Lions Hand Keys to Youngster

The Detroit Lions have been on the clock since mid-November when it seemed the Lions only outcome during the 2008 season was setting an unprecedented 0-16 losing record.

From there the Lions decided to create a new logo and throw together some new jerseys along with a whole new coaching staff. I really liked the coaching moves by bringing in Jim Schwartz as the new head coach. Along with Scot Linehan as the new offensive coordinator and Gunther Cunningham as the defensive coordinator. Things looked bright in the Motor City for once up until draft day that is.

The Lions don't draft like many teams, they consistently have selections in the top 10 due to their lack of productivity out on the football field. The Lions have had bust after bust and it gets harder to watch each and every time. This year they decided to hand the keys to a 21-year-old QB in Matthew Stafford from Georgia by selecting him with the No.1 overall draft pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. A risk that could bring great rewards but in turn could also become a massive train wreck.

New GM Martin Mayhew has some courage that is for sure. He made the sexy pick, one that could potential put fans in the stands to start out the year during these tough economic times. The key is they could have went with a much safer (sure fire) pick with OT Jason Smith from Baylor or LB Aaron Curry from Wake Forest. If Mayhew fails like most feel he will, the media will look back at this pick as the key ingredient.

I like Matthew Stafford as a QB and feel he can be successful in the NFL under the right circumstances. The 2009 Detroit Lions are not the right circumstance for a QB who is so young he can't even grow facial hair. Now many ESPN analysts like Trent Dilfer, Cris Carter, and Tom Jackson have all said this will only work if the Lions bring Stafford along slowly. Dilfer said if the Lions place Matt Stafford as the savior or messiah of the franchise this will turn into an utter failure. Does this bring back memories --Joey Harrington?

Stafford is a QB, he was the No.1 overall pick, he signed a 6-year contract which entails $41.7 million guaranteed on a team that went winless the year prior. With all that said, I don't see how they can't point to him as the savior of the franchise. Fans will be looking at him that way and that is why I feel this situation will destroy him mentally on and off the field. Fans in Detroit want to win badly, they care about the Lions more than any other professional franchise in the city.

A few more things to keep in mind about Stafford. Majority of the ESPN NFL experts felt QB Mark Sanchez from USC would be the better QB in the long run because he has the "It" factor in which you just can't teach. If that is so, how do take a guy like Stafford ahead of him? It's a risk, something they could have put off until next season when a trio of QB's come in the 2010 NFL Draft with Colt McCoy (Texas), Tim Tebo (Florida), and Sam Bradford (Oklahoma). By that time the Lions would be improved and showing signs of progression one must think. I mean come on do you really feel the Lions won't be drafting in the top 10 next year? Most likely they will be in the top 5 and would have had the option to pull the trigger on one of those great QB's a class that is much better than the one we just saw go by the wayside yesterday.

The Lions took a risk, they have been one of the worst franchises in professional sports in recent past. If this pick doesn't work out you can cement them in that spot for another five years. This was a pick that didn't have to be made at this point in time in the rebuilding process. The Lions did it though and now we must wait and see how they handle Stafford. Let's hope it doesn't end up with him on his back 5+ times against the New Orleans Saints in Week 1 of the 2009 season.

Lions are no Saints!

Who is the worst team in NFL History?

Well that question will be answered after week 17 on December 28, 2008. The Detroit Lions 2008 team will go down as the first team to ever go 0-16 during a season. Humiliating, embarrassing, shameful – all the above basically describes the Lions this season.

With everything that has gone on in the State of Michigan with the automakers and the economy. Fans didn’t need this, but the Lions delivered and as a result Ford Field is half-empty on Sundays. Fans continued to support this team during all the bad times since 2001 when Matt Millen took over as general manager. Fans have finally had enough of the losing and have stopped showing up.

Everyone from the coaching staff, to general management, and down to the players are accountable for this mess. I point to Rod Marinelli as not getting the job done, but most of the blame of course goes to Matt Millen for all the failed draft picks over the years. Who can forget wide receivers Charles Rogers and Mike Williams or Joey Harrington in 2002. Then there are a handful of first or second round picks that are on longer with the team like: linebackers Teddy Lehman and Boss Bailey, running back Kevin Jones, defensive end Kalimba Edwards, and wide receiver Roy Williams.

