Falcons and Cowboys, got #RobRyanface trending on twitter after the Patriots came back to beat the Saints in week 6, been named the Grand Marshall in the Mardi Gras parade, and taken so much attention away from Sean Payton that some people may have forgotten he returned to the sidelines this year after his great work as the offensive assistant on his son's sixth grade team in Texas. Caliendo should definitely impersonate Rob Ryan, at the very least just to try to pull off his untidy, sloppy hair.

San Antonio Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich:

Coach Pop has had the same calculated and gruff demeanor ever since he became the Spurs coach in 1996-1997, and he has provided some of the best quotes and moments for NBA fans during his time in San Antonio. In the 2007-2008 Western Conference first round, for example, Popovich decided to employ the hack-a-shaq strategy, making Shaquille O'Neal, a career 58.2 percent free throw shooter, go to the free throw line fourteen times during the last five minutes of each half in game 5. As a joke, the always cunning and comical Popovich decided to foul Shaq five seconds into the first game of the following season, reminding the great center of his inability to knock down key free throws and his team's postseason failures the previous year. The hack-a-shaq tactic, which was evidently a very shrewd strategy, is just one of the many great Pop moments, as the coach loves to show his brusque, blunt attitude to the media. Just look at this youtube video of some of Popovich's funniest lines. Pop's rather surly personality has been reflected in his basketball team's toughness and intensity. The Spurs have been in the playoffs every year since 1997-1998, which has only been eclipsed by five teams for a longer postseason stretch (Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers from 1950 to 1971, Portland Trail Blazers from 1983 to 2003, Utah Jazz from 1984 to 2003, Boston Celtics from 1951 to 1969, and Los Angeles Lakers from 1977 to 1993). In fact, only Phil Jackson (11), Red Auerbach (9), John Kundla (5), and Pat Riley (5) have more NBA titles than the legendary Popovich. There would be nothing better than seeing Caliendo take on Pop's grumpy nature in his next sports impersonation video.

Seattle Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll and Tampa Bay Rays Manager Joe Maddon:

I'm grouping these two guys together because they just have too many similarities to ignore, and their upbeat coaching styles and personalities would be great for a Caliendo impersonation. First, both of these guys are on the older side for coaches in the professional ranks, especially nowadays where the Seahawks have an average age of 26 years old and the Rays have pitchers on the roster that are just 22. In fact, Pete Carroll at 62 is the second oldest coach in the NFL only behind 67 year old Tom Coughlin (inset Giants joke here about how Coughlin has lost his team, or how Big Blue has a non-existent pass rush, or about how Eli Manning has now lead the league in interceptions three times but somehow has more Super Bowl wins than Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, Fran Tarkenton, Warren Moon, Dan Fouts, and his brother combined). Joe Maddon at 60, meanwhile, is only younger than Ron Washington (61) and Terry Collins (64), which is saying something since everybody knows that baseball is an old men's game (the MLB didn't install some kind of magical system to make sure calls on the field were actually correct until 28 years after the NFL did so in 1986). However, you would never know that Carroll and Maddon were two of the oldest guys in their respective professions from watching them, as they are two of the funniest and most entertaining coaches in the business. Players love to play for the Seahawks and the Rays because of Carroll's and Maddon's animated and lively coaching styles. Seahawks linebacker Heath Farwell said about Carroll, "A lot of guys can relate to him, and understand we're going to have a lot of fun here. We're going to play hard and practice hard, but we're going to have a lot of fun doing it. It's a great atmosphere." Meanwhile, Maddon is known for his wildly fun and outrageous antics that include bringing in a 20-foot snake to the club house, wearing a helmet to a post-game press conference, walking Josh Hamilton with the bases loaded, and recently making a parody of Mike Gundy's infamous I'm 40 rant from 2007. I would love to see Caliendo try to bring the passion and zeal that Caroll and Maddon exude in his next comedic video.

