Quote:The fact that Rashean is your best CB says a lot.  We know him very well.

 

Based on how Rashean Mathis performed in 2012,   I totally understand and respect your point of view.

 

Having said that,  in 2013,  Mathis was a year further away from the season ending injury he suffered in 2011.  Mathis pleasantly surprised me and many others last season.  

 

I posted the following in a thread on the NFL at Large section earlier this month but it's worth putting here with the pre-season game between the Jaguars and Lions less than 24 hours away and one other person expressing similar thoughts that you did. 

 

<a class="bbc_url" href='http://sidelionreport.com/2014/04/14/report-detroit-lions-re-sign-rashean-mathis/' title="External link">http://sidelionrepor...rashean-mathis/</a>

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Mathis proved he had something left in the tank last season as he become the Lions’ most dependable cover corner. His +5.8 overall rating from Pro Football Focus was easily the team’s best and was good enough for 27th-highest among all corners who played at least 25% of team snaps.

 

In my opinion as someone that watched practically every single play of the Lions 2013 season,   PFF's grade on Mathis reflected his performance last season.    If Mathis can repeat his 2013 in 2014  (  so far it looks like he hasn't noticeably aged since last season ),  adding 2 or 3 interceptions,  I would be thrilled with the results.

 

My major question at CB is if 2nd year CB Darius Slay can make substantial strides this season.   Slay is super talented but went through huge growing pains as a rookie.   That's how Mathis became a starter.     Much like with what the Jaguars need from 2nd year CB Dwayne Gratz,   the Lions need Slay to ascend to the top of the team's top of the totem pole.   Until the regular season begins,  we truly don't know how the respective 2nd year CB's are going to perform when it counts. 


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