some players off the 2010 Detroit Lions roster

There's a stiff breeze in the jet stream over the Great Lakes State these days, and Kaizen Magician Mayhew's "kite" is gaining altitude at flank speed.

For many who study the NFL Draft relentlessly, they may be saddened somewhat to see "one of their guys" not make the final roster.  Some may be relieved to find certain youthful players placed on the practice squad, only to have them relocated to the greater Miami-Dade area.

That's one rotten Tuna!  What a stinker!

 When we consider the breakdown of the fifty-three man roster, we immediately account for three on special teams, so that leaves fifty.  Are the remaining fifty evenly dispersed between the offensive and defensive sides of the ball?

 Well, if the final roster from the 2009 campaign is any indication, there Calvin Johnson will be twenty-five players on offense and twenty-five players on defense in 2010.

 With that in mind, I'll focus on just the defensive side of the ball and how the position battles will "squeeze" some players off the 2010 new Detroit Lions jerseys roster.

 The final 2009 roster was comprised of nine defensive linemen, seven linebackers, and nine defensive backs.  I will use the same approach when allotting the cast of my prognosticative 2010 Detroit Lions opening-day roster on defense (as of July 21, 2010).

 Only DE Cliff Avril will return as a starter on the defensive line from the 2009 squad, adding DE Kyle Vanden Bosch, DT Ndamukong Suh, and DT Corey Williams to round out the new front four.  Also rotating on the defensive line will be DE Turk McBride, DE Jason Hunter, DE/DT Andre Fluellen, DT Sammie Lee Hill,  and DT Landon Cohen.

 Only SLB Julian Peterson returns as a year-long starter at his 2009 position.  DeAndre Levy gained excellent experience at the weak outside linebacker position before moving inside to his final destination at MLB, the position for which Levy was drafted.  From all accounts, the vacated spot, WLB, left by the departed Ernie Sims is Zack Follett's job to lose.  I hope Zack grabs the "tiger by the tail" and becomes the nasty-mean 'backer he was at the University of California.

 How about a Zack Attack on the Breaded Veal Cutler, Lions fans?  Steam rollin' it with the Pain Train!!!

 Rounding out the 2010 Detroit Lions linebacker corps will be Jordon Dizon, Vinny Ciurciu, Caleb Campbell, and Landon Johnson.

 Only FS Louis Delmas will return to start in the 2010 new Detroit Lions jerseys secondary, as Martin Mayhew made wholesale changes after the performance of the 2009 defensive backfield.  At this point, I believe

Chris Houston and Jonathan Wade will start at cornerback, and C.C. Brown should emerge as the other starting safety.

 Completing the complement of defensive backs will be CB Amari Spievey, CB Eric King, CB Dré Bly, FS Ko Simpson, and SS Marvin White.

 Based on the comments of the players currently comprising the Detroit Lions defensive backfield, I find it appropriate to share another pearl from "Winnie"

Thanks to an ample salary and hefty signing bonus, the bulk of which the Detroit Lions will pay out to their star rookie quarterback this year, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft placed 11th on the list with $27.65 million, only $750,000 of which comes from endorsements.

Sure, Matthew Stafford earned less than the gigantasaurus hitters like Woods (No. 1 with $90 million) and Grand Rapids' own Floyd Mayweather (No. 3 with $60.25 million), but he's up there with names like Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade and (No. 10 with $27.77 million) and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning (No. 9 with $30.8 million).

If you leave out endorsements, however, Stafford shoots up to No. 3 on the list – behind Mayweather (No. 1 with $60 million) and baseball's Alex Rodriguez (No. 2 with $33 million).

There will certainly be those who are shocked that Stafford – as a second-year player and after a season during which he started 10 games, completing 201 of 377 passes for 2,267 yards and 13 TDs vs. 20 INTs – could exist among two of the world's best golfers, the world's best pound-for-pound fighter and many other highly accomplished and decorated athletes.