South Carolina Gamecocks Head Coach Steve Spurrier:

Not only is Steve Spurrier one of only two active coaches, along with Frank Beamer, to have more than 200 career FBS victories, but the old ball coach has also had some the best lines of any coach in the history of sports. Spurrier has become notorious for chiding some of his main rivalries, particularly Tennessee and Georgia along with Florida St. when he was at Florida from 1990 to 2001 and Clemson in his time with South Carolina. One of Spurrier's more famous lines during his time in Gainesville was, "You can't spell the Citrus without U-T," referencing the fact that Tennessee often ended up in the second-tier Citrus Bowl, playing in the game three out of four years from 1993 to 1996. In 2012, Spurrier was asked about his thoughts on South Carolina's game against Georgia being moved from its normal week 2 spot to week 6. He replied, "I don't know. I sort of always liked playing them that second game because you could always count on them having two or three key players suspended," making fun of Georgia's poor disciplinary history (the Bulldogs had three notable stars get three game suspensions in 2011 including former top 20 recruit Isaiah Crowell). This year when Spurrier was asked about coaching at Tennessee for the 14th time in his career he joked, "Will be the 14th time I've coached in Neyland Stadium. I've coached there more than some of their head coaches." Spurrier was humorously alluding to the fact that n the last five years, the Volunteers have had four different head coaches (Lane Kiffin, Derek Dooley, Jim Chaney, and Butch Jones). However, my personal favorite Steve Spurrier line is when he asked about his offensive line this season and he replied, "Our offensive line [is] pretty good at everything except for blocking. Unfortunately, that's all we ask them to do." Spurrier's brutal honest gives us some classic lines, which I would love to see Caliendo emulate in his next video.

Green Bay Packers-Detroit Lions In-Game Analysis

Green Bay Packers (5-5-1) at Detroit Lions (6-5) at 12:30 on FOX

Thanksgiving Day Context:

For the 69th consecutive year, dating all the way back to 1945, the Detroit Lions will be hosting a Thanksgiving day game. The tradition actually began in 1934 as an attempt to create more fan interest in Detroit, as the team was starting its first year in the motor city after moving from Portsmouth (fun fact: in 1932 the Portsmouth Spartans lost in the inaugural NFL Championship Game to the Chicago Bears). When the Lions were scheduled to play the Chicago Bears, a team that had won the NFL Championship in 1932 and 1933, they decided to put the game on Thanksgiving to create added excitement around the big match-up. Nearly 80 years later, the Lions are still hosting Thanksgiving day games in one of football's historic relics despite the fact that they have only made one playoff appearance since 1999 and haven't won a championship since 1957 when they beat the Browns in the title game 59-14 (yes, the Browns and Lions made the championship in the same year). Detroit has a 33-37-2 record on Thanksgiving day (including a 10-year stretch from 1959 to 1969 where they went 2-8-1), but a 11-8-1 record against their 2013 opponent, the Green Bay Packers. In fact, the Lions last Thanksgiving Day win came all the way back in 2003 against the Packers. Detroit and Green Bay actually played each other every year on turkey day from 1951 to 1963, and the NFC North divisional foes will be renewing their Thanksgiving Day rivalry this season.

Game Preview:

In a wide open division with only the Leslie Frazier led Minnesota Vikings out of the playoff race, the Packers-Lions Thanksgiving Day game has major postseason implications. The Packers would likely have been fighting for NFC home field advantage rather than the NFC North if it weren't for Aaron Rodgers breaking his collarbone. The Packers have gone 0-3-1 in their last four games without Rodgers and have slipped from 5-2 to 5-5-1. Seneca Wallace and Scott Tolzien threw 6 interceptions for the Pack in losses to the Bears, Eagles, and Giants and a tie to the lowly Vikings. This week the Packers will be starting Matt Flynn, who entered the game for Green Bay in the third quarter of their tie with Minnesota and was actually fairly effective in leading the Packers back from a 23-7 deficit to get the game to overtime. Although Flynn only joined the Packers on November 12, he did spend 4 years with Green Bay and Mike McCarthy from 2008 and 2011 so he is very familiar with the team's offense. However, the Packers are going to rely heavily on Eddie Lacy once again this weekend, who has had at least 22 carries in 3 of their last 4 games and has produced 2 games of at least 110 yards and 3 touchdowns since Rodgers went out. Meanwhile, the Lions should be able to exploit a Green Bay defense that is ranked 19th in the league in rushing defense and 20th in the league in passing defense. In fact, the Packers have allowed more than 200 yards on the ground in two of their last three games against the Eagles and LeSean McCoy and the Vikings and Adrian Peterson. If Green Bay has to bring safeties into the box in order to stop Detroit's rushing attack of Reggie Bush and Joique Bell, Matt Stafford could have a big day with Calvin Johnson not getting double covered over the top. Finally, the battle in the trenches to watch in this game is the Lions offensive line against the Packers pass rush, as Detroit has allowed a league low 14 sacks all season while the Packers are tied for the league lead with 37 sacks.

First Half Score: Detroit Lions 17 - Green Bay Packers 10

The first half was a period of missed opportunities and self-inflicted wounds for the Detroit Lions. Despite out-gaining the Packers 340 to 43 in total yards, 192 to 24 in passing yards, and 148 to 19 in rushing yards, the Lions only have a touchdown lead at the intermission. Detroit racked up huge chucks of yards in the first half and drove up and down the field in both the first and second quarter. Their offensive line dominated Green Bay's front seven, as Reggie Bush and Joique Bell, who had a combined for 116 first half rushing yards, were not even getting touched until the second line of defense. The Packers were also cut open by a multitude of Detroit slant passes, as Sam Shields was unable to cover Calvin Johnson off the line of scrimmage. The Lions also shut down the Packers defensively in the first half. Knowing that the Packers were going to predominately run the ball on first down, the Lions brought extra guys into the box to shut down Eddie Lacy, who had just 13 yards on 7 carries in the first half. When the Packers did attempt to throw the ball, Matt Flynn was getting pressured by Detroit's defensive front, which had three sacks including two from rookie Ziggy Ansah. With all that being said, the Packers should be thrilled with the halftime score considering the Lions first half domination. In very Detroit-like fashion, the team had an array of miscues to keep the Packers in the game. On the Lions first drive in the red zone, Reggie Bush fumbled on the Green Bay 12 yard line. It was his 3rd lost fumble in the team's last 5 games, which is tied for the most amongst running backs in the NFL. After the Lions kicked a field goal to go up 3-0, Sam Martin, the Lions punter, hit the ensuing kick-off out of bounds, which allowed the Packers to kick a field goal after gaining just 24 yards. Green Bay then added a touchdown after Nick Perry went by left tackle Riley Reiff and forced a Matt Stafford fumble. Stafford also threw an interception for the team's third first half turnover, and David Akers missed a 31 yard field goal at the end of the half. Therefore, due to three turnovers, a missed field goal, a poor kick off, and just 17 points from 5 trips to the red zone, the Lions have just a 7 point halftime lead despite being thoroughly dominate in the first 30 minutes of play.