As for Marinelli, he isn’t a head coach, he is a drill sergeant – he came here from Tampa Bay where he was the defensive line coach, from day one with Marinelli the Lions were destined to fail. On top of that, Marinelli decided he wanted to bring in some former Tampa Buccaneers to help out his cover two defense. Players like Dwight Smith, Brian Kelly, Kalvin Pearson, Dewayne White, Corey Smith, Ryan Nece, and Chuck Darby all have contributed to giving up the most points in the NFL this season at 486. How about that defense?

"I thought we were fighting, but we didn't today,'' Lions coach Rod Marinelli said. “We've been fighting and practicing but it didn't show today and there are no excuses for it. Our defense never gave us a chance to get in the game. We couldn't get them stopped on third down. If you can't do that, you can't win."

Marinelli is likely coaching his last game for the Lions this Sunday against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field to try and avoid 0-16. What a storyline huh? Well all you have to do is look at the past to tell what the result of this game will be. The Lions have not won at Lambeau Field since 1991 and under Marinelli the Lions have lost their last 22 of 23 games. That is an unbelievable or unforgettable stat that all the Lions would like to forget about.

"We sucked today,'' quarterback Dan Orlovksy said. "We've only got one game left and it's do-or-die.''

Orlovosky summed it up right there, everything is on the table for people to remember this team for years to come. Some players will go on to a new team, but can expect to be heckled by fans for the rest of their careers. General Managers and Presidents will be questioned by the media and fans as well for bringing in a player from the 2008 0-16 Lions.

"Nobody else did this but us," center Dominic Raiola admitted. "There's no feeling sorry for ourselves. No one is going to remember 1-15, but they'll remember 0-16. We hope that doesn't happen. No one wants to be tagged with that. It's a big nightmare. We just want it to end."

“Nightmare really”, think about what it has been like to be a Detroit Lions fan ever since they you grew up and started watching football. It may be time for Lions fans to get a new team, because let’s remember who the owner of the Lions is William Clay Ford Sr. and he is fine with losing as long as he is making money. Maybe Ford Sr. can give back to the fans.

"We gotta want to win more than we don't want to lose," rookie running back Kevin Smith said. "I think the fans deserve (something to cheer about). The way we played today we should be buying their Christmas presents."

There’s an idea buy fans Christmas presents Mr. Ford. We know that’s not going to happen, but how about this instead, buy us a head coach who has head coaching experience and buy a general manager who actually knows what he is doing in player personnel.

Don’t expect Mr. Ford to listen because Lions fans haven’t had a present to see on the football field since Barry Sanders.

Will the Lions go 0-16?

I think it's a fair question to ask. Currently they stand at 0-6 overall and their schedule is only going to get tougher as the season wears on. Can these misfits they call NFL players really do the unthinkable and forever be known as the worst team in NFL History?

Yes, I feel they will go 0-16, they play virtually all playoff teams from here on out with the exception of the Vikings. The Vikings played horrible back in week 6, just squeaking by the Lions with a 12-10 score. The Lions only chance for a win might come on December 7th when they tangle with the Vikings at Ford Field. The Lions have been outscored by 90 points through six games in the season. They have 6 of their last 10 games at home but none tougher than the Tennessee Titans which they see on Thanksgiving Day. In other words, start eating that turkey early Lions fans because your going to want to fall asleep for this one.

Let's look at the Lions remaining schedule; Washington, @Chicago, Jacksonville, @Carolina, Tampa Bay, Tennessee, Minnesota, @Indianapolis, New Orleans, and finishing off the season @Green Bay. Talk about a tough schedule, it may be one of the toughest left in the league. Could you imagine if the Lions are 0-15 heading to the frozen tundra on Dec. 28th, that would be a nightmare. Realistically their could be two 0-16 teams at the end of this season with the Bengals and the Lions. Cincinnati is almost as bad as Detroit. They both will have a common agenda heading into the off-season with replacing their head coach.

Yes, Rod Marinelli should be fired, I don't care when, but he should not see the field for the Lions next year. Marinelli should actually inquire about the defensive line position for East Grand Rapids High School. There he can turn kids into men, something Marinelli has tried to do with the Lions for the past 3 seasons. This franchise finally made a good move by firing Matt Millen, next is getting rid of the entire coaching staff including Mr. naked himself Joe Barry (referring to his drive-through incident where he forgot to put clothes on). The biggest problem with firing Marinelli is the fact he brought in a bunch of his old players from Tampa Bay. Guys like Brian Kelly, DeWayne White, Chuck Darby, Kalvin Pearson, and Dwight Smith who will all be expendable once the new coach is hired. Talk about a salary cap hit. This will set the Lions back another 2 years because they will not have a chance to spend money on quality free agents.

