Training camp is finally here and FanHouse breaks down the most important position battles heading into the season, team by team.I wasn't so sure the Lions were going about their offseason the right way by committing to a stronger rushing attack this year and then cutting their best runner, Kevin Jones. Especially considering the fact that, at the time, the team was putting all of its eggs in Tatum Bell's basket. The problem with putting your eggs in Bell's basket is that he's going to fumble them. And probably tear his groin in the process.
But a month later the Lions did something unusual -- let's call it "good drafting." They bypassed a back in the first round and moved up in the third round for underrated superbeast Kevin Smith, who ran for something like 2,567 yards and 29 touchdowns for the University of Central Florida. Forget that it was against lesser competition, that's the type of thinking that will have you underrating a good player.
Both backs excel in the Lions' new zone blocking scheme. Both will get touches, but you can be sure that the team wants one guy to ride primarily.
It seems all but obvious that Smith is going to win this, but Bell did run for almost 2,000 yards and 10 touchdowns between 2005 and 2006 in this same scheme. Besides, there's got to be a reason the Lions re-signed him this offseason after Bell demanded a trade out of Detroit in the midst of being inactive for the season's final 11 games.
Really, the question with these Lions (as always) is: how does Jon Kitna feel about the matter?
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