Final Score: Detroit Lions 40 - Green Bay Packers 10

Often times, when a team thoroughly controls a half of football and does not capitalize by taking a large lead, the opponent feels a second life and comes out rejuvenated after the break knowing that they have been severely outplayed yet are only down by one score. However, this game was more so a case of the Packers continuing their offense ineptitude and the Lions finally putting together some complete drives. The Packers were a complete mess all day on the offense side of the ball. The Lions recorded 7 sacks on Matt Flynn (their most in a game since a week 8 loss to the Denver Broncos in 2011 and their most against the Packers since 1987) despite the fact that the team was averaging under 2 sacks per game coming into the thanksgiving day contest. In fact, the Lions had just 4 sacks in a 4 game stretch from week 5 to week 8 against the Packers, Browns, Bengals, and Cowboys. Nonetheless, in this game, Ndamukong Suh was constantly pushing the Packers interior linemen back into the quarterback, including when he dropped Matt Flynn for a safety in the third quarter to give the Lions a 26-10 lead. The Lions pass rush also forced two Matt Flynn fumbles and caused the quarterback to look very uncomfortable in the pocket. Detroit's defensive front also eliminated the Packers run game, which was ranked 5th in the league coming into the thanksgiving day clash. Green Bay did not have a rushing first down for the first time since a week 14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in 1990 and their 24 total rushing yards were the fewest for the team since a week 11 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in 2005. The Lions also continued to move the ball up and down the field on offense. Coming into the game, the Lions were ranked 22nd in the NFL in rushing, as they were averaging just over 100 yards per game. However, Detroit's offensive line dominated the Packers defensive front as they continually double teamed B.J. Raji and were able to get a huge push for Reggie Bush and Joique Bell to run through. The Lions were able to rack up 241 yards on the ground against the Pack, their most in a game since a week 13 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in 1997 (Barry Sanders had 216 yards and 2 touchdowns that game in his MVP season). Reggie Bush had 117 yards and Joique Bell was 6 yards away from the Lions having two 100 yard running backs in the same game for the first time since a week one win against the Los Angeles Rams all the way back in 1980 (in that game Dexter Bussey had 111 yards and a touchdown and rookie and #1 overall pick in the 1980 NFL draft Billy Sims from Oklahoma had 153 yards and 3 touchdowns). With the Lions running rampant around the field, Calvin Johnson was often left isolated, which proved to be too much for Sam Shields to handle. While Megatron did not exploit the Packers defense deep down the field, as his longest reception of the game was 20 yards, he was able to continually run slant routes across the middle of the field for 101 yards and a touchdown. It was the 7th time this season Calvin had at least 100 yards in a game and was his 12th touchdown grab of the year. Megatron is now on pace for 1,732 yards and 16 touchdowns, which would be the 5th most receving yards in a single season only behind Clavin's season last year (1,964 yards), Jerry Rice in 1995 (1.848 yards), Isaac Bruce in 1995 (1,781 yards), and Charley Hennigan in 1961 (1,746 yards). Calvin is also well on his way to becoming the first wide out to finish at the top of the league in receiving yards for three consecutive years since Jerry Rice did so with the San Francisco 49ers from 1993 to 1995. The win for the Lions puts them a half game ahead of the Chicgao Bears in the NFC North and in position to win the division for the first time since 1993. Meanwhile, while the Packers are getting Aaron Rodgers back in week 14, with a 5-6-1 record, they will likely have to win out against the Falcons, Cowboys, Steelers, and Bears in order to even have a chance at the postseason.

Adrian Peterson Deserves The NFL MVP Award

As the NFL playoffs head to the Divisional Round and we reflect on the outstanding season in the league, it is hard to say that this year was anything less than extraordinary. The variety of intriguing storylines such as the success of the rookie quarterbacks and the historic record chases by Adrian Peterson, Calvin Johnson, and J. J. Watt created a tremendous amount of interest across the league. Like every year, the great individual and team performances were mixed with a multitude of bizarre moments such as the replacement officials simultaneous catch ruling in the Packers-Seahawks game or Jim Schwartz illegal challenge on a play that was already getting reviewed. The 2012-2013 NFL season was a year to remember.

The NFL MVP award has become a glorified honor for the best quarterback in the league the last 20 years. Since 1994, the award has been captured by 15 quarterbacks including both Peyton Manning and Steve McNair when they split the honor in 2003, and just 5 running backs. There is no doubt that the NFL is driven by the quarterback position and that the league has become reliant on the vertical passing game. While the play of Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Aaron Rodgers shouldn't be overlooked, Adrian Peterson deserves the MVP award this season.