One positive is the number of draft picks they have available for the 2009 NFL Draft. The problem is we lost part of our dynamic duo at the wide receiver position in Roy Williams. If the Lions make good picks then the trade will be a wash. Although if the Lions miss on the picks, the trade will be bad just for the fact that Williams could have been lured to stay by the new coach after next season. I feel Roy is just starting to hit his prime of his career and we just sent him to Dallas.

One of the key characteristics to a losing season is bad quarterback play. The Lions have had every bit of that with Jon Kitna and Dan Orlovsky playing quarterback. Kitna got benched and then got put on the IR to end his season. Kitna basically got screwed, but some Lions fans feel the same about paying money to see him play. Orlovsky forgot the most simple rule in football, you can not step out of the back of the end zone or it's a safety. He looked decent against Houston this past weekend but that is Houston, a team that will not win more than 6 games this season at best.

Lions have a lot of work to do to avoid making history this season. Even though they have played terrible there has been a few bright spots in Calvin Johnson and Kevin Smith. Johnson has led the Lions in receiving in 5 of the 6 games and Smith has led the team in rushing in 5 of 6 games as well. They have to build around those two players. On defense they have to build around Ernie Sims and Daniel Bullocks. What about Gosder Cherlius and Jordan Dizon are we going to see them play much more for the rest of the season? A bright spot will be when the off season comes around and Lions fans realize they don't have to watch this pathetic football team.

If you want to see a team make dumb mistakes and be apart of history tune in to watch the Detroit Lions. They have been the worst team in the NFL since 2001 and they will have a chance at making history in the 2008 season. They are truly two words "consistently terrible."

Blackout Possible this Sunday

For the first time ever for the Lions at Ford Field, their may be a local television blackout. This is due to the fact the Lions still have 4,500 tickets to sell before Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers. Wow it's about time fans stop showing up to Lions games to support this team. They have lost for years and fans have continuously came out to support the team. I hope this weekend's game is a blackout because that is the only possible way William Clay Ford will fix this franchise is if he starts feeling it in his pocket some.

Wow is all I had to say while watching the Lions get thrashed by the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. The Falcons were the worst team last year coming off of terrible situations with Mike Vick and Bobby Petrino. Vick got sent to prison for dogfighting and Petrino decided college was the way to go as he left for Arkansas. Yet even with a first year head coach in Mike Smith, new running back Michael Turner, and first round overall pick in Matt Ryan playing his first ever NFL game the Lions still lost. This was an unacceptable loss for the Lions. It's despicable to lose to a team like Atlanta, which is rebuilding for the next 2 or 3 years, because of the turmoil from last year's team.

How can the Lions continuously get high picks in the draft year in and year out but never get any better record wise? Most of us know the answer to that question, it's Matt Millen and the scouting department for the Lions. Then you look to the coaches, they don't get the most out of their players, they don't have enough experience to lead their team. I never felt good about hiring a head coach who's last job was to manage four guys on the defensive line for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Sorry Rod you have a 53 man roster here in Detroit and you know very well if they don't play well it's going to come back on you resulting in a firing. This organization needs to start fresh once again but this time make sure Millen is the first one out the door.

Let's analyze Sunday's game a little, first off they allowed 318 yards rushing which was embarrassing. Missed tackles throughout the game on defense were led by Paris Lenon, Alex Lewis, Travis Fisher, Ernie Sims and others who helped Turner get so many yards. How about the Lions defensive line, did you see some of the holes the Falcons offensive line created? My grandma could have ran through them. In the secondary they played decent accept for the fact they fell asleep on Matt Ryan's first pass play which resulted in a 62 yard touchdown to Michael Jenkins.

