Rod Marinelli: Lions must focus on scoring in draft's later rounds
Detroit Lions head coach Rod Marinelli talked about the importance of getting familiar with the draft's second-day picks. While the Lions are notorious for their failed first-round picks, their miserable record in the Rounds 4-7 have been, arguably, even more detrimental to the team.
Mike Florio, at Pro Football Talk, had an article with some excellent quotes from Marinelli. And from the sounds of it, not only does it sound like the third-year coach is taking more ownership of the players the Lions draft, he says he's willing to reach for a player if it's someone who has the attitude he's looking, as well as someone who he ranks as close to "can't-miss" as possible.
ProFootballTalk.com, March 31: "I felt, the first two years, there were so many in a day, I didn't get a good feel for these guys," Marinelli said. "When you bring in seven or eight a day, I don't do as good a job for myself."
Marinelli also talked about the dilemma that arises when considering a guy at a higher spot than that for which so-called experts have rated him. "This is where it gets tough, I think," Marinelli said. "You see a guy that you really like, and you know he's your type of guy, and you know he's going to come in and play, and the only way you can get him is to draft too high to get him. And that's where you have to feel comfortable with what you have to compete with. 'Oh, man, they went way too high to get that guy.' But two years from now, if he's a starter and a good player, it's not. But you have to hit. You've got to get it right.
"The worst thing is, that's the guy you like, and you're not willing to take him early, and somebody else takes him. Now, the guy that's left there, do you like him as much?"
The Detroit News' Mike O'Hara said that Marinelli is willing to be accountable for improving that second-day draft record.
The Detroit News, March 31: "I've said how important that second day is. I'm going to keep pounding that. Hold me accountable to it. I'm going to bust my tail on that – as hard as I can go, as well as I can do – in that area."
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