The fact that Peterson tore his ACL and MCL in December of 2011, and returned for the first week of this season, makes his entire year that much more special. Although Peterson started out the season a little slow for his standards and had just one 100-yard rushing game through the first 6 weeks of the season, he ran for at least 100 yards in 9 of his last 10 games and averaged nearly 160 yards and a touchdown per game over that stretch. If you don't even take Peterson's first 6 games into account, he still would have been the 2nd leading rusher in the league. While Peterson's 2,097 yard season was just 9 yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record, he still became just the 7th running back to ever rush for 2,000 yards along with O.J. Simpson, Eric Dickerson, Barry Sanders, Terrell Davis, Jamal Lewis, and Chris Johnson, and he accomplished the feat just a year removed from a horrid knee injury.

Peterson's value to the Vikings in their surprising run to the playoffs can not be understated or minimized, as a preponderance of Minnesota's offensive attack was contingent upon AP. With a passing game that was dead last in the NFC in yards per game and a weak receiving core, especially after Percy Harvin was sidelined with an ankle injury, Peterson carried the load for the Vikings week-after-week. Despite the fact that defenses knew Peterson was going to get the ball, his rare combination of power and speed was unable to be corralled all season long. In the Vikings week 17 victory over the Packers to send them into the playoffs, Peterson carried the ball a career high 34 times and rushed for 199 yards and a touchdown despite 7 or 8 Packers in the box for the vast majority of the game.

Obviously, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Aaron Rodgers all have very compelling cases for the MVP award as well. Manning completely transformed a Broncos offense and his command of the team and his consistency was astounding. Brady had another typical Tom Brady year, as the New England quarterback didn't throw an interception in 11 of 16 games this season. Finally, Aaron Rodgers led the league once again in quarterback rating and had a very impressive 39-8 touchdown to interception ratio. However, the award should still go to Peterson, as he had one of the greatest single-season efforts in running back history.

The Most Surprising NFL Teams

1. Cincinnati Bengals: After a disastrous 4-12 season in 2010 and Carson Palmer refusing to play any longer for the Bengals and asking owner Mike Brown for a trade, the Bengals have had one of the most impressive turnarounds of any NFL team this season. Their great success has been led by their first round pick A.J. Green and their second round pick Andy Dalton, who have formed an incredible connection on the offense side of the ball. A.J. Green has over 1,000 receiving yards and is just the fourth player since 1999 to have over 1,000 receiving yards as a rookie, joining just Anquan Boldin in 2003, Michael Clayton in 2004, and Marques Colston in 2006. The only passer ratings better than Dalton's 81.0 since 1999 are Matt Ryan's passer rating of 87.7 in 2008 and Ben Roethlisberger's passer rating of 98.1 in 2004. The Bengals, who started 6-2, now sit at 8-6 and are currently tied for the final AFC Wild Card spot with the Jets.

2. Denver Broncos: After a 1-4 start, most Broncos fans were turning to the NFL draft in April and hoping that their team would get the number 1 overall pick and be able to take Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck. And then Tebow-mania began. Since Tim Tebow took over as the Broncos starting quarterback, Denver is 7-2 including a 6 game win streak that they went on before they fell to the Patriots last week. Tebow, the most polarizing figure in the NFL, has captured the attention of the nation by his incredible 4th quarter comebacks. In his first start on the road in Miami against the Dolphins in week 7 with the Broncos down 15-0, he led two touchdown drives plus a two point conversion in the final 5 minutes of the game before a Matt Prater field goal won the game in overtime. In week 11 against the Jets, Tebow led a 95-yard touchdown drive in the final 5 minutes to top the Jets 17-13. In week 14 against the Bears, with the Broncos down 10-0 with under 5 minutes remaining in the game, Tebow threw a touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas before setting up a Matt Prater field goal with seconds remaining in regulation. The Broncos would win the game in overtime after another Prater field goal 13 to 10. Currently, the Broncos sit atop the AFC West at 8-6.