Let's turn to the offensive side of the ball, Jon Kitna looked about as mad as I have ever seen him on the sidelines Sunday. It clearly sunk in to Kitna that they were losing to the Atlanta Falcons. Kevin Smith looked good in his first NFL start which was surprising because he knew very well his offensive line was terrible Sunday. False start Foster was trying to hold down the right tackle position but of course that was too much to ask for him. Jeff Backus has been stealing money from the Lions for years with his less than stellar run blocking ability. How about Jon Kitna himself, talk about a guy who needs to win now. Kitna at 34 years old, knows the end of his career is coming soon, so he needs to win now before he hangs his cleats up for good. Receivers Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams both looked good but clearly need to be a bigger part of the offense. Don't worry boys, that's not coming because Rod Marinelli wants to pound the football with the running game. Although he only has two on the roster, does that sound smart? No it's just another bad decision by a coach who lacks experience having 11 defensive lineman on his active roster and only two running backs.

Let's look ahead and try to figure out what to expect from the Lions this weekend against the Packers. Well as an optimist you might say it's a new week and the last game is behind us. Well as a follower of the Lions for years I know the trends. With one playoff victory in over 40 years of the franchise, things look pretty bleak. I expect the Lions to come out and play better this weekend against the Packers. Although after watching the Packers on Monday Night Football against the Vikings last night it's going to be tough for the Lions to get the victory on Sunday. I really don't care if they play better, it's about winning football games that counts. I feel they are going to come up just short against the Packers. Green Bay is better in so many facets of the game. Better coached, more experienced, can actuall tackle runners, can block the opposing team, have very good special teams, and have more all-around talent on their roster.

So after two weeks I feel the Lions will be 0-2 with a trip to San Francisco on their mind. Oh by the way the San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback is J.T. O'Sullivan a former backup for the Lions. That should be interesting to say the least, how about another headline. Can former Lions offensive coordinator Mike Martz beat his old team as the new coordinator for the 49ers. Well with the way the Lions tried to tackle Michael Turner this past week; Frank Gore shouldn't have any problems finding his way into the endzone. All I have to say is I hope I am wrong and the players/coaches step up more than I could ever imagine this week against the Green Bay Packers.

2008 Detroit Lions Season Prediction

It's that time of the year again Lions fans. Week 1 brings the anticipation of the season and after a an undefeated preseason many fans are buzzing about the prospect of a good season in the D. Before you get too excited you need to remember what the Lions history has been like and what recent teams have brought us as far as in the victory column. Don't be surprised if this team follows that trend and the Lions have yet another disappointing season again.

In my mind I feel this year the Lions will go 6-10. This is based on the toughness of the schedule and the inexperience throughout the Lions team. The schedule is very tough especially for the last 10 games playing against multiple teams that have the potential to go to the playoffs this season. The Lions are still 1 or 2 years away from making the playoffs. Although if the Lions fail to win 6 games this season Rod Marinelli may get fired. In that case the Lions will be set back another 2 to 3 years just because we have so many Marinelli like players on the roster. Most of these guys play on defense to play the cover 2 system. This season is a pivotal one for the Lions in order to get to the next level in the years to come.

As the opener starts this afternoon, one thing that is very concerning to me is the fact neither one of of our first two picks in the 2008 NFL Draft are starting in the opener. Let's face it the Lions were a average team last year with quite a few needs on the roster. Especially at the offensive tackle and linebacker positions. Jordan Dizon and Gosder Cherlius have both disappointed me mightily. I don't buy the fact that if you start a rookie you are instantly giving up on the season. These are not skilled positions they are playing. When you can't beat out Paris Lenon and George Foster for the starting position it is embarrassing. This just shows how bad last years draft was, you might think I am overreacting but seriously Dizon and Cherlius need to step it up ASAP.

So with all that said, I really like the fact the Lions went out and signed running back Rudi Johnson after the Bengals cut him last week. This shows the Lions are at least trying to help out the team this year. They didn't appear to want to do that when they let the San Francisco 49ers out bid them for linebacker Takeo Spikes. That was inexcusable because Spikes is a former All- Pro player and the Lions are terrible at the linebacker position with the exception of Ernie Sims. Alex Lewis is a great special teams player and that's about it. Ernie Sims is legit linebacker who has the ability to go to the Pro Bowl year in and year out. But Paris Lenon should be suiting up for the Grand Rapids Rampage, sorry he is awful and should not see the field in the NFL.

Things will be interesting for sure this season with lots of ups and downs like always. I can't wait to comment on the Lions on my radio show which airs Sunday nights 8-10 p.m and Wednesday afternoons 11-1p.m on www.thewhale.org starting this next week. I will have many insiders coming on the show to talk about the Lions. One last thing be sure to get your TUMS out as you watch the Lions play this season.