3. Detroit Lions: Although many people really liked the Detroit Lions this off-season and predicated that they would make the playoffs, the Lions are still a surprise considering that they finished at the bottom of the NFC North last season at 6-10. They key to the Lions success has been a healthy Matthew Stafford. After missing a total of 19 games in 2009 and 2010, Stafford has played in all 14 games this season with the Lions and his connection with Calvin Johnson, also known as Megatron, has been deadly. Stafford, who ranks in the top 5 of nearly every passing category, has thrown 14 touchdown passes to Megatron. Only the Packers, Saints, and the Patriots have scored more points this season than the Lions, who have scored 24 pointsor more in 9 games this season. If the Lions win one of their final two games against the Chargers or the Packers on the road in Green Bay, they would clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 1999.

4. San Francisco 49ers: Jim Harbaugh, the former Stanford head coach, has changed the culture in San Francisco. After a 6-10 season in 2010, the 49ers are currently 11-3 and have already clinched their first NFC west title since 2002 and just their second since 1997. The 49ers have been led by an incredible defense. They have allowed just over 13 points per game, which is the best in the NFL and is 6 points better than the Seahawks, who rank 2nd in the NFC in points allowed per game at 19.5. The 49ers defense is led by their great linebackering core of NaVorro Bowman and the always great Patrick Willis. Alex Smith has also had a career saving season. The former numer 1 pick is having his best season in the NFL in his 7th year in the league, as Harbaugh has instilled a lot of confidence in his quarterback. Smith has taken great care of the ball this season and has made plays when he has needed to. Smith has thrown just 5 interceptions this season.

Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley Will Provide A Dynamic Duo in Detroit

Ndamukong Suh had a dominant rookie season. After being selected with the second overall pick, Suh won the defensive rookie of the year award and was a first team All-Pro selection. With the Lions 13th pick in this years NFL draft, they selected a defensive tackle in the first round for the second year in a row. They took Nick Fairley out of Auburn, who will create a dominant tandem with Suh in the trenches.

At the beginning of the draft process, Nick Fairley was considered to be the leading candidate to be selected with the number one overall pick. Fairley's explosiveness and quickness were very appealing. However, Fairley only had one really good season with Auburn, so his inconsistency and tendency to take plays off concerned some teams. Therefore, Marcell Dareus from Alabama became the first defensive tackle selected with the third pick by the Bills. Much to the Lions delight, Fairley fell to 13th, where they selected him. Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz said about the pick, "The philosophy here was we're drafting to our strength. Defensive line is a strength of what we do. We won our last four last year and you can have probably a quiz show to find out who our corners were in those games, but we were good up front. Being good up front is what drives our defense. We have players that could be an impact player for us at a position. We didn't worry too much about what his [Fairley] playtime was going to be. We knew where he was on the board for us, how much we liked him and he fit really well, so we didn't hesitate to make the pick." Instead of drafting an area of concern, such as the cornerback position, the Lions drafted to the team's strengths and the best player available on their board.

The Lions also have defensive tackle Corey Williams, who will be apart of the Lions interior linemen rotation. Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz said, "We play 130 defensive tackle snaps in a game. So, if we're rotating three guys through and they're playing 45 snaps apiece... No. 1, there'll be a little bit of pressure. We can keep rolling waves and waves. We probably -- even Ndamukong Suh -- probably played a little too much for us last year. Not that he wore down, but it was too many snaps in there. You're taking on 700 pounds of man every time you take on a double team and things like that." 

The Detroit Lions defensive linemen have already embraced the pick. Defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch said, “I don’t care how many sacks I get. I want us as a group to get a ton of sacks. I don’t necessarily care about being the best defensive end in the league. I want to be a part of the best defensive line in the league. He’s going to be a part of that and he’s going to step in and be able to add to us and we welcome him.”